Rogers Ladder

Update 3/22/25: The road to Diamond Mill at Jones Creek is gated for logging. This may limit best access to the Rogers Creek area from Hwy 6. Another short tributary in the upper headwaters of Rogers Creek NW - about 1.5hrs from Portland. The upper part of the creek is inauspicious, but the real reason to run this one is four back-to-back rappels one immediately after the next ranging from 25-60ft in height. Each tier has a bench of less than 15ft between them, creating this ladder-like feature. Approach and exit are pretty easy/straightforward; it's even faster with a shuttle. Best in the spring when the creek has good water. It likely reduces to a trickle later in the summer months. Can be a fun day out when everything else is running high. This would be a terrific little creek if it were not so exceedingly slippery. Even simple downclimbs should be approached with caution as going for a tumble could be catastrophic. You may end out rappelling short drops that, in any other creek, you'd likely downclimb. Even specialized canyon footwear doesn't help.

From the upper parking area, head down the nose of the ridge and bear off to your left to drop into the drainage wherever is easiest. Use caution as the hillside seemed pretty unstable, although we visited just after a torrential rainstorm the day before. We dropped in just below a nice 30ft falls that looked like it'd be fun to rappel.

Head down the creek. There are a number of short drops that range in height from 5-25ft along the way. Caution is recommended as the creek is so slippery. Using a rope for rappelling or a handline is likely safer than trying to downclimb some of these obstacles. Use particular caution around any edges. Eventually, the creek turns a corner and you reach the top of the "ladder":