A compelling romp down the top of a ridge in the Blue Mountains
Ninemile is a pretty sweet stroll that stays mostly on the dry side of the ridge so it doesn't see tree fall or bushwack, which is good given that it isn't maintained much. The surface is rocky and falling away in a few places but otherwise it is a well-built trail. Horse trailers can't be parked easily at the bottom but they can at the top (Ninemile Trailhead) and since the trail has no water it doesn't see much traffic. It can serve as an interesting out and back from either end for a rugged getaway. It could also be an interesting shuttled run one way or a huge loop using one of the other trails by it. You can figure that out yourself with the interactive map for this area.
The trail is pretty simple to navigate. It starts at the Umatilla Rim Trail on the high side. Actually, the trail probably starts properly at the Ninemile Trailhead but here I just showed it from where it takes off from the Umatilla Rim Trail at a low key carsonite trail marker near Shamrock Spring. There are a few places the trail disappears in grassy meadows but overall you just stay on the ridge and you can't get lost. Eventually though, you take some seriously well developed long switchbacks to drop down to Umatilla Forks. The trail ends at the Buck Creek Trail (#3073) at an intersection with the Buck Mountain-Buck Rim Trail (#3075) and the Buck Creek & Lake Creek Trail (#3079) just a few feet up from the Buck Creek Trailhead.
