On my way home from activating Pelican Butte I took a detour to see if Rye Spur was accessible for a future date. Take the turn towards Fourmile Lake (FS RD 3661) off of 140 the turn right on FS RD 360, then right FS RD 363. It turned out we were able to drive the FS RD 363 pretty close to the summit and chose to hike the short walk up and do a very quick activation. It was probably about a half mile up with a gradual, easy ascent. The last of the road going in is very tight and a bit rough. It dead ends at a good turn around with fire pit. You can skip the last stretch of the rough road and just hike up the west side and it won't be much further or difficult. Rye Spur is a slender north-south ridge and the road just goes along the west side of it. No trail, just walk up through Winema NF and enjoy. Lots of mushrooms when we went.
2022 update: a tree was across the spur road so I hiked the west ridge up a little before the dead end. Nice forested hike. Hard to find a spot to park. I am guessing the tree will be gone soon. This was the first time I activated not in a hurry and found a great viewpoint near the true summit. Great activation!
Also... as you drive out the spur, keep an eye to the left. There is a lava flow you can get a great view of Mcloughlin
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