 |
| Photo by Gail Oberst
Steve Veilleux of Fort Hill stands atop "Big Guy," once the second largest Douglas fir standing before it blew down in the 1980s. |
‘Valley of the Giants’ lives up to its name
|
They came, they saw, they nearly broke their necks trying to see to the tops of the trees, some of which were up to 450 years old and 200 feet high.
About 30 members and guests of the Marion-Polk chapter of the Oregon Small Woodlands Association on June 3 toured the Valley of the Giants, a 51-acre oasis of old-growth Douglas fir and hemlock trees surrounded by privately-owned industrial forest land in the Coast Range west of Dallas.
The Valley of the Giants was set aside by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in 1976. It is a protected Outstanding Natural Area, but is not always accessible because the roads to it are private and may be closed to the public at times of heavy logging.
Old growth trees
The trip to the Valley of the Giants served two purposes, according to chapter president Mark Havel, whose family manages a small patch of forest land near Willamina -- to show forestry practices on industrial land and to enjoy one of the last vestiges of old growth trees left untouched in the area.
"Very few people realize we even have this sort of thing so close to home," Havel said.
With more than 200 members in the chapter and many of retirement age, the trip was mostly focused on enjoyment. The 30-mile, two-hour trip from Falls City over dusty, winding logging roads was half the fun.
Members had rented a Greyhound-sized tour bus for the trip -- a surprising sight on a road more often traveled by pickup trucks and occasionally blocked by fallen trees and branches. During the last few miles, association members on several occasions had to climb out of the bus, lift up branches and trees or run ahead of the bus to be sure the road was clear.
"A whole busload of wanna-be loggers and not one of them has a chainsaw," snickered Mike Wagler, a truck driver for Wimer Logging Co. of Dallas, who joined the tour.
The bus passed through 28 miles of forested land owned mostly by Willamette Industries, Boise Cascade and Georgia Pacific.
Each company has its own cutting schedules, Havel said.
On its 50,000 acres in the area, Willamette Industries cuts about 1,000 acres per year, sending 60 loads of logs per day out of the forest.
On about 100,000 acres owned by Boise Cascade, 3,000 acres are clearcut per year, Havel said.
The Valsetz Basin area is among the wettest in the state, getting an average of 180 inches per year; up to 300 inches in the Valley of the Giants.
"Things grow fast here," Wagler said.
A ghost town
Many of the association members on the tour had logged in the area or visited the Valley of the Giants before and spent the bus trip reminiscing.
Dallas farmer Don Duhrkopf recalled his former favorite fishing spot on the headwaters of the Siletz, right behind the Valsetz Lake dam, which no longer exists. Boise Cascade drained the lake in the mid-1980s, after closing up the company town of Valsetz. Passing what’s left of Valsetz prompted stories from those who remembered, even some who had worked in the remote mountain town above Falls City.
"No angling" signs spoke of changing times along the sparkling green gravel bed river that quickly widened and rushed over short falls as the group neared the Valley of the Giants. The bus pulled in at the trail head and the group climbed out, most eager to stretch and walk after the long ride.
The trail loop is about 1.3 miles, beginning with a quick descent which ends at a year-old steel bridge across the north fork of the Siletz River.
At the other end of the bridge, the old trees grow 20 feet in circumference or more, and the tops can’t be seen from the bottom of the trees unless you lay on the ground.
Cathedral-like, the sun’s rays filter down to the trail, still soft and muddy from a recent rain.
A return visit
Elmer Werth, a Grand Ronde farmer and forestland owner, didn’t let a crutch stop him from hobbling down the trail a ways. It had been 20 years since he’d been here last and he wanted to see how things had changed.
"I do believe there are a few trees missing since I came here last," Werth said to Dave and Carol Patten, who own 40 acres of trees near Silverton.
The Pattens said they had a while to wait before their 16-year-old trees were the size of these giants.
They had just hiked the loop, pausing along the trail to look at oxalis, monkey flower, rhododendron, salmon berry and salal.
The star attraction at the bottom of the loop is the "Big Guy," a Douglas fir more than 35 feet around that is believed to be the second-largest of its species in Oregon. BLM officials say the area is also home to the northern spotted owl, bald eagle and marbled murrelet.
Steve Veilleux of Fort Hill complained that he had hiked all this way to learn that "Big Guy" was no longer standing. The tree was blown down in a 1981 wind storm.
Veilleux climbed the fallen giant and ran along the top of it -- almost 200 feet.
The group boarded the bus again two hours later. On the way out, two loggers with a chainsaw had cleared the road for the tour bus to pass unscathed. "We found some Good Samaritans," Havel said.
Fast facts
A brochure with directions to the Valley of the Giants is available by calling or writing the BLM’s Salem District office, (503) 375-5646, 1717 Fabry Rd., S.E., Salem, OR 97306.
If you are a first-time visitor, do not travel without directions. Call first for road conditions.
The Valley of the Giants is a day-use area. No camping or fires are allowed.
There are no bathrooms or trash cans. Leave the area as you found it.
The roads are gravel, rutted and may be blocked by debris or gated by landowners in case of heavy truck traffic.
The best time to visit is on a summer weekend, but be prepared to be turned away.
Drive as if a log truck were around the next corner. The roads are steep and one-lane in places.