Buck Mountain-Buck Rim Trail (#3075) is another ridge-top trail in the Blue Mountains that drops down to Umatilla Forks. This is actually a continuation of the Umatilla Rim Trail if you want to make it a point-to-point 20+ mile trail run that ends with and thigh-screaming plunge down to Buck Creek. The other option is to start at the bottom if you want to just do some fitness hill climb intervals. The trail is in good condition with many tight curvy switchbacks that will take you up to a nice vantage point. You can do some additional intervals up the Ninemile Trail, which starts in the same place this trail starts.
Despite its allure as a Steep Hill Interval Training trail taken from the bottom, I have shown it here starting at the top end where the "no bike" sign is at the end of the Umatilla Rim Trail.
It is a straightforward trail with no other trail intersections, whereby you can't get lost if you just stay on top of the ridge. There are some cabins and a Forest Service camp at the bottom of this trail by the Buck Creek Trailhead. At the top there is no trailhead, so the closest access is to drive the reverse of the Umatilla Rim Loopback route until you reach a point in the road where it is closed. Then, you can go over the berms and continue backtracking on the route shown there, which will connect you to the start of this trail. Another options is to go to the trailhead for the Lake Creek Trail and follow that to the intersection with Umatilla Rim and then follow that west to the end where it transitions into this trail.
