11 miles of hiking • 2000' elevation gain • 1 night
Two day hikes and an overnight camp near Smith Rock State Park. First up was Scout Camp Loop, a 3 mile trail around a lava fin along the Deschutes River near it's confluence w/ Wychus Creek. Enjoyable hike in clear, cold, sunny Central OR. Then on to Steelhead Falls to watch kayakers attempt it. Pretty humorous, but made me cold just watching them plunge into near freezing water on a 35 degree day. We set up camp near the falls in the user campsites near the parking area. The nightime temps plunged to near single digits. I've never camped in such cold weather. We went to dinner @ The Terrebonne Depot to stay warm. Once we returned to camp at bedtime, the stars were incredible and the owls hooted into the crisp night air. After waking up and warming up in town @ Pump House for breakfast, we walked around Gray Butte. Great views of the Cascade Ridge to the West. All the peaks were visible despite an air stagnation alert in Central Oregon. Haze obscured the valleys, but the peaks rose above the smog.
