A COOL AND SHADY LOOP HIKE TO THE SUMMIT OF COUGAR PEAK WITH GOOD VIEWS

This is a cool and shady loop hike to what is left of the remains of a 1973 fire tower on top of the 8000 ft Cougar peak which is 50 miles east of Klamath Falls. The location of the peak is two miles north of the pretty Cottonwood Meadow Lake which BLM decided it was so scenic that they made a paved road to it.
This hike has two hiking opportunities for you.
The first one consists of a longer hike from the lower trailhead at the Cottonwood Meadow Lakes trailhead on the cougar creek trail followed by the N.R.T. (national recreation trail) to the summit. This will be a 3 mile one way hike with an elevation gain of 1800 ft.
The second choice is to start at the upper trailhead. We will need to drive 5 miles from the Cottonwood Meadows Lake on a good gravel road to an upper location trail junction at 6800 ft, where we meet up with the longer hike hikers. This will reduce the distance to the summit to 1.6 miles, having a total elevation gain of 1200 ft.
The N.R.T. is an older hike. When D&I hiked it we cleared it up, removing rocks and branches that had fallen on it. It is now in good shape.
There are several sections on the upper portion of the hike where the trail leads through rocky sections, and you will need to be careful on foot placement. Hiking poles and sturdy hiking boots are strongly advised on this INTERMEDIATE rated hike.
GETTING TO THE TRAILHEAD: From our meetup location at the lower parking lot at the Klamath Community College we will carpool east on RT140 for 70 miles, then turn left on the paved Cottonwood Meadows Road NF387 for 5 miles to the Cottonwood Meadows Lake. We will leave our meet up at KCC at 8 30 AM and arrive at the lake at 10 AM. From there we will split into the two groups.
Expect to reach the summit around noon, enjoy the 360-degree view while having lunch at the cool 8000 ft summit then heading back on the old road which is easier to follow and faster than the trail. We should be back to the respective trail heads early afternoon and start our drive back to Klamath arriving late afternoon.
WEATHER: Looks fine at this time with sunshine, light winds and cool temperatures in the mid 70 s.
BRING: Water, electrolytes, long pants, long sleeve shirt, hat, sunglasses, lunch, camera hiking poles, sturdy hiking boots and a smile
DOGS : Feel free to bring your pets. They're very likely to enjoy this hike and the cooler temperatures. I have been there about a half dozen times and have only seen a few cows, no people and no mosquitos,
QUESTIONS : call me at 541 273 2479 Hans