Road trip guide: Conquering Blue Ridge in Siskiyou County
Blue Ridge is a high mountain peak at an elevation of 1.814m (5,951ft) above the sea level, located in Siskiyou County in the U.S. state of California.
Set high in the northernmost part of California, in the Klamath National Forest, the road to the summit is totally unpaved. A 4x4 vehicle is required. At the summit there’s a lookout tower. Built in 1934, the Blue Ridge Lookout Tower was used during the WWII as an Aircraft Warning Station and is still staffed each year for fire detection.
The road to the summit is very steep, hitting a 17% of maximum gradient through some of the ramps. Starting at Sawyers Bar, on the North Fork Salmon River, the ascent is 15.2km (9.4 miles) long. Over this distance the elevation gain is 1.153 meters. The average gradient is 7.58%.
Pic: Jason H.