Sometimes the main purpose of a hike isn’t to see a sight but rather to step away from things and find a peaceful place in nature to reflect. My Grandmother turned 97 on 9/30/21, her last birthday after suffering a massive stroke just days earlier. We were able to drive up to her home in Portland on her birthday to visit and while she couldn’t speak she was able to respond and interact with her family that had gathered. We would be returning on Saturday afternoon to visit again when my Brother and his family arrived from Missouri but that morning we felt like getting outside and taking a nice long walk would be good. Since we were heading to Portland later we wanted a hike that was close to home to cut down on driving time so we decided to revisit the McDonald-Dunn Research Forest near Corvallis, OR.
This would be our fourth hike in McDonald Forest having previously hiked to McCulloch Peak (post), Dimple Hill (post) and Peavy Arboretum (post). Each of those three hike had been entirely unique with no steps retracing an earlier path. They had also mostly avoided the center and northwestern portions of the forest. For this hike we planned on visiting those two areas and had originally hoped to connect all three of our previous hikes. We were only able to connect two of the three though due to an active logging operation which closed a portion of the loop we’d planned.
We started our hike at a pullout by the Sulphur Springs Trail along Sulphur Springs Road.
We visited the springs first by following the Sulphur Springs Trail for a tenth of a mile.
Sulphur Springs
Soap Creek near Sulphur Springs.
We then returned to Sulphur Springs Road and turned left (west) following it for 0.4 miles through some residences to the Sulphur Springs Road Trailhead.
Sulphur Springs Road from the pullout.
Sulphur Springs Road Trailhead.
Our plan had been to combine a pair of hikes described in the Oregonhikers.org field guide, the McCulloch Peak Loop Hike and the Sulphur Springs via Alpha Trail Hike by connecting them using the gravel roads in the forest.
We continued on Sulphur Springs Road (Road 700) past an orange gate to the left of the signboard.
Approximately 1.5 miles beyond the gate we came to an intersection below a clearcut where pointers in both directions were labeled McCulloch Peak.
We followed the Oregonhikers guide and went right on Road 760. We followed this road for 0.4 miles to an the unmarked, unofficial Rocky Road Trail.
We stayed right at this junction with Road 761.
The Rocky Road Trail.
The sheer number of roads and trails (both official and unofficial) makes it really easy to get turned around in the forest so having plenty of maps and a plan handy helps. Roads and trails come and go as the forest is used for research purposes by Oregon State University. The Rocky Road Trail is an unofficial trail that follows an old road bed half a mile uphill before rejoining Road 760.
A good sized cedar along the trail.
Road 760 ahead.
We turned left on Road 760 and followed it for another quarter mile to a junction with Road 700 where we again turned left. Road 700 followed a ridge briefly providing views of the surrounding area then wrapped around a hillside and arriving at a junction with Road 7040 which was the first familiar sight to us.
Interesting patchwork of trees. We would have liked to have been able to see when each section had been harvested and replanted.
We couldn’t see much to the east due to the Sun’s position.
Mary’s Peak (post)
Road 7040 on the left.
We had returned down Road 7040 as part of our previous hike to McCulloch Peak but now we stuck to Road 700 for another quarter mile to a 4-way junction where we turned right on Raod 790.
Pointer for McCulloch Peak at the junction. We had come up from Road 700 on the right.
The rest of the 4-way junction. After visiting the peak we would head downhill following the pointer for Oak Creek.
We followed Road 790 a half mile to its end at the peak.
It was just a little hazy to get much of a view from the peak so we headed back by following an unofficial trail down from the summit to a spur road not shown on the maps which connected to Road 790 a tenth of a mile from the summit.
Trail to the spur road.
At the 4-way junction we followed Road 700 downhill for a little over three quarters of a mile to a junction with Road 680.
Fading pearly everlasting.
We stayed left here which was the shorter route.
Madrone
Tree island at the junction with Road 680.
We had originally planned on taking Road 680 from the junction but a short distance up that road there was an unofficial trail showing on the Oregonhikers Field Guide Map which looked like it would cut some distance off our hike. The trail was obvious and had even been recently brushed.
This trail began with a short climb then headed downhill reaching a junction with the Uproute and Extendo Trail near Road 680.
Nearing the trail junction.
Poison oak climbing trees.
Signs for the Uproute and Extendo Trails.
Road 680
We turned right onto Road 680 and followed it a half mile to a signboard at Road 600.
At this signboard was a notice that a portion of Road 600 was closed so we spent some time reviewing the map to come up with an alternate route.
We had planned on following Road 600 all the way to the Ridge Trail at Lewisberg Saddle which we had visited on our Peavy Arboretum hike but the closure was going to force us onto the Bombs Away Trail which would hook up with the Ridge Trail half a mile from Lewisberg Saddle. We didn’t feel like adding another mile to our hike so we would only be connecting two of our three previous hikes this time. We followed Road 600 uphill for a mile and a half to yet another 4-way junction.
A few larger trees in the forest.
A sea of green grass.
Horsetails
The 4-way junction.
We had been to this junction during our hike to Dimple Hill and hadn’t originally planned on making the 0.4 mile side trip to that viewpoint but with the upcoming detour and a couple of shortcuts we’d already taken we decided to revisit the hill. We turned right on Road 650.
After two tenths of a mile we left the road and followed a pointer for Upper Dan’s Trail.
Summit of Dimple Hill.
The view here was a bit better than it had been at McCulloch Peak. We could at least see Mary’s Peak by walking just a bit downhill.
Mary’s Peak
After a short break we followed Road 650 back to the 4-way junction and turned right back onto Road 600. Three quarters of a mile later we arrived at the closure. Along the way the road passed through a clearcut where we could just make out the tops of Mt. Hood, Mt. Jefferson and the Three Sisters.
Approaching the junction on Road 650.
Junco
Mt. Hood
Mt. Jefferson
The Three Sisters
We made a hairpin turn at the closure onto the unsigned High Horse Trail.
Things got a little confusing at this point. The maps on the signboards (we had taken photos with our phones) showed the Bombs Away Trail as a planned trail for 2020. From the placement on the map it appeared that it split off of the High Horse Trail very close to Road 600 but we wound up climbing a series of switchbacks for half a mile before arriving at an unsigned 4-way junction.
The High Horse Trail and another trail heading uphill at the 4-way junction.
What we assume is the Bombs Away Trail on the left and the High Horse Trail on the right at the 4-way junction.
We took the first trail on the right since it was headed in the correct direction hoping it was indeed the Bombs Away Trail. What we found was a braided mess of trails coming and going on each side. We relied on our GPS to make sure we stayed headed in the right direction and after a confusing 0.6 miles we arrived at Road 640.
Left or right? More often than not both ended up in the same spot.
Road 640
The trail continued on the far side of the road. This stretch was more straight forward ending at Road 620 after 0.4 miles.
On the far side of Road 620 we found the Ridge Trail which we followed for a tenth of a mile to a junction with the Alpha Trail.
Junction with the Alpha Trail.
We turned left here onto the Alpha Trail.
After 0.4 mile the Alpha Trail dropped us out onto Road 810 which we followed downhill 0.6 miles to Road 800.
Looking back at the Alpha Trail from Road 810.
Road 800 below Road 810.
We turned left on Road 800 for three tenths of mile then turned right onto the Baker Creek Trail.
Baker Creek Trail ahead on the right.
The Baker Creek Trail followed Baker Creek (heard but not seen) for two tenths of mile before crossing Soap Creek on a 1923 Pony Truss Bridge.
The Baker Creek Trailhead was just on the other side of the bridge as was Sulphur Springs Road. We turned left and walked 100 yards up the road back to our car.
After a brief stop at home to clean up we headed to Portland to say our last goodbyes to Grandma. She always enjoyed hearing about our hikes and looking at the pictures, and she eagerly anticipated the calendar we made each year with them. She passed the following Monday night and is with the Lord now. We’ll think of her often when we’re out exploring. Happy Trails Grandma!
Mt. Bachelor
The Three Sisters and Broken Top
Mt. Bachelor via the Nikon.
Heather watching the show taken with the Canon.
The Three Sisters with the Canon.
Canon
Nikon
Mt. Bachelor (
Canon shortly before the Sun became visible.
Canon shortly before the Sun became visible.
The Three Sister just before sunrise with the Nikon.
The Three Sister just before sunrise with Heather’s phone.
Canon moments before sunrise. A line of wildfire smoke on the horizon gave it a red tint.
Canon
Canon catching the Sun.
Canon
The Three Sisters and Broken Top (Nikon)
South Sister (
Middle and North Sister (Nikon)
Broken Top (
Aline glow hitting the mountains. (Canon)
South Sister (Canon)
Middle and North Sister (Canon)
Broken Top (Canon)
Mt. Bachelor (Canon)
Mt. Scott to the left and Mt. Thielsen to the right.
Grouse
Chipmunk
Mt. Bachelor as we arrived back at the snow-park.
Sunlight on Haystack Butte in Washington.
Part of Moody Rapids.
Gum weed
The last petals on a blanket flower.
We saw several of these large beetles, all prepared to defend themselves.
Snow buckwheat
Chicory
Seagull
Mergansers
Sparrow
One blurry otter head and another partial otter on the right.
A bunch of tree branches, oh and an otter in the water.
At times there were multiple trails to choose from.
Rattlesnake Bend is up ahead but we stopped here for a bit to watch a heron getting breakfast.
A sparrow, possibly a Savannah sparrow.
The trail climbed higher on the hillside for a bit to avoid some thick vegetation below.
Rattlesnake Bend
Railroad tracks above the trail.
Looking back from Rattlesnake Bend near where we turned around.
Rattlesnake Rapids
Killdeer
An older channel?
Had to go back up to avoid the vegetation here.
Ground squirrel
Heron flying up river.
Old rock wall along the way.
Typical use trail.
Merganser
Aster
Osprey showing up the fishermen.
Finch
More birds near the spring.
Little yellow birds, maybe warblers?
One of the yellow birds on a blackberry plant.
Moody Rapids
Haystack Butte
A line of mergansers.
This squirrel was making an impressive amount of noise with its mouth full.
Passing around one of the lake’s arms.
One of several bridges over creeks.
Mergansers
The view next to the bench.
The view from the bench.
Going around another arm.
A checker-mallow
Aster
Forest as we neared the campground again.
Arriving back at the ramp.
The first part of the trail passed through a stand of trees.
View to the west along the South Fork Walla Walla River canyon.
Loved the top of this tree.
Another view, there was just a hint of smoke in the air giving the hillsides a blue tint which is where the name “Blue Mountains” comes from. Apparently smoke has been a common occurrence here for a long time.
There was a lot more Fall color along this trail.
Paintbrush
Cone flower
Aster amid some thimbleberry leaves.
Vine maple
Looking down toward the Sheep Creek.
Finally found the river.
There was a 6 to 8′ waterfall along Sheep Creek but no way to get a clear view of it through the thick vegetation on a steep hillside.
Two types of clover.
Footbridge over the South Fork Walla Walla River.
Reser Creek on the left joining the South Fork Walla Walla River just upstream from the bridge.
There were just enough exposed rocks for me to work my way downstream from the bridge to Sheep Creek.
A couple of the larch trees were just starting to turn color for the fall.
A scarlet gilia blossom waiting to fall off.
A final view back over the canyon with the crooked tree.
The guard station.
The only “parking spot” open near the actual trailhead.
There was a lot of cone flower along the trail.
It had rained the night before but most of the moisture had already dried up or evaporated.
There were just a few flowers hanging on.
There was also a nice variety of mushrooms.
Paintbrush
One of the small streams.
Self-heal
There weren’t many views along the trail but this one was nice.
Pearly everlasting
Ghost pipe 
This was one of the smallest frogs we’ve seen. When I first saw it jump I mistook it for a grasshopper.
South Fork Wenaha River
One of two snakes we came across, both the harmless types.
South Fork Wenaha River
Fall colors along the trail.
Milk Creek with the Wenaha River Trail continuing on the far side.
Milk Creek joining the South Fork Wenaha River.
Elderberry near Milk Creek
Snowberry
Might be an aven?
Coral fungus
Aster
A lone arnica still blooming.
The view back along the road to the fork.
Road walk
Rabbit
A hawk in a dead tree above the springs feeding Sesena Creek.
This was the only water we’d see all day.
The first cairn from later in the day.
View from cairn #3.
Looking back over the mahogany trees, the rise with cairn #2 and the cow lick.
Looking up the steep hillside.
On the climb up to #5.
The view from the saddle.
A kestral on a cairn.
You can see Heather following me up on this “less” steep section.
Looking down into the haze in the east.
Cairn #7 was being guarded by magpies.
View south over the Pueblo Mountains.
Passing below cairn #7 (upper right corner).
View to the NW from the pass.
Pueblo Mountain (the large rounded peak) from the pass.
We climbed this rise on the ridge and continued on the top for a bit.
Looking at the rocky cliffs that would force us to the west.
It’s not a desert trail without bones.
Looking back
The sagebrush draw below (Heather is traversing the hillside.)
Cairn #9 and the view west.
The next ridge is where the high point we were planning to turn around at was.
Cairn #11 in the saddle along the ridge.
Heather dropping down to the saddle, cairn #10 was out of frame to the left here.
View to the west from the saddle.
Sculpted rock along the ridge.
Heather making her way up to #12.
Thought this might be an arrowhead or at least something that was used for a tool of some sort.
Heather resting by cairn #12 while I scouted the route.
A hazy Pueblo Mountain (and more of the Pueblo Mts.) from the high point.
Cairn #15 is on a small rock outcrop near the saddle at center.
Cairn #15 (at least we think).
Cairn #15 below from the cairn #14 coordinates, it appears that cairn #14 may have been at least partially dismantled.
Oh great, more uphill.
Peaks in the Pueblo Mts. near the Nevada border.
Cairn #12 and the saddle zoomed in.
Van Horn Creek is down there somewhere as is Ten Cent Meadows.
A lupine with a few blossoms left.
Lots of colored lichen on the rocks along the way.
Vertical rocks.
Rounded rocks.
Back to the mahogany trees.
Cairn #2 dead ahead.
Found the cow lick again.
Looking back at the Pueblo Mountains from the road walk.
Trees marking the spring and Sesena Creek.
The southern end of Steens Mountain from the road walk.
Sage grouse hen
Big and Little Indian Gorges from the Little Blitzen Trail.
Heading for the Little Blitzen Gorge.
So many dried out wild onions.
Looking back the way we’d come.
The view ahead.
A stand of quacking aspen.
Something to avoid.
A geranium blossom.
Passing through some willows.
Hyssop
Vegetation along a spring fed creek.
Monkshood
The view ahead where we turned around.
A robin
Heading back
The Little Blitzen River near Four Mile Camp
More of the old corral.
Gentians under a willow.
Paintbrush
Another little cascade along the river.
A nice pool.
There were a number of tiny grey birds in here, at least two in this photo.
A bigger bird, but not by a lot.
A wood nymph
This was a huge boulder along the trail. At least two small junipers were growing out of it.
The stone house is too low to even stand up in but it was enough to stake a claim to the land.
Upstairs
The barn
Inside the Bunkhouse
Levi was one of 9 Prinveille Hotshot firefighters who perished on Storm King Mountain in Colorado fighting the South Canyon Fire. This hit home for me having gone to school with one of the 9, Bonnie Holtby.
Thistle in a field once used for hay production by the Riddles.
Could be a green-tailed towhee
Lots of butterflies in the grassy areas.
Nearing the confluence.
The confluence of the Donner und Blitzen River (left) and Little Blitzen River (right).
A skipper at the confluence.
A ringlet
The mouth of Big Indian Gorge from the Levi Brinkley Trail.
Old wagon at Fields Station.
Still some smoke to the east as shown by the red Sun.
Here come the clouds.
Between the Sun and haze it was hard to see much of the ragged eastern side of Steens Mountain or the Alvord Desert (
Frozen thistle
The Alvord Desert through the haze.
A look back at the parking area.
Wildhorse Lake below the summit.
The rocks here provided a little protection from the freezing wind.
Big Indian Gorge (
Heather getting a closer look at Wildhorse Lake.
Not much snow left up here.
Typical tread near the top.
Buckwheat
The bench.
The small stream.
A wren.
Wildhorse Lake from near the end of the bench.
We were a little disappointed to see just how late we were for most all of the wildflowers. I don’t know how much the drought this year affected the timing or if it blooms that much earlier in SE Oregon but the remains of what looked to have been an excellent display were all we were left with.
A few stone steps began the steep descent along the stream.
A few of these little yellow flowers were still in bloom.
This was a mass of pink monkeyflower a few weeks ago.
A look up at the summit.
The trail descending less steeply to the lake.
A lone lupine blooming near the lake.
A pair of paintbrush and the remainder of some aster or fleabane.
A ground squirrel near the lake.
The only pink monkeyflower blossom we spotted.
Ranger buttons
Mountain coyote mint
Cascade grass-of-parnassus
Gentians
Wildhorse Creek
Looking down along Wildhorse Creek.
Wildhorse Lake and Steens Summit.
Rockfringe willowherb
Raptors soaring above Steens Mountain.
Big Indian Gorge
The summit from the unofficial trail.
The trail on the ridge.
Looking ahead at the ridge the rocky outcrop looked a bit intimidating.
The view out over Big Indian Gorge.
Wildhorse Lake
I turned back here, I’m not that adventurous.
Darker clouds over the summit from the trailhead.
A little better view of the Alvord Desert.
The view as we prepared to drive off.
We did stop along the way to take a couple of photos.
Our planned hike for the next day was up this gorge.
The historic 
There were tons of wild onions along the way.
Deer on one of the hillsides.
Beginning to drop down to Big Indian Creek.
Quacking aspen along the trail.
One of the many Brown’s peonies along the trail.
Hawk atop a cottonwood
This counts a lupine in bloom!
A lone yarrow
One of a couple of spring fed streams along the trail.
Aspens and junipers
Tassel-flowered Brickellbush
Waxwings
The large boulder later in the day on our way out.
One of the other spring fed crossings.
There were lots of crickets/grasshoppers bouncing about.
We could see some of the closer cliffs through the haze.
We started to see a few more lupine in bloom the further in we hiked.
What the smoke looked like ahead.
Lots of butterflies too.
Salsify
Paintbrush
Aster or fleabane
Geranium
We couldn’t see very far up the gorge because of the smoke.
The view was better behind us.
Coneflower
Hummingbird visiting paintbrush
A few aspen already turning golden.
Cottonwood Camp down to the right.
Looking up Big Indian Gorge from the trail near Cottonwood Camp.
Genitian
Raptor
Cottonwood Camp
View across the gorge when we arrived at the camp.
Big Indian Creek
A few white clouds started to appear along with the breeze.
The near wall above Big Indian Creek and Cottonwood Camp.
We missed this nest on the first pass. It was about 30 yards off the trail.
We also missed this Nuttall’s linanthus blooming along the trial.
Improving views
This was a very pretty butterfly that for some reason the camera just didn’t want to focus on.
Clearer skies above.
Skipper
Clouds building up over Steens Mountain
Lorquin’s admiral
Ground squirrel
Some type of wood nymph.
Back to the first ford, which I again managed to cross dry footed giving me a perfect record for the day which is unheard of. 
A comma of some sort.
A vast improvement over the morning.
Looking back toward the gorge from the old road bed.
What a difference a few hours can make. 
Our accommodations.
Trailhead sign at the south end of the rest stop. Brochures were located in the small box under the sign.
Map on the trailhead sign.
Red Sun through the smoke.
The Harney Valley to the east.
This stop was for a juniper that was blown apart by a lightning strike.
The rest area from the loop.
The last stop was to discuss the relationship between the junipers and the Idaho fescue that grows underneath.
Deer in the nearly dry Marshall Pond
Yellow headed blackbird
California quail
Owl
Chipmunk
More quail
The early bird
Hummingbird
Little bird on a feeder
Shrike
Hawk and a magpie
Osprey
Turkey vultures
Coyote
Mourning doves
Egrets and ducks at Benson Pond
Old cabin at Benson Pond
Another owl
Another turkey vulture
Grasshopper
White faced ibis
Great blue heron amid the ducks.
A couple types of egrets it appears.
Deer that were in the Blitzen River
Bounding fawn
Ducks and coots at Knox Pond
Bee and a butterfly
A brushy section.
A bee and a skipper
Praying mantis
The “other” trail on the hillside at the 0.7 mile mark.
A wren?
Fence crossing
Rejoining the Donner und Blitzen Trail at the 0.4 mile mark.
wanderingyuncks 
![https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51394274589_2328a93b39_c.jpg"](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51394274589_2328a93b39_c.jpg"){kind=link}
![https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51393871889_968777c132_c.jpg"](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51393871889_968777c132_c.jpg"){kind=link}