Perkins (Morris) Cedar Grove

ByMatt

Perkins Cedar Grove

 

I think I’ve mentioned before that there are a number of cedar groves, stands of old-growth Western Red Cedar, nearby. I’ve already posted about the Hobo Cedar Grove out near Clarkia and Grandfather Mountains. Several times I’ve been to the Giant Cedar out near Elk River. On our way into Idaho when I moved out here, Erin and I stopped at the DeVoto Cedar Grove along Rt. 12. There is a cedar grove on Moscow Mountain, but I haven’t been up there to explore it yet. The last one that I know of in the immediate area is also near Elk River on the way to the Giant Tree. Its the Morris Creek Cedar Grove, recently renamed the Perkins Cedar Grove.

To get there, follow the North Basin road out of Elk River as if you were going to the Giant Tree. There will be a left turn with a sign for the Perkins Cedar Grove a few miles up. Turn here and follow this road, keeping right at all intersections. You will rise above 4000 feet to a parking area along Morris Creek. The trail through the cedar grove is short, only a half mile, but it looks as though it sees far fewer people than either the Giant Tree or the Hobo Cedar Grove.

My first impression was that this is a nice patch of forest, but the trees aren’t nearly as large as the Hobo Grove, but as I got further into the loop, I rescinded my thoughts. There are a number of impressive trees up here along with an understory of ferns, trillium, and calypso orchid. It’s a very nice stroll through the woods, but nothing challenging. I would pair this with the Giant Tree and the falls for a complete day in Elk River.

Old growth forests are rare to come by these days. If they haven’t been logged by the lumber companies, many stands have burned due to years of fire suppression causing massive wildfires to erupt. It’s really nice to walk through stands of trees so old, they were standing long before Europeans came to America. There are four such stands that I know of within two hours of Moscow. There are a few more farther afield. I had been meaning to check out this grove since we arrived in Idaho almost two years ago. We’d always time our trips to the big tree such that we’d be hungry right after, so we had always passed up the extra trip to the Morris grove. Last year, the road was closed for construction, so we were unable to get to the grove. Finally, I made it a point to go up there and check it out. I’m glad I did.

Similar Posts

  • |

    Porcupine Mountains, Memorial Day Weekend

    Lake of the Clouds Originally uploaded by Up Nort. This Memorial Day weekend was exactly what I needed. It was a weekend away from civilization getting some good physical exercise and getting in touch with the real world. The Porcupine Mountains are simply amazing. Its Michigan’s largest state park and on a scale of 1-10, I give this park an 11. Parts of the park are covered in old-growth timber including some impressive hemlock stands. Other parts were once mined for iron and are covered in a very healthy secondary growth. Several spots are muddy and wet with marsh marigold…

  • Asotin Creek… sort of.

    The photo above was taken in February of 2010, my first visit to Asotin Creek. I’ve been back a couple of times as it is usually a reliable winter hike that is free of snow. I had never gone down in the spring when everything is green, and certainly not in the summer when temperatures can reach the 100 degree mark. So it was that Erin and I decided to spend a day down at Asotin Creek. The local wildflowers should be in bloom, and the hills might show hints of colors other than the drab brown of dried grass….

  • |

    View from Mount Rogers

    View from Mount Rogers Originally uploaded by mineral2. Oops! I promised a detailed account of my Mount Rogers extravagansa, but forgot to post about it here. So here it is, almost two months late. Of course, you can visit the photo galleries for photos as they are now up there. But here’s my adventure: Sunday: I left Alabama on Sunday. I said my good byes to everyone, including my 5-foot wild gray ratsnake rescue friend (hehehe), and my partings from Jen. We’re still together for now, but time shall tell if the distance thing works out. So anyway, I headed…

  • |

    Potlatch River

    Potlatch River, originally uploaded by Matthew Singer. There is a Forest Service hiking trail about 3 miles due north of our house, though it’s about 7 miles to drive there. Still, it’s close for those after-work getaways. The trail is a ~5mi. loop along the Potlatch River that takes you along the river and then up to the “rim” of the canyon. The first half mile or so is paved, but it then becomes a regular old trail through the woods. There are interpretive markers along the entire length. I have been down on the trail several times, but yesterday…

  • Freezeout

    The heatwave has hit the northwest. Today’s temperatures on the Palouse rose into the high 90’s, and tomorrow it may break 100. I wanted to hike so I can get in shape for backpacking next month, so I thought I’d take the dogs up to Freezeout Saddle and hike to Grandmother Mountain. But when I got up there, it was also hot and somewhat muggy, so we didn’t make it very far. I brought the camera, but got no pictures on this trip. The summer wildflowers are starting to bloom: beargrass was in its early stages, and the lupine had…

  • Grandmother and Grandfather Mountains

    Since my daughter was born a month ago, I haven’t been able to get out and stretch my legs on the trail. So when an opportunity came along to go hiking, I jumped at it. The past few weeks had been miserably hot, even to the point where escaping into the high elevations wouldn’t provide refuge from the heat. However, since nights were cool, the early morning hours were a pleasant time to be outside. So one morning, CJ and I hit up Spud Hill in Deary and made it down just in time for the heat to make life uncomfortable….