Horse Creek Trail is a beautiful, lush isolated Drift Creek Wilderness trail in the Siuslaw National Forest. It is about 7.6 miles round trip. There are two sections to Horse Creek Trail: the North trail located off Road #1362, and the South trail located off the Alsea Highway. Our group prefers the North trail as we find it to be a more satisfying hike. Additionally, in summer 2004 the Horse Creek Trail web site reports that part of the South trail is closed. Follow the directions on the link above precisely to get to the North Trail located off Road #1362.

The parking area to the North trail is at the end of a one-lane dirt road. After passing the trail head sign the hiker is immediately in a lush old growth forest of Douglas fir, Western hemlock, Sitka spruce, Red alder, Big leaf and Vine maple and huge Red huckleberry bushes the size of trees. Moss drips from tree branches and the forest floor is covered with ferns, salal and Oregon grape.

Both trails lead down to Drift Creek which hiking books claim can be forded during summer months. Our group has hiked the trails in all kinds of weather during all seasons for about thirteen years and never had any inclination to even attempt to cross the creek. It is swift and deep and lined with slippery rocks and ledges. The trails leading to the creek although in a wilderness area, are well cared for with fallen trees chain-sawed away from or becoming arches over trails, and their snags evolving into planters for ferns, salal and huckleberry.

We hiked Horse Creek in late September 2004 after heavy rains. The wildflowers are no longer blooming but the greenery glistens like jewels from raindrops that still cling to it. One of the many attributes of this is that it is so conveniently designed by nature that even after heavy rains the porous, needle-covered trails are devoid of puddles or mud. At times the trail skirts a ridge and because it is fall the deciduous trees are losing their leaves. Daylight is seen through the canopy of evergreens and parts of the trail are dappled with sunlight.

About 13 years ago when we first hiked Horse Creek Trail it was fairly level until the last third that led to the creek. This portion was essentially a tricky, uneven and interrupted footpath cut into the side of a mountain that served as a watershed for the creek. The experience of successfully reaching the bottom and sitting on rocky slabs that lined the creek while we ate lunch and fed the crayfish little tidbits, was such a rewarding experience that it seemed worth the risk.

Over the years the path eroded to the point where sections of it disappeared and hikers were literally forced to haul themselves over voids in the path by hanging onto branches and bushes. Finally about three years ago, we declared this portion of the trail too dangerous, at least for us. We didn’t hike it again until this year, 2004, when advised that the Forest Service constructed a new trail around the eroded section. We decided to check it out. One of our group had been on the detour and said it was a little steep. This turned out to be a gross understatement.

Fall is mushroom picking time in many coastal forests. We all took mushroom picking equipment with us: knives to cut the mushrooms off at ground level so as to save the underlying mycelium allowing mushrooms to grow again, and paper, not plastic, bags in which to put the mushrooms should we be lucky enough to find any.

CAVEAT: it can't be said strongly enough that no one should pick or eat a wild mushroom unless absolutely certain of what is edible and what is poisonous. There are many look-alikes. Most of our group has taken mushroom identification classes and been picking and eating mushrooms for years.

About half way to the creek we started seeing Chicken of the Woods growing on tree branches and trunks, and a few chanterelles growing on the forest floor beside the trail. We could also see boot prints of pickers who had been here before us and pretty well cleared the sides of the trail. We were forced to bushwhack off trail to find chanterelles.

A successful picker

Chanterelle

Cantharellus cibarius

Chicken of the Woods

Polyporus sulphureus

After we'd worn ourselves out bushwhacking and had about as many chanterelles we felt we could carry, we came to a hand printed sign stuck in the point of a fork in the trail. To the left was the old eroded trail, to the right was the new trail that led to the creek. We started down the new trail. The beginning did not seem too steep but it kept gradually getting steeper. As yet we'd come to no switchbacks; it was a steady and relentless descent. Soon we started seeing boot skid marks in the center of the trail where hikers before us slipped on the grade pushing the conifer needles aside to reveal the firm wet soil underneath. Old knees started complaining and like the skidding hikers before us, we had difficulty keeping our footing. As yet we had not come across one single switchback.

Soon we came to what appeared to be a 50% grade and contemplation of the return ascent began to occupy our minds. The majority of our party rebelled and we decided to forego eating lunch at creek-side and backtrack to the trailhead and our car. Our mushroom cache somewhat eased our disappointment at not reaching the creek.

On the drive out of the wilderness we discussed the advisability of the Forest Service adding some switchbacks to the new section of the trail leading so hikers could more easily reach the creek, which is really the best part of the hike.

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