Last year around the Memorial Day weekend, I took a trip down to SE Oregon. While I was down there I made a note of mountains and areas that looked interesting. One of these areas, the Pueblo Mountains which are just south of Steens Mountain and the Alvord Desert caught my attention.
There is a route through the Pueblo Mountains which is part of the Desert Trail. The Desert trail is a trail that is envisioned to run between Mexico and Canada much like the Pacific Crest Trail or Continental Divide trail. There are about 8 sections so far that have been planned out, mostly in Oregon and Northern Nevada and the Pueblo Mountains just happen to be one of the sections. The route is not a trail but a series of cairns set up to guide the way. You can go to the Desert Trail's website and order maps directly from them for each of the sections. We did this on our trip and the map was very nice with all the cairn locations and coordinates from each cairn to the next. Very much worth the $6 for the map. If you like a more detailed map, the USGS maps are probably a better choice, however the USGS maps lack the cairn locations. We had both maps and we were glad we did.
Armed with the knowledge of this new area I wanted to explore, I recruited a friend from my club to go with me. Kevin Koski is a member of my local hiking club, the Peninsula Wilderness Club. He is also a member of Olympic Mountain Rescue and was recently recognized by the American Red Cross for his involvement in a rescue on Mt Rainier. Oh, and he has hiked the entire Continental Divide Trail from Canada to Mexico. In other words, A good person to have as a hiking partner. I'd been on a few trips with Kevin before. I enjoy Kevin's company and knew I could count on him to lead the way should the route be difficult. He has an almost sixth sense when it comes to route finding. He's a good guy and I knew he'd be interested in hiking a relatively unknown route. I invited Kevin about a year out from the trip.
Other than taking a few extra days off to extend our Memorial day weekend and buying maps, not much planning was put into this. Follow the story below as it unfolded by scrolling through the images.
The drive down
On our drive down, we saw an osprey swoop up out of the river that was flowing next to a road we were on and it had a big fish. It looked like a big golden trout. It was perhaps only 20 or 30 feet from us and flew in front of and along with us for a few seconds. It was one of the coolest things I had ever seen. Although not a golden trout like the one we saw, the picture here represents almost exactly how big the fish was compared to the bird we saw and also how the osprey was carrying it. Very aerodynamic. The fish even had the same surprised look as this one, as it had never flown before, LOL. I found this image online and "borrowed" it. If this is your image and you would like credit for it or would like me to remove it, send me a message or comment below.We were somewhere else in Central Oregon on a dirt road stretch that we decided to take and subsequently get lost on. I almost ran over this gopher snake. I used one of Kevin's hiking poles to move it along. It was probably a good two and a half feet long.After driving much of the day, we finally we arrive at the Alvord Desert, our camp for the night.The Alvord is a wilderness study area.Very fun!Little Kevin on the big desert playa.Camping on the playa. Photo Courtesy of Kevin KoskiThis looked awesome!These guys were hiking across the playa. We pondered where they might be headed, but respected their solitude such as it was, and left them to their own devices. I suspect that they were on the Alvord desert portion of the Desert Trail.
Day 1
So after our night out on the playa, we found ourselves at the beginning of our hike. I asked the nice lady inside the Fields store if it was OK to leave our car a few days. She seemed unsure but generally seemed to think it would be OK. We parked on the south end of the parking lot and started hiking up the McDade Ranch Road next to the store. This picture is actually from my road trip through SE Oregon the previous year.This is what greeted us as we started walking. See the little rain drop on the lens? A funny story. Kevin stopped right here and donned his pack cover. I said oh crap, I wasn't expecting rain (this would be a common thread throughout our trip). As he was putting on his cover, I looked at something that was stuck to some sagebrush. It was a silver, heavy duty garbage bag that had a big hole ripped in it. It was clean and I thought I could fashion a pack cover out of it. It looked really trashy (haha) as you'll see in the rest of the pictures but surprisingly, it never blew off my pack the whole trip. Talk about good fortune! Other than shotgun shells and abandoned buildings, this was the only garbage I saw on the whole trip.Eventually we made our way off the road when we came to a gate that said no trespassing. This is where the route started. We tried to stay on BLM land as much as we could, but a few times we were obviously on someones property. These horses at first looked wild but they were all branded. They looked like they wanted a hand out from us as they all came to greet us.Kevin with his hipster hat, and industrial strength purple pack cover, studying the route on the map.Very curious.Curious, or maybe they thought we had something for them.The old Starr homesteadThe water here was pretty good. There was a pipe from the ground that was continuously running from a spring to fill the trough.A room with a viewThe weather was fickle. Photo courtesy of Kevin KoskiThundershower headed our way. We went from very dusty to very muddy in a short period of time. Photo courtesy of Kevin KoskiCows greeted us at the Roux Springs place.With the incoming weather, it crossed my mind to wait out the storm in what was left of the Roux Springs place.Waiting out the storm might not have been a bad idea, but the hail only lasted 20 minutes or so.Approaching the first cairn. Note the hail covered hillside. Photo Courtesy of Kevin KoskiHail covered hillside. It had been thundering and lightning much of the day. As we approached the first cairn, we decided it best to wait until morning to get on the crest of the Pueblos. It was at this point that we started looking for a place to camp for the night.Finally, our first cairn of the trip. I believe this is cairn 2 on the desert trail map. We got a little off track and missed the first cairn. This marks about eight and a half miles for the day. A short day, but after the route finding, lack of a trail and walking through sagebrush and mud, setting up camp sounded pretty good.We pitched Kevin's Tarptent and took a nap. When we woke up, the sun had come out! Photo Courtesy of Kevin KoskiBlue Skies!He's so small in this image you can't see him. Kevin is sitting on some of the rock outcropping in the center of the image. He took a picture from this vantage point as seen below.Kevin's vantage from his hillside climb. Steens Mountain would be in view if not for the clouds. Photo courtesy of Kevin KoskiThis is a view I had from a trip to a little spring to grab some water.Lonely desert viewsSun setting
Panorama
Day 2
Sunrise - Photo courtesy of Kevin KoskiThe next day, after breakfast, we headed up the mountainside in search of the next cairn. Mountain Mahogany trees were the dominant features of the landscape this morning. Photo Courtesy of Kevin KoskiAncient Mountain Mahogany treesLooking NW from the ridge and first saddle along the routeLooking SE from the first saddleCairn 6 along the route. - Photo courtesy of Kevin KoskiKevin at cairn 6The route ahead. The route generally follows along the ridge-line on the right. Sometimes along the top of the ridge and often side-hilling but always following the same ridge. The tall mountain on the left is Pueblo Mountain and stands alone and is not actually part of the Pueblo Mountains Desert Trail route.Kevin heading for cairn 7The route aheadCannon-hole rock formation with cairn on topClouds moving inAs I side-hilled and followed some cairns, Kevin, being a purist stuck to the ridge line.A look back at the way we had comeBy this point, the weather had finally reached us. Picture courtesy of Kevin KoskiRain. Picture courtesy of Kevin KoskiAnother cairn along the route. Rain was getting stronger near here. Picture courtesy of Kevin KoskiThe map calls the scene here Willow Creek Pockets. This was from around cairn 19 or 20An ancient mountain Mahogany - Picture courtesy of Kevin KoskiAnother cairn. The weather was getting quite nasty by this point. - Picture courtesy of Kevin KoskiThis was an interesting feature on the route. The rock was very old looking and somehow looked out of place.Note the cairn on top of the big rock.
I believe this is cairn 22 or 23. After this image, I put my camera away for the rest of the day to keep it dry. Along this stretch it was particularly nasty. Rain, sleet and sustained winds that we were hiking against, not to mention the fact that pushing constantly through the sagebrush was very tiring. This was the low point of the trip. My camera did not come out again until later after we had made our camp. No pictures from this cairn until around cairn 40. We stayed at about the 7100 foot level through here. Roll mouse over image to get a general idea of the route. No mouse?
Last night in the Pueblos. This was taken from camp during a break in the rain. Kevin is surveying the route ahead.
Our wonderful camp amongst the mountain mahogany trees. It rained off and (mostly) on all night. The trees were an excellent wind break.
Day 3
When we woke up, the sound of the rain hitting the tent had stopped. It seemed pretty chilly out. Kevin got up and out of the tent before me and informed me it was snowing! I admit I didn't sleep too well that night as I was anxious about waking in the morning and putting on my wet clothes. The sound of snow didn't thrill me too much. The day before had been, well to be frank, it seemed quite dangerous as the possibility of hypothermia was very real. Back at home, I had packed my backpack pretty light. I had all of the essentials, but I really could have done a better job with my clothes selection. I had forgotten a couple of inner layers that I shouldn't have been without and my rain jacket had failed. I figured I was going to the desert and it would be dry so I didn't prepare as well as I should have. It really doesn't rain much in this part of the world, but neglecting to pack the proper clothes was a rookie mistake I will not make again. You should always be prepared no matter where or when you go do something like this. I still had my warm down jacket but its not something I like to hike in as I like keep it as a last resort. Well, it got used this morning as I hiked out with it on. This image is looking down the canyon route that was the last leg of our trip and our exit to the desert floor near the Nevada border. Photo Courtesy of Kevin KoskiDrying out! If you follow the line of the creek up towards the saddle, that is where we camped. Actually you can't see the saddle as it is cloud obscured, but you get the point. The snow and light drizzle had stopped at this point and it was actually quite a bit warmer than where we camped up near the ridge. The sun was coming out and the down jacket was soon coming off. Photo courtesy of Kevin KoskiLovely aspen tree grove in Denio BasinKevin taking pictures of the aspensLeaving the wilderness study area. Photo Courtesy of Kevin KoskiMe and what is left of some old miners cabin in Denio Canyon. Photo Courtesy of Kevin KoskiThe trees were growing in the little creek and on the old miner's road. In a few places we had to side-hill on the talus above a few spots because it was very overgrown. Photo courtesy of Kevin KoskiLeaving the Pueblo Mountains for good.Kevin looking towards Nevada. We were almost there. The plan was to head into Denio Nevada and catch a ride back to the car. I thought there would be a store close by but it turned out to be about 3 miles further down the road and neither of us needed anything from the store that bad. Note the fog in the picture from my lens. The condensation was inside the camera. Not good for such an expensive toy. At this point I should note, when you follow this road out you will come to a gate. There was a sign that said private property, no trespassing. Its right on this Denio Canyon access road to get into the Pueblos. There was a house nearby and a lady was outside tending to her yard. we could also see the hwy 205 Fields-Denio road just a hundred yards away. I yelled hello to the owner and she was real nice and let us pass through. She was grateful that we asked permission as she said most folks just barge right through and basically walk or drive down her driveway to get to the road. I'm not sure how there is not some kind of easement to allow traffic on this road, but I thought I would mention it should someone reading this decide to hike the Pueblos planning to leave a vehicle from this end. Probably should get permission from the owner first.Welcome to Nevada! Photo courtesy of Kevin KoskiWelcome to Nevada! Photo courtesy of Kevin KoskiOn the 292! Photo courtesy of Kevin KoskiWe hitch-hiked for about an hour and a half. Not a lot of traffic in these parts We saw perhaps 10 cars the whole time. Note the socks drying on the trekking pole! Photo courtesy of Kevin Koski
We caught our ride from an old boy in a pick up truck. I rode in the back on top of a bunch of irrigation equipment while Kevin rode in the cab. From where I was I could see the guy was clearly drinking what looked to be a rum and Coke. At least he erred on the side of caution and drove right down the center of the road. Ha, I guess he figured that if he swerved he would have plenty of room to correct. Turns out our driver was a rancher and was none other that the owner of the water trough at the Starr ranch. He told Kevin he had lived in the area since the 70s. He was certainly a nice fella, despite the drinking and driving. I offered him $20 twice but he refused both times. Gas isn't cheap and I figured he probably went at least 30 miles out of his way to drive us back to Fields.
Once we were in Fields, Kevin bought each of us a delicious milkshake in the store. In the car, we decided to take a different route home by way of going south, back through Denio and heading west on HWY 140. I was pretty tired but we made it back home a little after midnight stopping only once in Bend for a Subway sandwich.
Part of me, no, a big part of me is disappointed that the weather wasn't better for this trip. I'm bummed that I didn't get to witness any great vistas from the ridge-line during the rough weather. Honestly, while I was on the ridge, I was just hunkered down putting one foot in front of the next, hoping we soon got to camp so we could warm up. Part of me wants to do this trip again, but due to the great distance from my home, I imagine I probably never will. There are other parts of the Desert Trail in my sights now, such as the Steens Mountain section or the Alvord Desert section. Until then, I'll keep dreaming about the SE Oregon high desert.
This map is an overview of the whole trip. Blue lines indicate the road trip which started and ended in Silverdale WA. The red line indicates where we hiked. See map below for more detail on the hike itself.
Go here for a full screen map of our route. Some of the cairns were logged by me. The rest of the cairns, mostly between cairns 20-40 were pulled from a GPX file that Allison from allisonoutside.net provided. Zoom in for high resolution TOPO view.
I would very much like to thank Allison for the GPX file and for the inspiration and information about this trip through her website. Give her page a visit, she has some great photos and a nice write-up of this trip. http://allisonoutside.net/2011/06/incrediburgible/
Thank you for this video. I am trying to formalize this Desert Trail route. The Desert Trail Association disbanded in 2020 and there is now no contact for the Association or anyone else who is caring for the Desert Trail. It’s as if it simply disappeared from the map.
I need a list of GPS locations for the cairns. Someone gave me a list for cairns 32 to 48, but I have been unable to find a list for Cairns 1 to 31.
Can you help? Or anyone reading this? Let me know if you have, or can get, a list for the cairns.
Great show! I am looking for a list of the cairns in the Pueblos with GPS locations (in NAD027, as on the topos). GPS would make the cairns easier to find. I have heard that such a list exists, but have only been able to obtain GPS for Cairns 32 to 48. If anyone has such a list or knows where to get one, please contact me at desert609@aol.com. Steve Tabor
There is a route through the Pueblo Mountains which is part of the Desert Trail. The Desert trail is a trail that is envisioned to run between Mexico and Canada much like the Pacific Crest Trail or Continental Divide trail. There are about 8 sections so far that have been planned out, mostly in Oregon and Northern Nevada and the Pueblo Mountains just happen to be one of the sections. The route is not a trail but a series of cairns set up to guide the way. You can go to the Desert Trail's website and order maps directly from them for each of the sections. We did this on our trip and the map was very nice with all the cairn locations and coordinates from each cairn to the next. Very much worth the $6 for the map. If you like a more detailed map, the USGS maps are probably a better choice, however the USGS maps lack the cairn locations. We had both maps and we were glad we did.
Fascinating journey! I love the desert and thoroughly enjoyed your story and images!
Enjoyable read! What a great trip!
Thanks Sue!
Jay,
Nice Trip Report! It was a great hike, and I liked the randomness of it!
Thank you for this video. I am trying to formalize this Desert Trail route. The Desert Trail Association disbanded in 2020 and there is now no contact for the Association or anyone else who is caring for the Desert Trail. It’s as if it simply disappeared from the map.
I need a list of GPS locations for the cairns. Someone gave me a list for cairns 32 to 48, but I have been unable to find a list for Cairns 1 to 31.
Can you help? Or anyone reading this? Let me know if you have, or can get, a list for the cairns.
Thanks. Steve Tabor desert609@aol.com (510) 769-3414
Steve, I sent you an email.
Great show! I am looking for a list of the cairns in the Pueblos with GPS locations (in NAD027, as on the topos). GPS would make the cairns easier to find. I have heard that such a list exists, but have only been able to obtain GPS for Cairns 32 to 48. If anyone has such a list or knows where to get one, please contact me at desert609@aol.com. Steve Tabor
Steve, I sent you an email.
This route is part of the Oregon Desert Trail. If you google, you can find documentation of the route, etc.