42. Fuji Mountain

Summary

Length – 1 ½ miles one way

Difficulty – Easy

Season – Summer to early autumn

Elevation range –6,190 feet – 7,144 feet

Human imprint – High (Cedar Creek Fire suppression; high trail use)

Information - Willamette National Forest, Middle Fork Ranger District

Primary old growth features

Mountain hemlock old growth.

Description

The upper trailhead for the Fuji Mountain Trail (3674) has long offered a relatively easy path to the summit of Fuji Mountain through a fine stand of old-growth mountain hemlock. Fuji Mountain is the most easily accessible point over 7,000' in the Willamette National Forest, and is well known for its spectacular views of Waldo Lake and the Three Sisters. Now the summit also overlooks the aftermath of the massive Cedar Creek Fire (>127,000 acres) which burned over a large swath of land north and west of Waldo Lake in 2022. The trail and peak served as part of the containment lines for the fire, which finally burned out as the fire climbed the north and west flanks of the mountain in November 2022.

Start off in a plantation on a short spur trail before entering the old forest. Stay left where the spur trail joins the Fuji Mountain Trail and continue on to the summit. The trail ascends gently at first through old-growth mountain hemlock, then finally switchbacks up more steeply to the rocky crest. Expect to share the mountain, a popular summertime destination.

The west side of the trail has been highly modified by fire suppression work in 2022 along most of its length. All small trees have been cut, some large trees have been cut, and the cleared zone and trail were used to anchor backburns intended to link to the main wildfire and halt the fire’s progress. The result is a two-toned trail with very open, modified conditions on one side, and the more natural old forest on the other side. These differences will be become less obvious with time.

The top of Fuji Mountain offers breathtaking views of the fire’s effects. Large areas of high-severity fire stretch out below the peak and for 8-10 miles to the north and west. Smaller areas of more mixed-severity fires are also evident, especially on the south-facing slopes above Black Creek.

25 years of change

Use of the trail as a fire control line has substantially affected one side of the trail; views of the fire’s effects from the top are quite dramatic.

How to get there

Turn left (north) onto Eagle Creek Road (FR 5883) from Highway 58 just east of the railroad trestle, 14 miles southeast of Oakridge. The trail is on the left and parking on the right 11 ½ miles up the road. Note that views of portions of the Warner Creek Fire (1991) that reburned in the Cedar Creek Fire (2022) are visible from the road on the way up.