GlassMountains Trip Reports

Baldy Mountain, Oregon, June 2026

June 30, 2026 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On Thursday, June 25, I visited Baldy Mountain in the Blue Mountains southeast of Prairie City, Oregon. Linda and I were returning to Bend from Baker City but I took a detour on the way while Linda drove on to Bend with our dogs. I expected a quick detour, but it proved otherwise.

Baldy Mountain from my parking spot on abandoned FR 312

A quick search on a peak database I use reveals there are 80 peaks in Oregon with “Bald” in their name, and 6 named “Baldy Mountain”. This Baldy Mountain has 7618 feet of elevation and 958 feet of topographic prominence. It has been on my “wish list” of Blue Mountain peaks to visit for several years.

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Cookes Peak, New Mexico, February 2026

February 22, 2026 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On Monday, February 9, I climbed Cookes Peak, the highpoint of the Cookes Range in Southwestern New Mexico. Cookes Peak is a remarkable landmark, one I have often admired as we passed by on our autumn and spring migrations between Arizona and Oregon. I had not had an opportunity earlier to stop and visit it. But this month we decided to spend some days camped at City of Rocks State Park in New Mexico. This provided me my chance to finally visit Cookes Peak.

Our campsite at City of Rocks State Park, New Mexico

Sunday we drove from Tucson east to Demming, then north towards Silver City, and parked at our small campsite amongst the curious rock towers at the park. The site was flat and had room for both our RV and my Jeep.

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Tandem Skydiving, Oregon, August 2025

August 26, 2025 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On Sunday, August 24, Linda and I celebrated her birthday by tandem skydiving. I knew Linda had wanted to do this from early in her life, and I found that Skydive Bend, with a landing zone at the Madras Municipal Airport, provided this service. Skydive Bend seemed to have a good reputation and a lot of experience. So I signed us up for the experience. Some time later I advised Linda of what we would be doing on her birthday.

Linda and I standing beside the little plane that will take us up for the jump.

We checked in at the Skydive Bend facility about 11AM Sunday. The day was quite smoky from the nearby Flat Fire to the southwest. It was warm at the airport, but we expected it would be cooler at altitude. After getting some advice we decided to wear what we came with, T-shirts, long pants, and running shoes.

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Castle Rock, Oregon, August 2025

August 16, 2025 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On Wednesday, August 6, I climbed Castle Rock, a steep volcanic plug north of the community of Juntura in Eastern Oregon. It seems located in a transition region between Oregon’s Blue Mountains and High Lava Plains. I have often noted Castle Rock rising above as I drove east over Drinkwater Pass between Burns and Juntura. Castle Rock is also prominent to the south from many peaks in the southern Blue Mountains. In fact, it has 1524 feet of topographic prominence and a distinctive shape.

Distant Castle Rock to the north from Black Butte (Malheur County)

I began my adventure the day before, Tuesday, driving from the Baker Valley to Juntura. From Juntura I followed the Juntura-Riverside Road, then a more primitive road to the summit of Black Butte. This Black Butte is a prominent peak west of Juntura. From the summit of Black Butte I could see my next goal, Castle Rock, to the north.

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