West Ridge Ash Creek Butte

I had scouted this route and “trail” the weekend before and was intrigued enough to come back on July 30, 2005 to actually climb Ash Creek Butte. I got up early in Medford, Oregon and drove south to Weed and then north on Hwy 97 to the Deer Run turn off. Once I left Hwy 97 , there were no other cars on the road and it was a pleasant drive all the way to the “trailhead” on the west side of Ash Creek Butte. I marked my position with the GPS because I always want to be able to find my car after I summit. I headed east up an old logged over area that was quite steep. The logged area ended and I continued up through the well spaced trees to the top of the ridge line. This was about an 800 foot climb in ¼ mile. I marked the top of the ridgeline again with my GPS so that I could return to my car the same way I ascended. Thankfully, the slope from here to the summit was not as steep. I could see the summit through the trees and knew I had to walk around the bowl of the crater, so I turned southeast and followed the ridge line up to the summit. The terrain was easy to cross until I got up above the bowl and then there was some rock hopping, but nothing too extreme.