Lilly has been on my list for a while as Matt, KC7OOY, mentioned it was a beautiful mountain. I am so glad I finally made it. As with many summits in the area, what you see on a map isn't always the truth when it comes to roads so I didn't go the way I had planned but it was a beautiful hike with great window views of Scraggy Mountain, White Mountain and others around the Red Buttes Wilderness through the timber. Along the trek are some very fascinating rocks. Lots of quartz that looks like lumps of snow from a distance and shiney silver mica like stone. A lot of cool rock hounding for those interested.
Take Beaver Cr Rd, FS RD 20, from Applegate side (20 has been horribly washboardy!) until right on Maple Dell Gap Rd 2015, then continue at intersection to 2015-410. Road 2015-417 does not exist. It is bermed pretty good, so we drove on past Rd 2015-420 to 1075-500. I don't think these were all marked but what is on my map. Basically take the main dirt road towards Lilly from Maple Dell Gap and you can jeep it as far as you wish and then hike up the remainder, which on my maps is a west side trail. The hike is a very enjoyable trek up the west ridge starting out as old road and then there is a motorcycle trail (or some sort of well used trail) most of the way up until the last few hundred feet climb. Lots of pink ribbon marking the way when I went. A nice, gradual hike, <2.5mi RT hike.
I recommend Lilly especially for a hike you are looking for some shade or a mix of shade and sun. It was a chilly morning but up on top the sun felt good. There was plenty of room to choose shade or sun. Trees or big rocks. Beautiful mountain.
After Lilly, I did Dutchman and then Big Red. The Siskiyou Crest is a great place to do multiple activations in one day and have some fantastic views and diverse Siskiyou Mtn experience. If I did these in the heat of summer I would finish with Lilly as it is probably the only one with shade for both the hike and activation.
Enjoy! de AG7GP
