Mt Elijah and Big Tree

On November 1, 2023 six hikers headed to the Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve. The cave tours are closed on Wednesdays so we had to park in a lower parking lot and walk up to the trailhead.

We started out on the Big Tree trail and were quickly met by a park ranger that was heading down fairly fast. He had just spotted a female bear with her cub. We kept a look out but never saw any trace.

We hiked uphill and arrived at the Big Tree. It is the thickest Douglas-fir in Oregon. It is 43 feet around but only 160 feet tall. From there, we continued up to the Mount Elijah Trail. As we approached the summit at 6,329 feet of elevation, we could see some controlled burns and the last of the Smith River complex fire.

We were fortunate that the little bit of snow was not on any of the trails. We enjoyed our lunch and took in views of Mount Shasta, The Red Buttes, Preston Peak and Kerby Peak.

As we descended, we went off trail so we could get views of Bigelow Lakes. We continued down and reconnected to the Big Tree trail and continued the loop. The hike ended up being around 9.2 miles with a little over 2,300 feet of elevation gain.

Hike Leader: Francie

Photos By: Francie