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Local quick reference for Cave Junction, Kerby, Selma, O'Brien, Takilma and the rest of the Illinois Valley (Josephine County, southern Oregon). Every local map and guide on this drive is listed, with a one-line description, in LOCAL-FILES.html (same folder as this page).
Built for the long haul. This pack is meant to stay useful even if normal services, stores and law enforcement are gone. Practical how-to comes first; where laws and seasons matter while they're still enforced, there's a short note.
How current is this? Gathered in November 2026 from official sources (county, state, NOAA, ODFW, Forest Service, club websites). Phone numbers, radio nets and seasons change. Anything marked (verify) came from a less official source.
Maps\, with no cell service).START-Windows (or START-Mac) in the OfflineLibrary folder on the drive. It's one search box for everything here (including this folder and Wikipedia), and it answers with sources. Ask it a few things now so you know how long answers take on your machine.Earthquake-Tsunami\ Oregon OEM My Pocket Plan 2023 (fill it in — meeting places, out-of-area contact).📚 Go deeper: Be 2 Weeks Ready toolkit — water, food and family plans step by step; FEMA Are You Ready? — the national checklist.
| Station | Frequency | Transmitter | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| WXL85 | 162.400 MHz | Medford (Nugget Butte) | Officially covers eastern Josephine County |
| WWF97 | 162.475 MHz | Mt. Ashland | Officially listed for all of Josephine County, but about 48 mi away |
| KIH37 | 162.550 MHz | Palmer Butte, near Brookings | Coast — Curry and Del Norte alerts, not Josephine |
The county's official emergency media list: KOBI, KTVL, KDRV (TV) · KLDR, KAJO, KXCJ (radio) · Illinois Valley News.
| Station | Where | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| KXCJ 105.7 FM (also 101.3 FM) | Cave Junction | Volunteer Illinois Valley community radio |
| KCNA 102.7 FM | Cave Junction | Carries Emergency Alert System messages |
| JPR 89.5 FM / 90.9 FM | Cave Junction | Jefferson Public Radio (Classics & News / Rhythm & News) |
| KAGI 930 AM / 97.9 FM | Grants Pass | JPR News & Information |
| KAJO 1270 AM (also 99.7 FM) | Grants Pass | Named on the county's emergency media list |
| KLDR 98.3 FM | Grants Pass area | Named on the county's emergency media list |
| KOBI-TV Ch. 5 (Ch. 49 Grants Pass) | Medford | The area's main Emergency Alert System station |
| Heading south on US-199 | JPR 89.1 Gasquet · KHEC 91.1 Crescent City · KPOD 1240 AM Crescent City |
(Sources: Josephine County "Stay Informed" page; Oregon EAS Plan 2022; FCC station records; ijpr.org.)
Josephine County Emergency Communications (JCEC) linked repeaters — all linked together:
| Frequency | Offset | Tone | Site |
|---|---|---|---|
| 145.490 | − | 136.5 | Eight Dollar Mtn — closest to Selma / Kerby / Cave Junction |
| 146.640 | − | 136.5 | Fiddler Mtn |
| 145.150 | − | 162.2 | Onion Mtn |
| 146.760 | − | 136.5 | Fielder |
| 146.270 | − | 136.5 | Elk Mt. |
| 146.860 | − | 136.5 | Big Meadow |
| 147.140 | + | 162.2 | Bluey Mt. |
| 147.340 | + | 136.5 | King Mt. |
| 147.300 | + | 136.5 | Gilbert Peak (Southern Oregon ARC club repeater) |
Regular nets (good to listen to now, so you know the voices and the routine):
(Sources: soarc.org/repeaters and /nets; ivarc.org. More detail on radio in the Radio Guide and the ARRL guides in Radio-Weather\. Protecting radios from an EMP or solar storm: EMP Guide.)
No radio, or no one to call? Morse code by flashlight, horn or mirror, the ground-to-air distress symbols, signal fires (careful in fire season), runners and written message forms: Signals & Morse Code. Organizing the neighbors (OK/HELP cards, a meeting spot, a skills list): Community & Barter.
📚 Go deeper: NOAA Weather Radio brochure, p. 3 — Oregon transmitters, and why mountain valleys get poor reception; ARRL ARES Field Resources Manual — nets, message forms, go-kit lists; ARRL ARES Plan — how ARES works with the county.
| Who | Phone | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency | 911 | |
| Josephine County Emergency Management | (541) 474-5300 | 250 Tech Way, Grants Pass |
| Sheriff — non-emergency | (541) 474-5123, option 3 | Cave Junction substation: 222 Lister St, (541) 592-5151 |
| Illinois Valley Fire District | (541) 592-2225 | 681 Caves Hwy, Cave Junction |
| Burn information line | (541) 476-9663 | Josephine County daily burn status |
| Oregon State Police — non-emergency | *OSP (*677) from a cell · 800-442-2068 | |
| Asante Three Rivers Medical Center (ER, 24/7) | (541) 472-7000 | 500 SW Ramsey Ave, Grants Pass |
| Sutter Coast Hospital (ER, 24/7) | (707) 464-8511 | 800 E Washington Blvd, Crescent City CA |
| Siskiyou Community Health Center — walk-in | (541) 592-4111 | 25647 Redwood Hwy, Cave Junction, Mon–Fri 8–5. There is no 24-hour ER in the Illinois Valley. |
| Oregon Poison Center | 1-800-222-1222 | 24/7 |
| Josephine County Public Health | (541) 474-5325 | Answered 24/7 |
| Road conditions | 511 · 800-977-6368 · Caltrans (800) 427-7623 | TripCheck.com |
| Pacific Power outages | 1-877-508-5088 · text OUT to 722797 | |
| American Red Cross | 1-800-733-2767 | |
| 211info (help finding services) | 211 · 866-698-6155 · text ZIP to 898211 | |
| Oregon Caves National Monument | (541) 592-5125 | 19000 Caves Hwy |
| Dr. Joe's Pet Hospital (dogs & cats) | (541) 592-4589 | 369 Caves Hwy, Cave Junction, Mon–Thu |
| Crossroads Animal Hospital | (541) 592-3222 | 421 Caves Hwy, Cave Junction (verify) |
| Massie Vet — mobile large & small animal | (541) 636-1191 (call/text) | Central Point; ask whether they reach Cave Junction |
| Southern Oregon Veterinary Specialty Center (pets, 24/7 ER) | (541) 282-7711 | 4901 Biddle Rd, Central Point |
| OSU large-animal hospital (24/7 phone advice) | (541) 737-2858 | Corvallis |
| Oregon State Veterinarian (sick/dead livestock reports) | 503-986-4711 · 1-800-347-7028 | |
| Forest Service — Wild Rivers Ranger District | (541) 592-4000 | 26568 Redwood Hwy, Cave Junction |
| ODFW — Central Point office | (541) 826-8774 | 1495 E Gregory Rd, Central Point |
| OSP poaching tip line (TIP) | 1-800-452-7888 · *OSP | |
| OSU Extension — Josephine County | (541) 241-3050 | 3345 Redwood Hwy, Grants Pass — gardening & canning help |
When no one can come, first aid and medicines: Medical guide.
Bleeding, wounds, burns, broken bones, snakebite and nursing someone for weeks with no hospital: Injuries & Illness When No Help Is Coming.
Birth with no hospital, newborn care, childhood illness and teaching children at home: Childbirth, Newborns & Young Children.
📚 Go deeper: Josephine County Emergency Operations Plan 2025 — who does what in a county emergency; Where There Is No Animal Doctor — when the vet can't come.
| Level | Means | Do |
|---|---|---|
| 1 — BE READY (green) | Danger in the area | Pack, plan your route, move people with special needs, pets and livestock early. |
| 2 — BE SET (yellow) | Significant danger | Be ready to leave at a moment's notice. Leaving now is fine. "This may be the only notice you receive." |
| 3 — GO NOW (red) | Leave immediately | Don't stop to gather things or protect the house. "This will be the last notice you receive." |
The state's advice: leave whenever you feel unsafe — you don't need to wait for a notice. Alerts come by Citizen Alert, Wireless Emergency Alerts on phones, radio/TV, door-to-door, and ham radio.
Medications and medical devices · glasses · food and plenty of water · important documents · phone chargers · battery AM/FM radio · first-aid kit · flashlight · N95 masks · long sleeves, long pants, sturdy shoes, hat. Plan two routes out. Move livestock early.
Make one cleaner-air room (windows shut, AC on recirculate). A DIY air cleaner = a box fan (made 2012 or later, UL/ETL label) + a MERV-13 furnace filter. Unplug it when you leave the house. Use N95 masks outdoors.
Details: the Wildfire\ folder (Ready-Set-Go guide, OSFM defensible-space guide, OSU fire-resistant plants, EPA/OHA smoke sheets). Fire news: swofire.com (ODF Southwest Oregon).
📚 Go deeper: Evacuation levels flyer and checklist — print for the fridge; ODF Josephine County handout — defensible space on one page; EPA Wildfire Smoke Guide, p. 61 — setting up a cleaner-air room; Wildfire prep for pets and livestock.
🔥 When no one is coming: the Wildfire guide covers reading fire danger with no forecast, hardening the house, water with no power, stay or go, and the days after.
Details: Earthquake-Tsunami\ (Living on Shaky Ground, 2 Weeks Ready toolkit, Cascadia scenario, tsunami evacuation maps for Brookings-Harbor, Gold Beach, Crescent City, Smith River).
Bolting the house to its foundation, bracing cripple walls, chimneys, roof and window repair, and building with logs or earth: Shelter, Building & Repair. Cob, straw bale, clay and lime plasters, and which natural walls stand up to a quake: Natural Building.
📚 Go deeper: FEMA P-530 Earthquake Safety at Home — strapping the water heater, bolting the house; Living on Shaky Ground — Oregon's quake and tsunami guide.
Nuclear-Radiation\.📚 Go deeper: CDC: Get Inside, Stay Inside, Stay Tuned — where to shelter, on one page; Nuclear War Survival Skills — expedient shelters and fallout meters.
Topo maps (Maps\Topo-USGS, Maps\Forest-Service) are GeoPDFs: open them in the free Adobe Acrobat Reader on a PC (the Layers panel turns contours, roads and aerial photos on/off; the Measure tool → Geospatial Location shows latitude/longitude), or in Avenza Maps on a phone to see your live GPS position. FSTopo maps show Forest Service road numbers and trails; the USGS maps are the standard topo series.
Which map covers what (north at top):
| West ← | → East | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North | Silver Peak | York Butte | Chrome Ridge (Briggs Valley) | Onion Mtn | Wilderville | Grants Pass |
| Tincup Peak | Pearsoll Peak (Illinois River Falls) | Eight Dollar Mtn | Selma (Lake Selmac, Wonder) | Murphy Mtn | Murphy | |
| Chetco Peak (Vulcan Lake) | Josephine Mtn (Babyfoot Lake) | Cave Junction (Kerby) | Holland | Kerby Peak | Williams | |
| Biscuit Hill | Buckskin Peak | O'Brien | Takilma | Oregon Caves | Grayback Mtn | |
| South (CA) | High Plateau Mtn | Shelly Creek Ridge | Broken Rib Mtn (US-199 tunnel) | Polar Bear Mtn | Deadman Point | Figurehead Mtn |
Big-picture maps: USFS Wild Rivers Ranger District Map (whole district, 1 inch = 1 mile) and USFS Grants Pass 1-100000 Map (the whole valley on one sheet). Road maps: the ODOT Josephine County sheets (Maps\Road; Illinois Valley sheet). Street maps for the whole US are also in the main OsmAnd\ folder (how to view them).
Forest roads: the Motor Vehicle Use Maps (MVUM) show which forest roads are drivable and by what kind of vehicle — useful for knowing which roads are real roads. Road signs: 2-digit numbers = main roads passable by cars; 4-digit horizontal = other car-passable roads; vertical markers = not maintained for passenger cars.
Kalmiopsis Wilderness: 180,000 acres, 500–5,098 ft (Pearsoll Peak). No motors or bikes; groups of no more than 12 people / 9 stock; trails are rough with standing dead trees from past fires.
📚 Go deeper: FSTopo Cave Junction — the valley floor with Forest Service road numbers; Eight Dollar Mountain trails; FM 21-76, p. 231 — finding direction without a compass.
While seasons and tags are still enforced, the 2026 rule booklets are in
Hunting\andFishing\(big game, fishing) (the 2027 big game and fishing booklets come out around December 2026 — see Keeping this current). With or without rules, the units, waters and seasons below tell you where game and fish are, and when — and leaving breeding animals and spawning runs alone is what keeps them there next year.
Hunting units: US-199 is the line. West of the highway (Illinois River canyon, Kalmiopsis) is Chetco Unit 27 (82% public land). East of it (Lake Selmac, Takilma, Oregon Caves, Williams) is Applegate Unit 28 (57% public land). In Cave Junction, Kerby, Selma and O'Brien, which side of the highway you're on decides the unit. North of the Rogue at Grants Pass is Evans Creek Unit 29.
2026 general seasons, for orientation (check the current booklet): western Oregon buck rifle Oct 3–Nov 6 · archery deer & elk Aug 29–Sep 27 · Unit 28 coast elk rifle Nov 14–17 and Nov 21–27 (Unit 27 is controlled hunts only) · black bear Aug 1–Dec 31 · cougar all year (quotas) — bear and cougar must be checked in at ODFW within 10 days · grouse and quail Sep 1–Jan 31 · fall turkey Sep 1–Jan 31 · spring turkey Apr 15–May 31. Chronic wasting disease has not been found in Oregon (it has in CA, ID and WA).
Fishing nearby (2026–27 rules):
Details, maps and fish ID: Hunting\ and Fishing\. Game care: Big Game from Hunt to Home (OSU), the NDSU Wild Side of the Menu series, canning, jerky and smoking guides. How-to: Hunting\How-To (hunter-ed handbook, shot placement, blood trailing, gutless quartering of deer and elk, bear skinning, plucking birds, track ID) and Fishing\How-To (knots, rigs, casting, cleaning and filleting).
Game meat safety:
Local game and its habits, field dressing in hot weather, butchering, snares and fish traps, and game diseases: Hunting, Trapping & Fishing for Food.
📚 Go deeper: Big Game from Hunt to Home, p. 4 — field care, cooling, chronic wasting disease; Native fishes of the Rogue River — fish ID poster; Identifying adult salmon and steelhead.
How-to: start with the national Trapper Education Manual and the NY trapper manual (trap types, baits, water and land sets, snares, running a trapline, fur handling), then the species guides (beaver, coyote, raccoon, bobcat, gray fox). For improvised traps with no store-bought gear, see the 1907 Deadfalls and Snares (illustrated) and the snare and deadfall chapters of the Army survival manuals (Manuals\ArmyFieldManuals; FM 21-76, p. 95). Hides and furs: USDA Home Tanning of Leather and Small Fur Skins.
While Oregon's rules are still enforced (details in the 2026–2028 furbearer booklet in Trapping\):
📚 Go deeper: Furbearer booklet, p. 16 — wolf vs coyote, side by side; Best Management Practices for Trapping — humane, selective sets.
Climate at Cave Junction (NOAA 1991–2020 normals, station at 1,377 ft):
| Typical date | Play it safe | |
|---|---|---|
| Last spring frost (32 °F) | May 1 | 1-in-10 years it's after May 23 |
| Last chilly night (36 °F) — matters in frost pockets | May 28 | 1-in-10 after June 17 |
| First fall frost (32 °F) | Oct 12 | 1-in-10 years it's before Sep 23 |
| Frost-free growing season | ~161 days | at least 133 days 9 years out of 10 |
Making flour, masa, sourdough, salt and syrup from local resources, and bread, tortillas and pasta from them: see the Food From Scratch guide. Keeping seed going year after year: Seed Bank Guide. Storing the harvest with no power: Root Cellar Guide.
Details: Gardening-Food\ — OSU vegetable, orchard, berry, soil, compost and seed-saving guides; winter gardening west of the Cascades; the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning; freezing, pickling, root-cellar storage; chicken coop and laying-hen feeding; beekeeping; the 1983 Josephine County soil survey (text, plus the full scan with soil maps).
How much food a household needs for a year, storing it, rationing it fairly, avoiding scurvy and other deficiency diseases, and a month-by-month local foraging calendar: Food When It's Scarce.
Canning safely at our elevation (and what to do with no pressure canner), drying, smoking, curing and fermenting: Preserving Food Without a Freezer.
📚 Go deeper: Soil Survey, p. 13 — the valley's serpentine (ultramafic) soils; OSU Growing Your Own — a whole Oregon garden season; OSU Preserving Dry Beans — a staple that stores.
Water\ EPA - Emergency Disinfection of Drinking Water.Water\). Rainwater collection rules for Oregon are in Water\ too.Wells, pumps and springs — running the well pump with no grid, hand and ram pumps, spring boxes and cisterns: Water Wells, Pumps, Springs & Cisterns. Making any water safe — settling, homemade sand, biosand and clay filters, charcoal, boiling, bleach and pool shock: Water Purification.
Toilets when the sewer or septic pump stops, handwashing with little water, and stopping dysentery or cholera from spreading: Sanitation, Hygiene & Stopping Disease.
📚 Go deeper: OSU Survival Basics: Water, p. 3 — bleach drops per quart, step by step; Wilderness Medical Society guidelines — boiling, filters and chemicals compared; CAWST biosand filter manual — build a household filter.
Start with the US Navy NEETS modules (electricity basics, AC, circuit protection, wiring, generators) in Off-Grid-Power\Electrical-Basics, then the solar guides, then the micro-hydro handbooks in Off-Grid-Power\Micro-Hydro.
Generators
Sizing a solar system (Sandia and IEA guides)
Sizing creek hydro (NRCan, NCAT)
While Oregon's water laws are enforced: hydropower needs a state water right, and most Illinois Valley creeks are closed to hydro by state rule, including the Illinois River and its forks, Althouse, Sucker, Deer, Josephine, Rough and Ready and many more (OAR 690-515-0050). The OWRD guides and forms are in Micro-Hydro\.
Step by step — sizing solar for our cloudy winters, salvaged panels and batteries, wiring and fuses, lithium safety, and measuring a creek for hydro: Off-Grid Power.
📚 Go deeper: CPSC generator hazards — carbon monoxide, backfeeding, fuel; Sandia, p. 20 — a worked solar sizing example; USBR Water Measurement Manual — measuring creek flow.
Everything is in Homestead-Skills\ — start with the short Practical Action briefs (illustrated, step by step), then the longer manuals. For everyday necessities — cleaners, laundry soap, tooth powder, fire starters, oil lamps, glue, mending, tire sandals, pads and diapers — see the Make-Do Household Guide in this folder. For forging, heat-treating scrap steel, and making or sharpening hand tools, see Blacksmithing and Hand Tools.
Firewood (OSU, heat per cord when dry): Oregon white oak and madrone ≈ 30 million BTU, Douglas-fir ≈ 21, alder ≈ 18, ponderosa pine ≈ 17. Each 1% of extra moisture costs about 1% of the heat: split and stack wood through one dry summer (two is better) and keep it covered through the rains. A good stove is 60–80% efficient; an open fireplace 10–15%.
Carbon monoxide kills. Never run a generator, grill, charcoal, camp stove or a wood-gas unit indoors, in a garage or near windows. CO feels like flu without a fever. A battery CO alarm near the bedrooms is cheap insurance. A wood-gas generator keeps making CO-rich gas for ~20 minutes after the engine stops.
Lye (for soap and biodiesel): wear gloves and goggles, keep children away, add lye to cold water a little at a time (never water to lye), never use aluminum pots. On skin or in eyes: flush with lots of water for a long time (not vinegar).
Methanol (for biodiesel): very flammable, vapors creep along the ground to flames, absorbed through the skin, and swallowing it causes blindness. Work outdoors, away from any flame.
Stored fuel: gasoline stays good about 6 months (longer with stabilizer), diesel 6–12 months. Approved cans, outside the house, in a tub to catch spills.
Sanitation is what keeps disease away when water and sewer stop: the OSU twin-bucket toilet, then a proper latrine (Army FM 21-10, the WHO notes) at least 100 ft downhill from any well or creek, and handwashing with soap every time.
While laws are enforced: making fuel alcohol needs a free federal TTB permit first; Oregon requires permits for graywater systems and composting toilets/privies; and burning needs a Josephine County burn permit and a burn day ((541) 476-9663).
Firewood — which local trees burn best, how much you need, felling, splitting, drying, chimneys and ashes: Firewood.
Dressing for our wet winters, mending, wool from sheep to yarn, tanning hides and fixing shoes: Clothing, Leather & Shoes.
📚 Go deeper: CPSC: Carbon Monoxide, the Invisible Killer — symptoms and alarms; Practical Action soap-making brief — lye safety and soap step by step; Penn State biodiesel safety — methanol and lye handling.
Start with Animals\Veterinary\Where There Is No Animal Doctor — the illustrated handbook for exactly this situation — then the species books (Raising Healthy Goats / Sheep / Cattle / Pigs / Poultry / Rabbits / Horses).
Normal vital signs at rest (Merck Veterinary Manual). Excitement, heat and work raise all three, so compare with the same animal when calm:
| Animal | Temperature (°F) | Heart (beats/min) | Breaths/min |
|---|---|---|---|
| Horse | 99.0–100.8 | 28–40 | 10–14 |
| Cow (dairy) | 100.4–102.8 | 48–84 | 26–50 |
| Sheep | 100.9–103.8 | 70–80 | 16–34 |
| Goat | 101.3–103.5 | 70–80 | — |
| Pig | 101.6–103.6 | 70–120 | 32–58 |
| Rabbit | 101.5–104.2 | 180–350 | — |
| Dog | 99.5–102.5 | 70–120 | 18–34 |
| Chicken | 105–109 | — | — |
Births:
Horse colic (pawing, rolling, looking at the flank, no manure): don't force-feed, don't put a hose down the throat, don't repeat painkillers.
Humane euthanasia: see the illustrated UF guide (aim points by species) and the AVMA guidelines. Hold the firearm a few inches from the head; adult cattle and horses need a 9mm/.357 or larger — a .22 may not penetrate an adult skull.
Poisonous plants: most have no antidote. Poisoning mostly happens to hungry, stressed or newly moved animals — don't turn hungry stock onto weedy ground. Watch for tansy ragwort, poison and water hemlock, yew and oak (USDA color guide in Animals\Planning-...).
Predators: cougar, bear and coyote all take livestock here. Guardian dogs, solid night-time housing, electric fencing and not leaving feed out are the proven defenses (USDA guardian-dog guides, ODFW cougar and bear brochures).
Wildfire: evacuate animals early and in daylight; have 2–3 destinations. The Josephine County Fairgrounds (Grants Pass, (541) 476-3215) has sheltered evacuated livestock, and Southern Oregon Emergency Aid volunteers move livestock for free ((541) 226-1124 — call before it's urgent). If animals must stay: a grazed-down pasture, gates open, 7–10 days of water and feed.
Stock up now: since 2023, livestock antibiotics need a vet's prescription. Ask your vet now about a basic kit for your animals (wound care, dewormers, antibiotics, calcium for milk fever, electrolytes) — Drugs and Their Usage explains doses and withdrawal times.
Horses, mules and donkeys — choosing, feeding, hoof care and shoeing, riding, packing and harness work: Horses, Mules and Draft Animals and Horses-Draft-Animals\.
Rabbits and chickens — meat and eggs on little bought feed, hatching chicks, predators, butchering: Chickens and Rabbits.
Milk goats, cheese and bees — selenium-poor Oregon soils, kidding, butter, cheese with homemade rennet, swarms and varroa: Goats, Milk, Butter & Cheese and Bees.
📚 Go deeper: Where There Is No Animal Doctor, p. 65 — examining a sick animal; Nebraska calving guide — helping a cow calve; Zoonoses — diseases animals give people; Tansy ragwort (WSU).
📷 Not sure what it is? Photograph it with the plant and mushroom identifier (🔧 Tools tab). It suggests names and flags poisonous groups, but it's often wrong: confirm every feature here before you eat or use anything.
Never eat a wild plant or mushroom you can't identify with certainty. Cooking does not make a poisonous mushroom safe. If someone may be poisoned: Oregon Poison Center 1-800-222-1222.
| Deadly | Grows | Mistaken for | Tell-tale signs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western waterhemlock — most poisonous plant in North America | Wet ground, ditches, creek edges | Water parsley, wild carrot, cow parsnip | Root and stem base are hollow with chambered cross-walls (photo); a walnut-sized piece of root can kill |
| Poison hemlock | Roadsides, pastures, disturbed ground | Wild carrot (Queen Anne's lace), parsnip, parsley, fennel | Hairless stem with purple spots (drawing) |
| Death camas | Meadows | Edible camas bulbs, wild onion | Bulbs have no onion smell (photos) |
| Foxglove | Garden escape, clearings | Comfrey (before it flowers) | Has caused fatal "comfrey tea" poisonings |
| Death cap mushroom (photos) | Under oaks and filberts | Puffballs (young), paddy-straw mushrooms | Poisoned 5 Oregonians in 1988 — 4 needed liver transplants |
Details: Wild-Plants\ — USDA Plants Poisonous to Livestock in the Western States (color photos), PNW waterhemlock and death camas guides, death cap ID sheets, the Forest Service Special Forest Products Species Guide and Wild Edible Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest, OSU guides to stinging nettle and elderberries.
Mushrooms: the Mushroom Guide covers our local killers and their look-alikes, spore prints, what to do after a bad meal, the good edibles (chanterelle, hedgehog, morel, bolete, oyster), drying, and growing shiitake and oysters. Books in Mushrooms\.
📚 Go deeper: Protect your horses and livestock from toxic plants, p. 34 — poison and water hemlock side by side; PNW 109, p. 1 — waterhemlock's hollow, chambered stem; CDC: death cap poisonings, 2017 — what happened to people who ate them.
Walking-Routes\WALKING-ROUTES.html has routes on foot from Cave Junction to every Oregon city and Northern California down to Walnut Creek (359 cities), each with two walking options, a bicycle route with riding hours, the normal driving time and fuel needed, printable turn-by-turn directions, and a GPX track to load into OsmAnd, Avenza or Gaia (shows the route and where you are, no signal needed).
| Destination | Highway route | Back roads |
|---|---|---|
| Grants Pass, OR | 29 mi · 2 days | 40 mi · 3 days |
| Crescent City, CA | 53 mi · 4 days | 64 mi · 4 days |
| Medford, OR | 59 mi · 4 days | 62 mi · 4 days |
| Brookings, OR | 70 mi · 5 days | 97 mi · 6 days |
| Roseburg, OR | 101 mi · 7 days | 122 mi · 8 days |
| Klamath Falls, OR | 131 mi · 9 days | 141 mi · 9 days |
| Eureka, CA | 137 mi · 9 days | 149 mi · 10 days |
| Eugene, OR | 172 mi · 11 days | 195 mi · 13 days |
| Redding, CA | 206 mi · 14 days | 215 mi · 14 days |
| Bend, OR | 219 mi · 15 days | 244 mi · 16 days |
| Salem, OR | 231 mi · 15 days | 261 mi · 17 days |
| Portland, OR | 278 mi · 19 days | 314 mi · 21 days |
| Sacramento, CA | 368 mi · 25 days | 394 mi · 26 days |
| Walnut Creek, CA | 404 mi · 27 days | 450 mi · 30 days |
Days assume 15 miles a day with a pack. Neither route knows about washed-out or burned bridges, landslides, snow, fire, water or food — plan water for every day.
Map and compass, finding north without one, and reading the weather on the way: Navigation & Weather. Moving loads by bike, trailer or handcart, and keeping a bike running: Bicycles, Carts & Hauling.
📚 Go deeper: FM 21-76, p. 231 — direction finding without a compass; OSU Survival Basics: Water — treating water on the way; Horse packing (USFS 1943) — if you go with pack animals.
🎒 Before you set out: loads, packs, feet, water, camps, river crossings and safety on the road are in On Foot.
LOCAL-FILES.html, run the installer again and pick the same drive. It retries anything that failed.📚 Go deeper: ODFW 2026 big game regulations and furbearer booklet — compare dates with the newest booklets; Josephine County Emergency Operations Plan — check contacts against it.
Look before you try it. 🖼️ = drawings in the books on this drive; 📷 = photos in the offline Wikipedia.
Plants and animals that can hurt you
Fire, quake and fallout
The land, fish and trees