Category: SE Oregon

Eastern Oregon

Back in 2016 we set a goal for ourselves to hike all 500 featured hikes in William L. Sullivan’s “100 Hikes…” series of guidebooks post. In 2020 we completed the first of these books covering the Central Oregon Cascades (post). We followed that up by completing a pair of books in 2021 starting with Sullivan’s “100 Hikes/Travel Guide Oregon Coast and Coast Range” 3rd edition (post) followed up by “100 HIkes/Travel Guide Northwest Oregon & Southwest Washington” 4th edition (post). Southern Oregon & Northern California was completed in 2023 leaving us with Eastern Oregon.

In 2023 we pivoted from the 3rd edition of Sullivan’s “100 Hikes/Travel Guide Eastern Oregon” to his renamed 2022 1st edition “100 Hikes Eastern Oregon” book. This was to avoid needing to make the tedious drive on horrible roads to Dug Bar in Hells Canyon which had been replaced as a featured hike in the newer edition.

The criteria for checking a hike off our list is to hike a portion of Sullivan’s described hike or, at least visit the main attraction(s) he identifies for the hike. For 67 of the hikes we completed the books described route. For the other 33 hikes various factors contributed to us not completing every option of each featured hike. For some we started at a different trailhead, others had portions of trail(s) closed when we visited, and several had additional options that we did not do.

Of the five regions Sullivan breaks his guidebooks into, the Eastern Oregon region is the largest and most diverse. The area covered in this book includes hikes in Oregon east of the Deschutes River in Central Oregon and from Klamath Falls (western most hike) east to the Idaho border. There is however one hike in Washington west of the Deschutes across the Columbia River from The Dalles, OR. It also includes one short option in Idaho (eastern most), one featured hike in California (southern most) making it his only book with hikes in more than two different States. The northern most hike is not the one in Washington. That honor belongs to the Wenaha River near Troy in NE Oregon.

The hikes involved several wilderness areas: Oregon Badlands, Mill Creek, Spring Basin, Strawberry Mountain, North Fork John Day, North Fork Umatilla, Wenaha-Tucannon, Eagle Cap, Hells Canyon, Monument Rock, and Steens Mountain. Missing from this list are the Black Canyon (post) and Gearhart Mountain (post) wilderness areas which had featured hikes in earlier versions of Sullivan’s book that we’d completed, but were removed in the 2022 edition due to wildfire damage.

In addition to the 11 designated wilderness areas there were hikes in two National Monuments, the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument in Oregon and the Lava Beds National Monument in California, and one National Volcanic Monument, the Newberry National Volcanic Monument.

Following is a list of the 100 featured hikes and the dates we visited.

#1 Cottonwood Canyon – Hiked 5/27/2017

#2 Columbia Hills – Hiked 4/4/2015 & 4/17/2021

#3 Lower Deschutes River – Hiked 6/9/2018

#4 Macks Canyon – Hiked 5/26/2018

#5 Criterion Tract – Hiked 05/28/2023

#6 Trout Creek – Hiked 10/12/2013

#7 Willow Creek at Madras – Hiked 5/27/2024

#8 Cove Palisades – Hiked 6/16/2018

#9 Gray Butte – Hiked 6/13/2015

#10 Oregon Badlands – Hiked 5/15/2016 & 12/24/2016

#11 Pine Mountain – Hiked 7/30/2012

#12 Paulina Falls – Hiked 8/9/2011 & 9/16/2017

#13 Paulina Lake – Hiked 8/9/2011 & 9/16/2017

#14 Obsidian Flow – Hiked 8/9/2011

#15 Crooked River Wetlands – Hiked 5/29/2024

#16 Chimney Rock – Hiked 9/22/2017

#17 Steins Pillar – Hiked 5/8/2013

#18 Juniper Hill – Visited* 5/27/2024

#19 Mill Creek – Hiked 7/31/2012

#20 Lookout Mountain – Hiked 6/12/2014

#21 Walton Lake – Hiked 6/17/2017 & 6/18/2021

#22 Spring Basin – Hiked 4/22/2017

#23 John Day Fossil Beds – Hiked 4/30/2016, 4/22/2017 & 9/17/2017
Painted Hills Unit

Clarno Unit

Blue Basin Unit

#24 Sutton Mountain – Hiked 4/30/2016

#25 Spanish Peak – Hiked 7/19/2021 & 7/20/2021

#26 Madison Butte – Hiked 5/28/2024

#27 Wildcat Basin – Hiked 7/24/2018

#28 High Lake – Hiked 7/26/2018

#29 Strawberry Lake – Hiked 7/25/2018

#30 Malheur River – Hiked 6/17/2021

#31 Canyon Mountain – Hiked 7/22/2021

#32 Monument Rock – Hiked 7/21/2021

#33 Bates and Sumpter – Hiked 9/17/2017

#34 Olive Lake – Hiked 9/18/2017

#35 Granite Creek – Hiked 9/21/2017

#36 North Fork John Day River – Hiked 9/19/2017

#37 Mount Ireland – Hiked 7/9/2022

#38 Baldy Lake – Hiked 9/20/2017

#39 Crawfish Lake – Hiked 8/16/2018

#40 Anothony Lake – Hiked 8/16/2018

#41 Elkhorn Crest – Hiked 8/12/2018, 8/13/2018, 8/14/2018, 8/15/2018 & 08/16/2018

#42 Twin Lakes – Hiked 8/13/2018

#43 North Fork Umatilla River – Hiked 6/14/2021

#44 Jubilee Lake – Hiked 9/12/2021

#45 Wenaha River – Hiked 5/25/2019

#46 Zumwalt Prairie – Hiked 5/26/2019

#47 Buckhorn Lookout – Hiked 6/15/2023

#48 Eureka Bar – Hiked 6/14/2023

#49 Hat Point – Hiked 7/21/2024

#50 Freezeout Saddle – Hiked 5/24/2019

#51 Hells Canyon Dam – Hiked 6/16/2023

#52 Hells Canyon Reservoir – Hiked 6/16/2023

#53 Imnaha Falls – Hiked 6/12/2023

#54 Bonny Lakes – Hiked 7/24/2024

#55 McCully Basin – Hiked 7/23/2024

#56 Mount Howard – Hiked 7/26/2024

#57 Aneroid Lake – Hiked 8/22/2024

#58 Wallowa Lake – Hiked 5/23/2019
B.C. Falls

#59 Ice Lake – Hiked 7/31/2016

#60 Horseshoe Lake – Hiked 8/3/2016 & 8/04/2016

#61 Hurricane Creek – Hiked 7/22/2024

#62 Eagle Cap – Hiked 8/3/2016

#63 Minam Lake – Hiked 7/25/2024

#64 Maxwell Lake – Hiked 8/21/2024

#65 Chimney Lake – Hiked 8/20/2024

#66 Wallowa Homeland – Hiked 7/14/2022

#67 Bear Creek – Hiked 7/14/2022

#68 Rock Springs – Hiked 7/11/2022

#69 Moss Springs – Hiked 7/13/2022

#70 Catherine Creek Meadows – Hiked 7/10/2022

#71 Burger Pass – Hiked 7/12/2022

#72 Tombstone Lake – Hiked 8/16/2023 & 8/17/2023

#73 Eagle Lake – Hiked 8/13/2023

#74 Bear Lake – Hiked 8/14/2023

#75 Hidden Lake – Hiked 9/9/2024

#76 Summit Point Lookout – Hiked 8/18/2024

#77 Pine Lakes – Hiked 8/19/2024

#78 Fort Rock – Hiked 6/14/2014 & 5/28/2017

#79 Fort Rock Valley – Hiked 5/28/2017

#80 Hager Mountain – Hiked 7/30/2013 & 6/14/2014

#81 Summer Lake – Hiked 7/24/2020

#82 Winter Ridge – Hiked 7/19/2020

#83 OC&E Railroad – Hiked 10/5/2018

#84 Klamath Falls – Hiked 10/20/2018

#85 Modoc Lava Beds – Hiked 10/6/2018

#86 DeGarmo Canyon – Hiked 7/22/2020

#87 Hart Mountain Hot Springs – Hiked 7/21/2020

#88 Petroglyph Lake – Hiked 7/22/2020

#89 Steens Summit – Hiked 8/18/2021

#90 Little Blitzen River – Hiked 8/19/2021

#91 Big Indian Gorge – Hiked 8/17/2021

#92 Threemile Canyon – Hiked 9/3/2023

#93 Pike Creek – Hiked 6/14/2018

#94 Big Sand Gap – Hiked 6/14/2018

#95 Borax Hot Springs – Hiked 6/14/2018

#96 Pueblo Mountains – Hiked 8/20/2021

#97 Leslie Gulch – Hiked 6/11/2018

#98 Coffeepot Crater – Hiked 6/11/2018

#99 Chalk Basin – Hiked 6/13/2018

#100 Three Forks – Hiked 6/12/2018

*The Juniper Hills Preserve is owned by the Nature Conservancy and had been closed to public entry in 2023, so we were unable to hike the trails. We parked and walked to the gates to take photos. If they ever reopen it to the public we will go back.

Completing our featured hike goals provided a sense of relief. While we thoroughly enjoyed all of the hikes, and the Wallowa Mountains became our favorite destination in Oregon, we had begun to put pressure on ourselves to finish. That pressure had begun following the September 2020 wildfires that ravaged parts of the Central Cascades and left many trails closed for years. We had just finished the featured hikes in that area earlier that year and realized how close we’d come to having to put our goal on hold. In the grand scheme of things reaching 500 featured hikes is irrelevant but having worked on it for several years it was something we didn’t want to abandon. We will gig deeper into that in a later post covering finishing the 500, but it’s nice to have the urgency to get to specific places removed.

Setting the goal did provide us with an excuse to visit parts of Oregon that we’d never seen before. While we were checking off the 100 featured hikes we stopped at over three dozen additional spots including eight previously featured hikes. There are still numerous trails left for us to explore so we will almost certainly be heading back to Eastern Oregon from time to time to see new sights and possibly revisit some familiar ones. Happy Trails!

Tags Alvord Desert, Blue Mountains, Boulder Creek Wilderness, California, Deschutes River, eagle cap wilderness, Eastern Oregon, Gearhart Mountain Wilderness, Hells Canyon Wilderness, hiking, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, John Day river, Lava Beds National Monument, Malheur National Forest, Malheur River, Mill Creek Wilderness, Monument Rock Wilderness, Newberry Caldera, Newberry Crater, Newberry National Volcanic Monument, North Fork John Day Wilderness, North Fork Umatilla Wilderness, Ochoco Mountains, ochoco national forest, Oregon, oregon badlands wilderness, Pueblo Mountains, Spring Basin Wilderness, Steens Mountain Wilderness, Strawberry Mountains, Wallowa Mountains, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness, William L Sullivan

Hiking Oregon SE Oregon Steens Mountain Trip report

Threemile Canyon and Malheur National Wildlife Refuge – 09/03/2023

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 7, 2023
1 Comment on Threemile Canyon and Malheur National Wildlife Refuge – 09/03/2023

After spending the night in Burns it was time for the featured hike that had brought us here. Threemile Canyon was a recent edition as a featured hike after switching editions on our quest to finish the 100 featured hikes in each of William L. Sullivans guidebooks (post). We got a little later start than typical for us opting to stick around long enough to take advantage of the 6am full breakfast at our motel. After eating we made the hour and a half drive South on Highway 205 (County Road 202) to the Threemile Creek Trailhead.

We’d driven through a couple of rain showers but we had a bit of blue sky overhead at the trailhead (for now).
Beatys Butte to the SW.

Rain to the SW as well.

We followed the Threemile Creek Trail into the Steens Mountain Wilderness and Threemile Canyon.

Earlier rains had left the vegetation that crowded the trail rather damp which quickly left our pant legs wet.

Threemile Creek could be heard but not seen through the thick brush.

Lupine

At the 3/4-mile mark we arrived at a junction with Huffman Trail.
There was a post but no sign at the junction.

Our plan was to take the Huffman Trail uphill to its end on a plateau. If the weather was decent we would then take the Threemile Creek Trail further up Threemile Canyon before returning to the car. We turned left at the junction and began a steep climb, nearly 1100′ in 1.7-miles.

Wickerstem buckwheat

The Pueblo Mountains (post) in the distance including the domed Pueblo Mountain.

Clouds and rain showers to the SW.

Threemile Canyon

The faint Huffman Trail.

Alvord Peak in the center distance with Pueblo Mountain to the far right.

Closer look at Alvord Peak in the center.

Still a little blue sky to the NW.

Not sure where the fog below came from but it was on a mission to beat us up to the plateau.

Here comes the fog and some rain.

Just moments later.

And here is the fog.

We put our rain covers on at a switchback and continued uphill with a light rain falling through the fog.

The fog had moved on by the time we arrived at the plateau, but the rain lingered.

The final pitch to the plateau.

Cairn at the end of the trail.

Exploring is possible as long as you remember where you came up.

Looking West.

Looking toward Threemile Canyon.

The rain let up around the time we started back down and the clouds soon began to break up.

Beatys Butte at center with the long fault block of Hart Mountain (post) to the right partly behind the clouds.

This frog seemed to enjoy the damp weather.

Cliffs across Threemile Canyon

Arriving back at the junction with the Threemile Creek Trail.

With the weather improving and the Threemile Creek Trail continuing less than a mile beyond the junction we decided to give it a go. Heather told me to go on ahead and to turn around when I was ready and she would just turn around when she felt like it or we met up again. The Huffman Trail had been faint in places and a bit rough, but the remainder of the Threemile Trail took these to a different level.
It started out nicely passing a hillside covered in sunflowers, a few aster, and some curlycup gumweed.

Curlycup gumweed

The trail crossed and at times used dry creek beds and also crossed Threemile Creek several times.

The easiest crossing of Threemile Creek. Several of the others were not obvious until I pushed through the brush and then the footing was often tricky due to large, slick rocks needing to be navigated (at least in order to stay out of the creek).

On the trail, I think.

Elderberry

Hard to tell by the photo but this puffball was a little bigger than a softball.

The trail was described as ending in a meadow just under a mile from the junction with the Huffman Trail. I lost the trail at what appeared to be a post, but it also may just have been a snag.
I wouldn’t really describe the area as a meadow but I was 0.9 miles from the junction.

Since I was uncertain if this was the “meadow” I scrambled over a few rocks looking to see if I could find a continuation of the trail. I couldn’t but I did spot a lone red paintbrush.

Looking down at the meadow and post/snag (lower right) from the rocks.

I turned around here and headed back. I met Heather on the far side of the first really tricky creek crossing where she had decided to stop. We hiked out together as the clouds continued to break up overhead.
Sometimes the trail was really only identifiable by which junipers had had limbs cut.

The drop to the creek here was approximately 2′ and the pool in Threemile Creek was fairly deep making this crossing a bit of a challenge not to slip and fall in.

Aster

Sullivan’s map showed a “Bart Simpson Rock” which we believe was this one.

Nearing the sunflower hillside and trail junction.

Dragonfly

Skipper

Big bumblebee

On our way out of the canyon we spotted some horses on the hillside to the south. We don’t know if these were part of the South Steens HMA herd or if they belonged to the ranch but they were pretty.

The hike to the ends of both trails came to 6.7 miles with approximately 1900′ of elevation gain.

With our featured hike complete we headed back for Burns. It was just after 12:30pm so we had plenty of day left and couldn’t pass up the chance to once again drive the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge’s auto tour route. We’d last driven the route in 2021 (post) and both times we’d visited we’d seen abundant wildlife. In addition to the auto tour there are numerous short trails and hiking opportunities along the way. We hiked several of the trails before but had yet to visit the historic P Ranch near Frenchglen or Krumbo Reservoir which is just under 4 miles from the auto tour route.

Just before reaching Frenchglen we turned off Highway 205 onto Steens Mountain Loop Road and followed it 1.5 miles to Central Patrol Road where we turned left. A third of a mile later we turned left again into the P Ranch and in a large gravel parking area.

We hadn’t seen anyone else all day until now. A couple was just returning from the River Trail. Amazingly Heather knew them so we had a nice chat before we set off on the same trail. They also let us know to look for an owl in the long barn when we got there later.
Sign for the River Trail.

The River Trail is 2-miles long and can be connected to several other trails to make a decent sized loop. We weren’t up for that kind of distance today so we simply followed the Donner und Blitzen River for 0.3 miles before turning back.

The long barn where we’d be heading next.

We turned around here where the tread became rougher.

Interpretive signs were scattered along the trails at the P Ranch.

Lorquin’s admiral and a grasshopper.

Skipper on aster.

Once we were back at the parking area we took the left trail down to the Long Barn Trail (another service road).

History of the P Ranch which at one time covered 140,000 acres.

The owl inside the barn.

Other structures from the ranch.

We covered a mile between the two trails and then continued on the auto tour keeping watch for any wildlife as we headed north toward Krumbo Reservoir Road which was just over 10 miles away.
The gravel road is in good shape but you don’t want to drive any faster than about 10mph so you don’t miss any wildlife.

Fawns

Common nighthawk

So many red-winged blackbirds.

Hawk (northern harrier?) in a field.

More fawns and birds.

Finch?

As we neared Knox Pond we spotted something coming up Central Patrol Road. Just a bit earlier Heather had mentioned that the area we were in looked like where my parents had seen a badger on a visit last year.

It turned out that this was indeed a badger. Only the second we’ve seen.

It disappeared in the grass moments later.

Another hawk

Sandhill cranes in the field.

Sandhill cranes

We turned right onto Krumbo Reservoir Road and parked at the Krumbo Reservoir Dam Trailhead.

We followed a trail across the dam then hiked through the sagebrush a bit further to get a good view of the reservoir.

Crossing the dam.

Kiger Gorge (post) in the distance.

Kiger Gorge

Blurry due to distance but there were several deer at the far end of the reservoir.

Another long shot, a western grebe.

Not certain what this bird was but it dove into the water a couple of times.

The deer, some ducks, the western grebe and a cormorant were all that direction.

It’s possible to bushwack around the reservoir but again we weren’t up for anything that long, so we turned back after just a quarter mile.
It also appeared that some rain was on the way.

Recrossing the dam.

We returned to Central Patrol Road and continued the auto tour and the wildlife sightings.

Pheasant family

There were at least 5 deer out there.

Two

Three more

White faced ibis

California quail

Pheasant

A few of at least 10 turkey vultures in the trees above the Refuge Headquarters.

Malheur Lake from the end of the auto tour.

After completing the auto tour we returned to Burns for another night. It had been a great day for wildlife and nice to once again have all of the featured hikes in SE Oregon completed. We’re now down to 16 Eastern Oregon featured hikes. If things work out we could be finished with those by the end of next year. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Threemile Canyon and Malheur National Wildlife Refuge

Hiking Oregon SE Oregon Trip report

Pueblo Mountains – 08/20/2021

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 27, 2021
3 Comments on Pueblo Mountains – 08/20/2021

We had a long day planned for the final day of our trip to SE Oregon. We were starting off by doing Sullivan’s Pueblo Mountains hike (#96 in his “100 Hikes/Travel Guide Eastern Oregon” guidebook and we were going to attempt the long drive back to Salem (a 6 1/2 to 7 hour drive). We were a little nervous about getting to Sullivan’s starting point for his described 7.2 mile hike which follows a portion of the Oregon Desert Trail. He describes the final 2.2 miles of road as a “rocky, bumpy road”..”passable only by high-clearance vehicles”. Given where we were and the tire scare we’d had earlier in the week we decided that adding 4.4 miles of road walk round trip was okay with us so after turning right off of Highway 205 exactly three miles south of Fields we followed a decent gravel road 4.7 miles to a fork where we took the left most track a hundred yards or so to the first decent spot we could pull off and park at.

The Oregon Desert Trail is a 750 mile route doesn’t always follow a trail (or road or other discernible track).
20210819_151044_HDR

The section we would be hiking was guided by rock cairns with a couple of sections of what appeared to be actual tread but may also simply have been game/cattle trails that were going the same way. First we had to get to the start of the hike though so after a moment appreciating the desert sunrise we started up the rocky road.

The view back along the road to the fork.

Road walk

Rabbit

There was a bit more smoke/haze on the horizon this morning than there had been for a few days and a red Sun rose in the east.

After just under a mile the road made a 90 degree turn at a fence corner then crossed Sesena Creek, which was still flowing.

A hawk in a dead tree above the springs feeding Sesena Creek.

This was the only water we’d see all day.

We arrived at the grassy flat Sullivan described as the start of the hike. Sullivan listed 14 cairns along his hike starting with one here at the starting point but the rocks it had been comprised of were spread on the ground. We hoped that wasn’t a sign of things to come.

The first cairn from later in the day.

Luckily Sullivan had supplied GPS coordinates both along the drive and for cairns 1, 5, 10, and 14 which I had entered into both our GPS units. From the road at cairn one we followed an old road bed through the sage brush toward the mountains.

A little over half a mile along the road brought us to another grassy area, an old cow lick, where we veered left on a trail (cattle?) through the sagebrush.

We could see the second cairn on a little rise ahead to our right and made our way towards it.

Sullivan’s instructions beyond the cow lick were to “head cross-country up the leftmost branch of the valley and scramble up past a grove of shrub-sized mountain mahogany trees to find cairn #3”. We could see the mahogany trees and using binoculars and the zoom feature on the camera were able to spot what we assume to be cairn #3.

From there the climb got steep fast and neither of us are sure we we ever saw cairn #4. Luckily we had the GPS coordinates for #5, which was 0.3 miles from #3, to keep us relatively on track.
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.

Cairn #5 was said to be atop a 12′ rock in a saddle. There appeared to be more than one possible saddle though as we climbed and at the angle we were at we couldn’t see any 12′ rocks.

I picked a saddle to aim for and arrived first but there was no cairn here.

The view from the saddle.

I climbed up on a the rocks to the west of the saddle to see if I could see cairn #5 which, based on the GPS coordinates would have been a little to the SE and downhill from where I was.

When Heather arrived we discussed the next stage our hike. Even though we couldn’t see #5 from where we were we could see another cairn atop a cliff on the hillside ahead of us.

We decided to contour up along the hillside heading for that cairn and as we came over a rise we spotted what must have been cairn #5.

A kestral on a cairn.

The GPS coordinates were a little off but it fit the description of the fifth cairn pretty well.

We continued heading uphill toward the cliff with what we believe was cairn #6.

You can see Heather following me up on this “less” steep section.

As we neared the cliffs we spotted another cairn which was a lot easier to reach.

Looking down into the haze in the east.

From the cairn with no number we could see another cairn perched atop a rock outcrop which we determined to be #7 since #8 was shown to be at a pass.

Cairn #7 was being guarded by magpies.

Cairn #7 was uphill more than was necessary to reach the ridge beyond it so instead of heading directly for it we traversed the hillside below it.
View south over the Pueblo Mountains.

Passing below cairn #7 (upper right corner).

We found cairn #8 at the pass.

View to the NW from the pass.

Pueblo Mountain (the large rounded peak) from the pass.

Heather was delayed reaching the pass due to spotting a sheep moth.
20210820_084550

Sullivan’s map was a little confusing from cairn #8 to cairn #9. The sketch appeared to show the route passing behind (on the west side of) a rise to cairns #9 & #10 and then arriving at cairn #11 at another pass. What we found was that it was easier to hike south on the ridge for two tenths of a mile where a much larger rock outcrop forced us off the ridge to the west.
We climbed this rise on the ridge and continued on the top for a bit.

Heather near cairn #8 in the saddle and cairn #7 on the hillside behind.

We didn’t cross over to the west side until we reached a much larger rock formation along the ridge.
Looking at the rocky cliffs that would force us to the west.

We were starting to notice actual tread along the ridge and when we reached the rocks a clear, albeit thin, trail could be seen traversing the hillside.

It’s not a desert trail without bones.

As we approached the other end of the rock outcrop we spied cairn #9 on a hillside.

Looking back

The tread disappeared in a small draw filled with sagebrush, but a little bushwhacking and a short steep climb got us to the cairn.
The sagebrush draw below (Heather is traversing the hillside.)

Cairn #9 and the view west.

For some reason cairn #10 was ahead and further DOWN the hillside. From cairn #9 we could see our goal for the day ahead, a high point on a ridge above the Oregon Desert Trail before it began a descent that would eventually lead to Denio, Nevada.
The next ridge is where the high point we were planning to turn around at was.

We made our way to the saddle where cairn #11 sat.
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.

From cairn #11 we could see cairn #12 sitting atop an outcrop at the start of the next rocky section.

Sculpted rock along the ridge.

The small section of hike near cairn #12 was one of the toughest on the day. Large boulders were surrounded by taller and thicker sagebrush than any we’d encountered since the mahogany trees. The easiest route was to boulder hop as directly as possible to the cairn which meant extra climbing but the vegetation was too thick to pass through safely due to hidden holes amid the boulders.
Heather making her way up to #12.

We then followed the rocky ridge until the sagebrush thinned out.

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.

After a false summit we realized that the high point was at the far end of the ridge.

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.

DSCN0821 Cairn #15 (at least we think).

We had a nice break at the summit, and for some reason I felt compelled to trot down and tag cairn #14 only to realize too late that I had to hike back up to the high point.
Cairn #15 below from the cairn #14 coordinates, it appears that cairn #14 may have been at least partially dismantled.

Oh great, more uphill.

It would have been nice to have had a less hazy view but at least we could make a few things out.
DSCN0824

DSCN0819 Peaks in the Pueblo Mts. near the Nevada border.

DSCN0829 Cairn #12 and the saddle zoomed in.

DSCN0838 Van Horn Creek is down there somewhere as is Ten Cent Meadows.

After resting up we headed back attempting to follow the same route but judging by our track we may have been drinking something other than water up at the high point.
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

The last half mile or so of the road walk provided us with a couple of close encounters with common nighthawks that were resting along the barbed wire fence.

We got back to our car just before 1pm and after changing started the long drive to Salem. We got home just before 8pm making for a long but fun day. It had been a really nice vacation despite the hazy conditions for several of the hikes. The temperatures had ranged from hot the first two days to freezing on Wednesday to just about right Tuesday, Thursday and the hike in the Pueblos wasn’t all that warm either. We already have more ideas for hikes and stops in that part of Oregon so we’ll be heading back at some point even though we have finished with the “featured hikes” in the area. Happy Trails!

My mileage for the day came in at 13.3 including a total of 4.2 along the dirt road. Total elevation gain was approximately 2400′.

Our track for the hike. The orange segment is the road walk which was 2.1 miles each way.

Flickr: Pueblo Mountains

Tags Common Nighthawk, Fields Station, hiking, Oregon, Oregon Desert Trail, Pueblo Mountain, Pueblo Mountains, Sage grouse, Sesena Creek, van horn creek

Hiking Oregon SE Oregon Steens Mountain Trip report

Little Blitzen River – 08/19/2021

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 26, 2021
1 Comment on Little Blitzen River – 08/19/2021

After three nights at the Steens Mountain Resort it was time to move on. Our plan for Thursday was to make two stops for hikes along the Little Blitzen River then continue driving south to Fields Station where we’d spend the night before hiking the Pueblo Mountains on Friday then making the long drive back to Salem. We started our morning at the Little Blitzen Trailhead located along the Steens Mountain Loop Road at South Steens Campground.

The trail begins on the far side of the road and similar to the Big Indian Gorge Trail begins in a landscape of juniper and sagebrush.

It was a much clearer morning than it had been when we hiked Big Indian Gorge on Tuesday.
Big and Little Indian Gorges from the Little Blitzen Trail.

Heading for the Little Blitzen Gorge.

So many dried out wild onions.

The trail descended to the lone ford of the Little Blitzen River at the 1.4 mile mark which we crossed easily on rocks.

On the far side of the river was a sign for several trails. The Nye and Wet Blanket Trail led up out of the gorge further up the Little Blitzen Trail while the Fred Riddle Trail was barely visible along the grassy hillside leading off toward Cold Springs Road and the Riddle Ranch.

We followed the Little Blitzen Trail through a grassy meadow and into a much narrower gorge than Big Indian Gorge.

It was nice to not have any haze limiting our view of the rocky walls.

Speaking of rocks there were quite a few larger boulders along this trail.

There were also boulders present in the river which created some nice cascades.

Our plan had been to turn around at 4-mile camp, approximately 4.5 miles from the trailhead or 3 miles beyond the ford. We took our time admiring the scenery along the way.

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

We hadn’t paid enough attention to Sullivan’s hike description so we didn’t realize when we passed the remains of an old corral that was Four Mile Camp.

In our defense there were no obvious camp sites in this area, just a grassy area inside the corral remains. We had passed an obvious campsite about a mile earlier, too soon to be Four Mile Camp. We continued a half mile beyond the corral remains before deciding we had missed the camp and then we read the hike description again where Sullivan mentioned the corral.
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.

Having overshot Four Mile Camp our hike came in just under 10 miles round trip with about 900′ of elevation gain.

From the trailhead we drove back along Steens Mountain Loop Road a quarter mile and turned right on a narrow gravel road (signed from the other direction for the Riddle Brothers Ranch). We did this hike second because a gate 1.3 miles up the road doesn’t open until 9am.

From the gate Ben Riddle’s restored cabin and his original stone house were visible on the hillside across the Little Blitzen River.

The stone house is too low to even stand up in but it was enough to stake a claim to the land.

The road continues 1.3 more miles beyond the gate to the Riddle Brothers Ranch. Now a National Historic District the ranch was established in the early 1900s by brother Walter, Fredrick and Ben Riddle. We were met by the volunteer caretaker who gave us a tour and history of the ranch before we set off on the 1.5 mile Levi Brinkley Trail which follows the Little Blitzen River from the parking lot to its confluence with the Donner und Blitzen River (post).

Upstairs

The barn

Inside the Bunkhouse

After touring the ranch we walked back across the Little Blitzen River to the other side of the parking lot where the Levi Brinkley Trail began.

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.

The trail set off along the river passing an old willow corral after a quarter mile.

Thistle in a field once used for hay production by the Riddles.

Could be a green-tailed towhee

Beyond the corral the trail made a series of ups and downs passing through several flat areas the Riddles once irrigated for hay.

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.

We returned the way we’d come, keeping an eye out for snakes but the only reptile we spotted was a western fence lizard.

A ringlet

The mouth of Big Indian Gorge from the Levi Brinkley Trail.

After completing the three mile hike here we drove back to Highway 205 and headed south (left) to Fields where we checked into our accommodations for the night at Fields Station then ordered bacon cheeseburgers and milkshakes from the cafe. Heather got a chocolate, marshmallow, butterscotch combination and I froze at the wide variety of flavors and just got a butterscotch (it was good though).
Old wagon at Fields Station.

In the morning we’d be heading just a little further south into the Pueblo Mountains and then home. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Little Blitzen River

Tags Ben Riddle, Big Indian Gorge, Doner und Blitzen River, Fields Station, Fredrick Riddle, hiking, Levi Brinkley Trail, Levi Brinkly, Little Blitzen River, Milkshake, Oregon, Riddle Brothers Ranch, Riddle Brothers Ranch National Historic District, Steens Mountain, Steens Mountain Resort, Steens Mountain Wilderness, Walter Riddle

Hiking Oregon SE Oregon Steens Mountain Trip report

Steens Mountain Summit – 08/18/2021

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 26, 2021
3 Comments on Steens Mountain Summit – 08/18/2021

On Tuesday a change in the weather had pushed much of the smoke away from Steens Mountain which is what we had hopped would happen in anticipation for our drive up the Steens Mountain Loop Road on Wednesday. The shift in weather also brought cooler temperatures which had made the previous days hike at Big Indian Gorge one of the more comfortable (temperature wise) of the year thus far. We once again got an early start hoping to reach the first of four planned stops around 6am and immediately realized that it was a lot cooler than it had been Monday or Tuesday. In fact the car was showing 39 degrees when we set off. Since the Steens Mountain Resort where we were staying was located along the Steens Mountain Loop Road we simply left the resort and turned right driving past the entrance to the Page Springs Campground and gradually climbing up the fault block Steens Mountain. By the time we arrived at the left turn for our first stop the Kiger Gorge Viewpoint 19.1 miles beyond the Page Springs Campground the temperature was down to 30 degrees. Luckily we try and come prepared so we had jackets, Buffs, and gloves although in hindsight we could have been a little more prepared. There was a decent breeze which made it feel a lot colder than 30 degrees.

The Kiger Gorge is one of 5 glacier carved valleys on Steens Mountain and is the largest and most scenic. We were fortunate to arrive just before some clouds moved in.

Still some smoke to the east as shown by the red Sun.

Here come the clouds.

With the clouds moving in we hustled back to the car and continued on the loop road another 2.7 miles to a four-way junction where we turned left at a pointer for the East Rim Viewpoint where the clouds had not yet reached.

Between the Sun and haze it was hard to see much of the ragged eastern side of Steens Mountain or the Alvord Desert (post) below.

Frozen thistle

The Alvord Desert through the haze.

A look back at the parking area.

After checking out this view we returned to the 4-way junction and turned left at a pointer for Wildhorse Lake following this road for almost two miles to a parking area below the 9741′ summit of Steens Mountain. A gated road led uphill the final half mile to some towers on the summit.

Wildhorse Lake below the summit.

The rocks here provided a little protection from the freezing wind.

Big Indian Gorge (post) from the summit.

Heather getting a closer look at Wildhorse Lake.

Not much snow left up here.

After checking out the summit we walked back down past the gate and turned left at a post on a trail heading downhill to a registration box.

The trail split here with the left hand fork heading downhill for a mile to Wildhorse Lake. The tread was a little dicey near the top but soon became better as it switchbacked down to a small bench before steepening quite a bit along a small stream.
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.

We rested for a bit by the lake where there was thankfully not much of a breeze and then explored along the shore.

DSCN0789

DSCN0790 The only pink monkeyflower blossom we spotted.

Ranger buttons

Mountain coyote mint

Cascade grass-of-parnassus

Gentians

Wildhorse Creek

Looking down along Wildhorse Creek.

20210818_084407 Wildhorse Lake and Steens Summit.

After checking out the lake we started back up the trail as a few more clouds began to move in.

Rockfringe willowherb

Raptors soaring above Steens Mountain.

When we had both reached the registration box we took the other trail fork downhill. Sullivan shows this unofficial trail leading to a pass above Little Wildhorse Lake after in a mile but mentions having to use your hands in an update on his website Oregonhiking.com but that “adventurous hikers should have no trouble”.

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

After a small saddle the trail came to the final rock fin along the ridge and I followed some clear tread along the left side of the outcrop.

In hindsight the correct route was probably up onto the top of the ridge and the right hand side was a very steep loose rocky slope because the path I was following just ended at a small slide.

I turned back here, I’m not that adventurous.

I retraced my steps and met Heather at the small saddle. She was not liking this little trail and at that point neither was I. Between the cold, incoming clouds, and steady breeze we decided we’d seen enough and retreated back to the trailhead.
Darker clouds over the summit from the trailhead.

A little better view of the Alvord Desert.

<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51394274589_2328a93b39_c.jpg" width="800" height="600" alt="IMG_2994">Here comes the cloud.

The view as we prepared to drive off.

Our hike here came to a little over 6 miles with approximately 1400′ of elevation gain.

We drove back the way we’d come instead of completing the loop. Two reasons, the final downhill stretch to South Steens Campground was reportedly rough and recommended for 4×4 high clearance vehicles (In fact the folks at the resort recommended going counter-clockwise and driving up from that side if we were going to drive the loop) and we had a low tire pressure light on. It had come on when we’d driven over a cattle guard that morning which we were hoping was simply due to the cold temperatures but we didn’t want to try driving a rougher road in case. Going back the way we’d come would also gave us an opportunity to stop at the viewpoints again if the conditions looked better. The East Rim Viewpoint was in the middle of the clouds though so we drove on by but did detour to the Kiger Gorge Viewpoint again.
We did stop along the way to take a couple of photos.

Our planned hike for the next day was up this gorge.

The view was a little better and a little warmer at Kiger Gorge.

We made one final stop on the way back to the resort by pulling into Fish Lake (5.7 miles from the turn for the Kiger Gorge Viewpoint). There is no hike here but we wanted to see the lake.

The tire pressure light was still on when we got back to the resort so after showering we made the hour plus drive north into Burns to visit Les Schwab. Ironically we had had to stop in this same Les Schwab the last time we were in the Steens area due to a low tire pressure light in our Rav 4. That turned out to be a nail stuck in the tire but this time it was simply a low reading in the right rear tire. They made sure there was nothing stuck in it and that it wasn’t leaking and they had us back on our way in no time. We really appreciate the service we get from every Les Schwab we visit. It was a nice evening at the resort and the clouds made for a dramatic setting Sun.
DSCN0798

DSCN0804 The historic Frenchglen Hotel zoomed in on from the resort.

DSCN0807

This was our final night here and we’d be leaving early the next morning to hike along the Little Blitzen River before driving on to Fields (and getting milkshakes). Happy Trail!

Flickr: Steens Summit

Tags Alvord Desert, Big Indian Gorge, East Rim Viewpoint, Fish Lake, Frenchglen Hotel, hiking, Kiger Gorge, Les Schwab, Little Wildhorse Lake, Oregon, Steens Mountain, Steens Mountain Loop, Steens Mountain Resort, Steens Mountain Summit, Steens Mountain Wildernss, Wildhorse Creek, Wildhorse Lake

Hiking Oregon SE Oregon Steens Mountain Trip report

Big Indian Gorge – 08/17/2021

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 25, 2021
4 Comments on Big Indian Gorge – 08/17/2021

Our original plan for Tuesday had been to drive up the Steens Summit Loop Road and hike to the summit and Wildhorse Lake, one of four of Sullivan’s featured hikes (post) we were hoping to check off during the trip. With the amount of smoke in the air Monday night though we decided to wait until morning to decide if that was still the plan or if we were going to do the Big Indian Gorge hike instead. At 5am when we were heading out the door the air still smelled of smoke so Big Indian Gorge it was. We drove from the Steens Mountain Resort to Highway 205 in Frenchglen (a whopping 3.1 miles) and headed south on the highway ten miles to the southern end of the Steens Mountain Loop Road where we turned left for 18.9 miles to the South Steens Campground. This section of road passes through the South Steens Horse Management Area (HMA) and we got a chance to see some of the wild horses up close as we passed through.

The hike up Big Indian Gorge begins at a day use area at the end of the South Steens Campground.

One thing that we really appreciated about the trails in the area was the quality of information the BLM had posted at all the trailheads we visited. Maps, trail condition reports and photos were posted at them all.

The Big Indian Gorge Trail began as an old road bed passing through juniper and sagebrush on the way to the mouth of the gorge.

It was long past flower season but evidence of a large number of wildflowers was still visible.
There were tons of wild onions along the way.

Deer on one of the hillsides.

Beginning to drop down to Big Indian Creek.

Just under two miles from the current trailhead we arrived at a much older trailhead and a ford of Big Indian Creek.

This was the first of three fords (two of Big Indian Creek and one of Little Indian Creek) which I managed to make dry footed. Heather was not so lucky, which was a change from what normally happens on these types of crossings. The ford of Little Indian Creek followed just 0.2 miles later and proved to be quite a bit easier.

While there was still quite a bit of haze in the sky there was beginning to be some signs that things were improving.

Our goal for the day was to reach Cottonwood Camp, approximately 6.5 mile in, before turning around. Beyond Little Indian Creek the trail climbed a bit passing a collapsed cabin 0.4 miles from the second ford.

Three quarters of a mile from the cabin ruins we arrived at the third ford (3.1 miles from the trailhead). This crossing had enough exposed rocks to also make it across dry footed.

Quacking aspen along the trail.

We continued on passing a rather large boulder a mile from the third crossing where we passed a backpacker on his way back to the trailhead. The landscape was a mix of juniper and sagebrush with some quacking aspen and cottonwoods scattered about. Most of the wildflowers here were also far past bloom but a few were hanging on. We did notice that there had been a lot of Brown’s peony plants in the area which we sadly missed blooming.

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.

Cottonwood Camp was another 2.4 miles beyond the boulder. It was a very gentle climb through increasingly open terrain to the camp. We were heading toward the Sun which was amplifying the smokey haze ahead of us. We kept thinking we were going to be heading into increasingly thick smoke but that never really materialized.

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

We took a short side trail to the large camp site and took a nice break amid the cottonwoods. It hadn’t gotten too warm yet and as we rested a nice breeze picked up which kept the temperature down and started to push the smoke out.
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.

By the time we started back we could at least make out the headwall and other features further up the gorge through the haze that was left.

The view heading out of the gorge continued to improve as we made our way back to the fords and eventually the trailhead.

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.

20210817_111418 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 track – My GPS had 14 miles vs 13 miles but I tend to wander, a lot.

After our hike we drove back to the Steens Mountain Resort where the views had also improved greatly over the previous afternoons. Happy Trails!
DSCN0776 Our accommodations.

DSCN0772

Flickr: Big Indian Gorge

Tags Big Indian Creek, Big Indian Gorge, Cottonwood Camp, hiking, Little Indian Creek, Oregon, South Steens Horse Management Area, Steens Mountain, Steens Mountain Loop Road, Steens Mountain Resort, Steens Mountain Wild Horses, Steens Mountain Wilderness

Central Oregon Hiking Oregon SE Oregon Trip report

Sagehen Hill, Malheur Wildlife Refuge, & Donner Und Blitzen River – 08/16/2021

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 25, 2021
2 Comments on Sagehen Hill, Malheur Wildlife Refuge, & Donner Und Blitzen River – 08/16/2021

Monday was mostly a travel day as we left Bend and headed for the Steens Mountain Resort where we would be staying for the next three nights. We did however manage to get a few short hikes in along the way beginning with a trail that had intrigued us since the first time we’d stopped at the Sagehen Rest Area on Highway 20 eighteen miles west of Burns. A highway rest stop seemed like a bit of an odd place for a trail but that’s part of what piqued our interest. The Sagehen Hill Nature Trial is a short (just over half a mile) interpretive loop with 11 numbered stops.
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.

Smoke from fires near Lakeview, OR made for a smoke filled horizon and unlike our hike on Mt. Bachelor the previous day (post) here we could smell it in the air.
Red Sun through the smoke.

Despite the lack of views (on a clear day Steens Mountain would have been visible) it was a nice hike and the interpretive stops were interesting. We didn’t see any sage grouse here but we spotted some other wildlife along the route.

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.

This was a neat little trail and a nice leg stretcher. After completing the loop we drove into Burns, filled up our gas tank and then headed for our next stop at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters. This was the one place we had previously visited (post) but we hadn’t driven the entire auto tour route that time and there were some other trails in the complex that we could check out. We started with a stop at the headquarters where we once again were treated to a variety of wildlife as we toured the complex.

DSCN0516 Deer in the nearly dry Marshall Pond

DSCN0539 Yellow headed blackbird

DSCN0557 California quail

Owl

DSCN0614 Chipmunk

More quail

DSCN0617 The early bird

Hummingbird

Little bird on a feeder

We skipped the Overlook Trail this time due to the smoke filled horizon and started the auto tour route. Again there was plenty of wildlife to pause for along the drive and we also stopped at Benson Pond to hike the Benson Pond Trail (a short half mile out and back) where we were treated to a large number of ducks and other birds on the pond.
20210816_094117

DSCN0654 Shrike

Hawk and a magpie

DSCN0663 Osprey

DSCN0667 Turkey vultures

Coyote

Mourning doves

Egrets and ducks at Benson Pond

<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51393871889_968777c132_c.jpg" width="800" height="600" alt="IMG_2153">American kestral

Old cabin at Benson Pond

Another owl

DSCN0725 Another turkey vulture

Grasshopper

DSCN0733 White faced ibis

DSCN0736 Great blue heron amid the ducks.

A couple types of egrets it appears.

DSCN0763 Deer that were in the Blitzen River

DSCN0764 Bounding fawn

DSCN0769 Ducks and coots at Knox Pond

The auto tour route ends at the Steens Mountain Loop Road just a mile and a half from the Steens Mountain Resort. We were a bit too early to check in though so we drove past the resort another tenth of a mile to the entrance of the Page Springs Campground. We turned into the campground and parked at the day use area at its far end where two trails start. The one mile Wilderness Nature Trail and the 3.7 mile long Donner und Blitzen River Trail.

We decided to take the Donner und Blitzen Trail since the nature trail looped back into the campground and ended near one of the campsites leaving a short road walk back to the trailhead. The Donner und Blitzen Trail entered the Steens Mountain Wilderness a short distance from the trailhead and followed the river fairly closely for the first 1.2 miles which is as far as we went on this day. It was a little smokey and it was hot and enough time had passed that we would be able to check into the resort by the time we made it back to our car. The trail was a little brushy at times but a nice surprise was finding a loop option not shown on the map but clearly marked starting 0.4 miles from the trailhead and rejoining the river trail at the 0.7 mile mark. We took this route on the way back climbing up through the cliffs above the river providing some nice views despite the haze.

Bee and a butterfly

A brushy section.

A bee and a skipper

20210816_131717 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.

2.9 mile hike on the Donner und Blitzen trail

We got a total of 5.4 miles of hiking in between Sagehen Hill, the refuge headquarters, Benson Pond, and the Donner und Blitzen River. The abundant wildlife was the highlight of the day. We checked into the resort and got settled in our modular unit which had a full kitchen, shower, couch and most importantly A/C. We were hoping that the smoke would move out overnight or at least over the next day or two when the temperature was also set to drop to more reasonable levels. We spent the evening listening to the osprey that had a nest below the resort. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Sagehen Hill, Malheur Wildlife Refuge, and Donner und Blitzen River

Hiking Oregon SE Oregon

Myrtle Creek – SE Oregon Vacation Day 7

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date June 19, 2018
1 Comment on Myrtle Creek – SE Oregon Vacation Day 7

**Note the 2024 Falls Fire burned over the Myrtle Creek Trail.**

With our SE Oregon vacation winding down we started our 7th day in Burns, OR. As I mentioned in a previous post our guidebooks didn’t show a lot of hiking options in the immediate area but Sullivan’s 3rd edition Easter Oregon hiking guide did have the Myrtle Creek Trail listed in the additional hikes. The trailhead was a 32 mile drive north of Burns in the Malheur National Forest near the edge of the high desert. The paved roads allowed for a roughly 35 minute drive along Highway 395 to Forest Road 31 1.1 miles north of the Idlewild Campground. The short road to the trailhead was approximately 13.1 miles up FR 31 on the left.

A quick check on the trail status on the Forest Service website showed that the trail was open but receives light use and had not been maintained. It didn’t say how long it had been since the last trail maintenance but being that it passed through a ponderosa forest we weren’t too concerned because those types of forests typically don’t have much underbrush and suffer less blowdown than forests with other types of conifers.

At the trailhead Myrtle Creek lazily meandered through a meadow.

A barbed wire fence separated the creek and the trail as we set off but near the end of the meadow the fence also ended.

Here the trail made the first of several climbs away from the creek as it passed above some exposed rocks.

There were quite a few flowers along this first stretch of trail which was just a sample of what was to follow.
Old man’s whiskers and a chocolate lily

Penstemon

Death camas

A clover

Lupine

Arnica

Large-flower triteleia

As we neared the mile and a half mark the trail descended back down to the creek to a crossing. There was a footbridge there but it looked as though it came out of a Dr. Seuss book.

It would have been easy enough to splash across the creek but sometimes you just want to keep your feet dry so we accepted the challenge of the twisted bridge and made our way across it. More flowers awaited on the far side.
Oregon sunshine

Sticky geranium

Woodland star

Columbine

Larkspur

A quarter mile after crossing Myrtle Creek we came to a sign for Crane Creek which was nearly dry (it was dry when we returned later in the day).

There were some nice scarlet gilia flowers in this area.

After another quarter mile we passed a sign for the West Myrtle Creek Trail which must be invisible because we couldn’t see any trace of it.

A short distance later we crossed West Myrtle Creek.

More flowers appeared along the creek including some yellow paint.

A little over a mile from West Myrtle Creek the trail climbed uphill via a couple of switchbacks not shown on the map. A doe and small fawn ran off into the forest as we approached a green grassy area amid the ponderosa. Around the same area we saw a squirrel and a noisy woodpecker.

A short while later we noticed a sign on a tree in the middle of grassy area. Upon closer inspection it was a sign for Arden Glade.

Beyond Arden Glade the trail returned to the meadows along the creek and continued to alternate between the meadows and the trees. Climbing up and down at least a bit each time. The further we went the fainter the trail got especially in the meadows where we often lost it completely only to rediscover it when it reentered the trees.

Just beyond the six mile mark we passed a post and what appeared to be a trail descending on the far side of the creek. We believe that was the FL Spring Trail.

The miles had been marked by small plaques on trees through mile six.

We had set a turn around time of no later than 9am for the hike. The trail was 8 miles one way and ended at private land. We had been averaging about 25 minutes a mile when we passed mile 6 and it was just after 8:15 at that point so we decided to try and reach the marker for mile 7 (assuming there was one). Just under a mile from the FL Spring Trail junction we lost the trail once again in a meadow only this time we coudn’t find a continuation of the trail amid the downed logs.

A glance at the time showed that it had been about half an hour since we’d passed mile 6 so we figured that we most likely had passed the 7 mile mark and either missed the markers or perhaps there weren’t any. After a short break and quick snack, we decided to head back. It was about ten till 9 anyway. It had been a chilly morning but it was warming up quickly on our way back and the rising temperatures brought out the butterflies.

When we were finished our GPS had us at 14.2 miles so we may well have made the 7 mile mark after all. Although the trail was faint in places it was a nice hike with a lot of solitude. It was a little strange to be hiking in a true forest again after a week in the sagebrush and junipers though.

We drove back to Burns then returned to Bend for another visit with Heather’s parents where we had some excellent pizza at Olde Town Pizza. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Myrtle Creek

Tags Arden Glade, Burns, butterflies, Crane Creek, FL Spring Trail, hiking, Malheur National Forest, Myrtle Creek, Myrtle Creek Trail, Oregon, West Myrtle Creek Trail

Hiking Oregon SE Oregon Trip report

Borax Hot Springs, Big Sand Gap, and Pike Creek – SE Oregon Vacation Day 6

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date June 19, 2018
7 Comments on Borax Hot Springs, Big Sand Gap, and Pike Creek – SE Oregon Vacation Day 6

Day 6 of our vacation was the day we began our journey home. Of course we had some hiking to do along the way. We had three hikes planned along the East Steens Road on the way to Burns from Fields. We were still operating on Mountain Time so we wound up awake before dawn and were leaving Fields Station as the sun began rising. It was the first morning where we got to see a good desert sunrise.

Our first stop was at Borax Hot Springs which was just a five and a half mile drive away so we arrived while the spectacular sunrise show was still in full swing. After passing a warning sign on the road in we parked at a fence with a closed gate.

Now owned by the Nature Conservancy the area was once used to collect sodium borate crusts which were dissolved to make borax. We followed an old road bed for a half a mile past a pair of large vats used in that process to Borax Lake.

We saw a couple of jack rabbits along the way.

Borax Lake has an arsenic level 25 times acceptable levels and is considered fatal to humans. The only creatures able to survive in the lake are the Borax Lake chub that can withstand those levels.

We continued following the road beyond the lake which now passed a series of bubbling hot springs on the right.

The springs varied in size and colors making each one we passed interesting in its own way.

A half mile from Borax Lake we crossed a fence to the final series of pools.

We turned back where the road veered left at the last pools. Here Alvord Lake could be seen in the distance where numerous birds were enjoying the arsenic free water.

We headed back the way we’d come returning to our car and heading back towards East Steens Road. As we drove along the power line road used to reach the trailhead we spotted something furry along the right side. It was a badger! It took off running but paused briefly to look back at us when I stopped to try and take a picture. It was too quick though and disappeared into the sagebrush. We knew there were badgers in the area but never expected to see one.

We got back onto East Steens Road and headed north. At some point our low tire pressure light came on which given the roads we’d been on up to that point wasn’t all that unexpected. We turned right at a sign for Frog Springs where we turned down a bumpy .2 mile road to a parking area and restrooms. This was the way to our next hike but also gave us an opportunity to look at the tires. The left rear was a little suspect but I also checked the gas cap which didn’t seem tightened all the way and can also cause that light to come on. The other possibility was the spare tire. We decided to continue on since if it was the gas cap it could take several miles for the light to go off. From there we followed an even bumpier road a tenth of a mile to the playa of the Alvord Desert.

Our next hike began on the other side of this ancient lake bed five and a half miles away. I had set up a way point on our GPS unit for the approximate location that our guidebook suggested we park at for the hike to Big Sand Gap. I turned the unit on and we drove across the playa with Steens Mountain in our rear view mirror.

The only trails to Big Sand Gap are wild horse trails made by the Kiger mustangs as they visit a marshy spring near the edge of the playa. The hike description we were following called for a .3 mile hike left around the spring before following the horse trails into the gap. That was easier said then done as the spring was not visible at ground level and it was only described as a slight rise to the left.

Big Sand Gap on the other hand was much easier to locate ahead of us.

We did our best to locate the spring but got pulled a little too far right by some pink flagging on some greasewood bushes and wound up on the wrong side of the marshy area.

It was okay though as the wild horses had made a clear path on this side of the spring as well.

Steens Mountain from a horse trail.

There was in fact a confusion of horse trail but we simply kept our eyes on Big Sand Gap and took which ever trail seemed most direct at that moment. Approximately 1.6 miles from the spring we reached the gap.

Here we turned right and headed up a fairly steep slope toward the rim of the cliff.

We had to go behind a rock outcrop and work our way up to a higher point where the views of the Alvord Desert below and Steens Mountain beyond were amazing.

On our climb up we’d both noticed a horse trail on the next hillside over that at least appeared a little less steep. We decided to follow that trail back down.

Near the bottom of this trail we cut cross country toward the opening of Big Sand Gap and started seeing lizards.

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From the gap we could see our car and decided that we would try and take a slightly more direct route back instead of skirting the spring. Extending a line from our car across the desert to Steens Mountain we were able to find an identifiable peak that we would be able to see even when we lost sight of our car.

With our bearing identified we set off but quickly got side tracked by some leopard lizards. We saw a couple and one was nice enough to pose for a while.

In addition to the lizards we saw a few hardy desert wildflowers.

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Our heading was good and we were able to go almost directly to our car completing the hike in just under 5 miles. We drove back across the playa with our low pressure light still on and returned to East Steens Road. We turned right and continued north for 2.3 miles to Alvord Hot Springs where we picked up a $5 permit for the Pike Creek Trail and then continued north an additional 2.2 miles to a signed turnoff on the left for Pike Creek.

The half mile road to the trailhead was really rough and we quickly wished we had parked back at the sign so when we reached a spot where we were able to park off the road we did so and hiked the final short distance following posts for the Pike Creek Trail.

The well marked route followed a closed roadbed to the Pike Creek Campground, where a juniper was growing out of a split rock, and then across Pike Creek.

A wooden trail sign awaited on the far side of the creek where we followed an old mining road uphill to a registration box.

After signing in we continued uphill on the old roadbed toward Steens Mountain.

As we hiked along we were surprised at the number and variety of butterflies along the trail.

Pike Creek was quite a ways below the trail and mostly hidden by the green vegetation it supported.

Just over a mile from the campground we passed into the Steens Mountain Wilderness, making this the 36th different designated wilderness area we’d visited in Oregon.

Shortly after entering the wilderness area the trail crossed Pike Creek again and then began to climb away once more. Steens Mountain continued to grow closer ahead of us and behind us we could see the Alvord Desert and Big Sand Gap on the other side.

We had left the old mining road behind at the crossing where a mine shaft and nearly hidden dynamite shed remain.
Mine shaft

Hidden dynamite shed

The trail now climbed via a series of switchbacks up the canyon. We entertained ourselves by looking for different butterflies amid the flowers.

Butterflies weren’t the only interesting insects that we saw during the hike.

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After a little over a mile and a half of climbing since the second crossing we arrived at our turn around spot, the first of three forks of the creek.

The views just before the creek were a little better than at the creek itself but there were some convenient rocks to sit on under the cover of a juniper tree which provided some nice cool shade while we had a snack and watched even more butterflies.

We returned the way we’d come under the watchful eye of a local.

At 5.8 miles round trip this was the longest of the three hikes that day and definitely the one with the most elevation gain.

We once again checked our tires which seemed to still look the same under the eyeball test so when we reached East Steens Road we once again headed north on our way to Burns. It was just after 3pm when we arrived in Burns and we headed straight for the Les Schwab Tire Center to have them check things out. They confirmed that the left rear tire was a little low so we had them pull it off and do a more thorough check. It turned out that it wasn’t the rocks that had done us in but a small nail which I am convinced was placed in the road by the badger.

After being taken care of by the good folks at Les Schwab (free of charge) we checked into the Silver Spur Motel for the night. In the morning we had another hiked planned then we’d be off to Bend for another visit with Heather’s parents. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Borax Hot Springs, Big Sand Gap, and Pike Creek

Tags Alvord Desert, Alvord Hot Springs, Badger, Big Sand Gap, Borax Hot Springs, Borax Lake, Burns, East Steens Road, hiking, Les Schwab, Oregon, Pike Creek, Pike Creek Trail, Playa, Steens Mountain, Steens Mountain Wilderness

Hiking Oregon SE Oregon Trip report

Pillars of Rome and Chalk Basin – SE Oregon Vacation Day 5

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date June 18, 2018
4 Comments on Pillars of Rome and Chalk Basin – SE Oregon Vacation Day 5

On day 5 we said goodbye to Jordan Valley and headed west on Highway 95 to Rome where we made a brief detour to visit the Pillars of Rome. The sun was still rising when we arrived so our lighting wasn’t great for photos but the interesting rock formation here were a taste of what we’d be seeing later during our hike at Chalk Basin.

After visiting the pillars we returned to the highway and followed our guidebooks directions to Chalk Basin. The description of the drive calls for a high clearance vehicle and I would add you need all wheel drive at a minimum. The final 16.6 miles of the drive were by far the worst we’ve driven. A theme was developing on this trip and we once again parked before the recommended starting point. This time we parked .9 miles from where the guidebook suggested at an old tire that had been converted to a water trough.

There are no trails at Chalk Basin but after walking the .9 miles we turned right at an x junction onto an even worse old roadbed and headed down into Chalk Basin.

There were some tire tracks present, I can only assume they were from OHVs, as we followed the road for 1.2 miles to a fork. Along the way we passed some tufted evening primroses and an orange globe mallow.

Across the basin we had a view of some mini painted hills.

We veered right at the fork and in a tenth of a mile came to a crossing of a dry wash.

We turned right here and headed down the wash.

We followed this wash for .7 miles to a drop off at a dry waterfall. It was an interesting hike through the wash which it turned out was not entirely dry.
Side blotched lizard

Wildflowers in the wash

Smooth stemmed blazing star

Monkeyflower

End of the water in the wash

Above the dry waterfall

Following our guidebook we backtracked 100 feet and climbed out of the wash up the gentlest slope to the south.

When we crested the hill we could see the canyon we had been in winding its way toward the Owyhee River Canyon.

We continued south heading for another large dry wash, this one running north/south.

We headed for that wash passing a group of smooth, rounded protrusions.

As we were dropping into this wash the one and only snake we would see on our whole trip passed between us heading uphill. It was a decently sized garter snake, not one of the areas many rattlesnakes. Heather never even saw it and it disappeared into the sagebrush. Soon after a small side blotched lizard raced into a different bush, then a much larger lizard raced out of that same area and up onto some rocks.

We were supposed to follow this wash for another .7 miles, staying left at forks, to the head of the wash. We passed some interesting rock formations along the way but somewhere along the line we took one left fork too many.

We didn’t realize it at first as we had been trying to only take the most obvious left hand forks. When we reached the end of the wash we headed cross country toward the lowest point we could see which happened to be a little to the south of a large rock fin.

If we had been in the correct spot we would have crested a ridge at the edge of a rim just to the NE of a feature known as the Yellow Knoll. Instead when we reached the top of the ridge the Yellow Knoll was still quite a ways to the south.
Yellow Knoll with the Yellow Dome to its left.

Yellow Knoll

Yellow Dome

We followed the ridge up and down a little under half a mile to the Yellow Knoll. The views form the ridge were great as we made our way over.

We eventually made it over to the Yellow Knoll and hiked to a viewpoint atop it.

After checking out the view from Yellow Knoll we headed for Yellow Dome and climbed to its top.

The view from Yellow Dome was even more impressive as the Owyhee River flowed past rows of chalk pillars.

After admiring that view we headed back past Yellow Knoll and followed the canyon rim for half a mile before striking off cross country following a dry stream bed in a westerly direction.

This dry stream ran past the water trough that we’d parked at so all we had to do was keep that on our left and it would lead us back to our waiting car.

Dry stream bed (indentation) on the left with Steens Mountain in the distance.

Following the stream bed worked perfectly and we were soon back on the horrible road after a spectacular 6.9 mile hike at Chalk Basin. After surviving the road we took Highway 78 north to East Steens Road where we turned left toward Fields. The road is paved for the first 10.9 then turns to gravel for the next 42.3 miles before turning pack to pavement. The views of Steens Mountain and the Alvord Desert along this drive were amazing and we did stop once when we spotted a pair of sandhill cranes in a field.

When we arrived at Fields Station we checked on the availability of a room. Fortunately there was one available for the night so we checked in. The room was actually a large front room with a bed, table, chairs, refrigerator/freezer and a coffee maker, a bathroom, and another bedroom in the back. After getting settled we went over to the store/cafe and ordered bacon cheeseburgers and a couple of their famous milkshakes before the cafe closed at 4pm. I had a 3C – Coffee, Chocolate, and Caramel and Heather had a combination of Raspberry and Chocolate. They lived up to the hype. We had a full day of hiking ahead of us before we started our journey home so we turned in early (a little extra early now that we were back on Pacific Standard Time instead of Mountain Time). Happy Trails!

Flickr: Pillars of Rome and Chalk Basin

Tags Chalk Basin, Fields Station, hiking, Milkshake, Oregon, Owyhee River, Pillars of Rome, Rome Oregon, Sandhill Crane, Side blotched lizard, smooth stemmed blazing star, Steens Mountain, Tufted evening primrose, Yellow Dome, Yellow Knoll