24 miles of hiking • 750' elevation gain •
Got my arm twisted (real hard, I tell ya!), and ended up heading for the desert again last weekend. This time, we decided to simply haul in and out the Deschutes to the old abandoned ranch (or better), and try getting back before dark. Success! Managed to maintain an average 3.4 mph moving pace for the duration. What a beautiful canyon to wander through!
Saw a coyote right at the get-go. Or rather, he seemed to see us, after which he just boogied right up the hill, carefully dodging behind sagebrush whenever the camera was almost ready to shoot. Saw all sorts of waterfowl down along the river, including geese, cormorants, several duck varieties, and more. Saw a herd of black-tail(?) deer, going both in and out. Saw some birds of prey, circling high above. Probably saw more, but there ya go.
The old ranch house appears to be about ready to collapse completely. The northern extension has separated completely. The backside has fallen off. The chimney is leaning precariously. One or two more heavy snow loads, and I'm betting it's gone. There were some more interesting buildings just beyond. Seems some of them may still be in use? Bizarre! Fun to see the historic water tower, as well.
After a quick lunch at the water tower around 2pm, we just high-tailed it back down the trail, making it back to the parking lot just after sunset. Most of the return was in the shadows, though, so it was good to have taken a lot of photos on the way in. But we did dawdle at the most awesome display of columnar basalt that I've ever seen, on the way out. Yowsa! The mind boggles at its formation.
Comments
Karl
January 26, 2016
Such a great getaway from the damp, gray west side! I'd urge you to be sure you have a blue sky forecast, though. Added so much. And be really ready to move, if you go in winter. We barely stopped; maybe the fastest sustained speed I've ever done for that distance!
![Trip Computer](http://epeterson.net/maps/20160124/TripComputer.jpg%20"Trip%20Computer")
Karl
January 26, 2016
Huh. Tried to embed the trip computer using markdown, but that sure didn't work. Here's an experiment with standard html to see if that's any better...
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/3bT5hiA.jpg">
Woodswalker
January 27, 2016
Beautiful shots, each and every one. It's been too long since I've been out there.
Karl
January 28, 2016
Thanks, WW! First time; won't be the last!
Rhonda
January 25, 2016
I've been wanting to get back out to do this one. Last time we turned around at the box car. I think I will have to put this up higher on my list now.