Southeast Oregon Peaks, October 2013

The summer had ended and autumn had begun, and still I had not returned this year to hike peaks in Southeast Oregon. There was only one more peak on my Oregon’s Highest Peaks list in SE Oregon I had not yet climbed, and I had that peak in mind when I traded my Ford Explorer for a Jeep Rubicon. So I watched the weather forecasts, and on October 24 – just a few days before winter-like weather was forecast to arrive – I packed my jeep and drove to McDermitt, Nevada, to begin my explorations.

The Oregon Canyon Mountains Highpoint, also named “Stevenson Benchmark”, has a reputation for difficult access. In particular a frequently used road is long, remote, and has a reputation for shredding tires. However, Caleb Morris posted an alternative driving and hiking route on SummitPost.org that proved to be much shorter on difficult driving and included an interesting ridge hike.

I followed his driving route from McDermitt, NV, back into Oregon to reach Little Pinky Reservoir (a dry pond bed this time of year). On the way I tried to guess which point in the range was the highpoint, but was left in doubt. I appreciated my jeep’s good approach and departure clearance as I crossed the narrow but steep dry Cottonwood Creek bed. Only the last mile of the driving route was particularly primitive and I found a pleasant campsite there for the evening and night.

The next morning (Oct. 25) was clear and calm and I hiked north to reach the “South Ridge” as the sunrise light worked its way down the ridges and peaks near and far. As I approached the south ridge line I looked up and saw two deer watching me from above.

Once on the ridge, I climbed upwards to the NW to reach a plateau, seeing my destination peak for the first time.  I traversed further north along the plateau and found a primitive jeep track that followed an old fence line through a grove of mountain mahogany. From here I climbed up a steep ridge to the summit plateau and traversed it north to reach the Oregon Canyon Mountains Highpoint.

I savored my success, and studied the surrounding ridges so as to be able to identify the highpoint from Highway 95 in the future. I found the summit register and recognized several names from summitpost.org and peakbagger.com and also the names of two friends who had been the first two to have climbed Oregon’s 100 Highest Peaks.

I returned the same route towards Little Pinky Reservoir, and on the way surprised a herd of desert bighorn sheep. Fortunately they did not panic, and by traversing out of sight above them I was subsequently able to descend rather close to a pair of them. Viewing the bighorn so close was an unexpected bonus to a successful day.

The drive back to McDermitt was uneventful. After refilling my jeep’s gas tank and my water container I drove north towards Blue Mountain Pass. I stopped along Highway 95 to study the view of the Oregon Canyon Mountains to the west and decide which point was the highest I had visited that day.

From Blue Mountain Pass I left the highway and drove west, then north up the access road for Blue Mountain, one of Oregon’s 100 Most Prominent Peaks. This was a dusty road, but was apparently under recent development from the appearance of road construction equipment parked along the road. As I climbed higher towards the summit of Blue Mountain I found a scenic and usable campsite on a saddle along the road at about 6600 feet, and enjoyed sunset views and dinner from my camp.

The next morning (Oct. 26) I hiked the remaining 1.3 miles to the summit radio installations and eventually found the Blue Mountain Benchmark near a concrete platform and towers. It was obvious that new facilities were under construction and the road getting there seemed to be in better shape than recent reports had suggested.

The views from Blue Mountain included many ranges in Oregon and Nevada, including the nearby Oregon Canyon Mountains and Steens Mountain to the west and the Santa Rosa mountains in Nevada to the south.

I returned to my jeep, then the highway, and continued north to my next destination, the Sheepshead Mountains. I had identified the unmarked access road leading into the Sheepshead Mountains via Ryegrass Creek two days earlier thanks to another route description by Caleb Morris, a USGS topographical map, and my jeep’s longitude/latitude navigation feature.

The road was dry and in good shape until it climbed above the creek and forked towards the mountain highpoint at several water troughs, where it climbed steeply to a ridge line over rocks. Here I first noticed a herd of apparently wild horses on a distant ridge. I followed the scenic ridge further WNW until I found a usable campsite where I parked and from which I watched a herd of wild horses to the SW with Steens Mountain as a backdrop, possibly the same herd I had see earlier.

I left my jeep and followed the 4×4 road further WNW to a saddle where I found a solo black horse watching me. After stomping its hoof and watching me for about a minute it trotted off to the south over a ridge towards where the herd of horses I had earlier seen had been located.

From this saddle I left the main 4×4 road and took a jeep track up to a summit ridge and followed it west to the Sheepshead Mountains Highpoint (Point 6289), another of Oregon’s 100 Most Prominent Peaks, characterized by a small outcropping of basalt with excellent views in all directions. Immediately upon arriving at the highpoint I noticed many pronghorn below me crossing a saddle between the highpoint and Point 6258 to my immediate WNW. Several waves of pronghorn crossed the saddle from the north and descended into a valley below me to the SW.

I watched the pronghorns for several minutes and then enjoyed the view of the Sheepshead Mountains around me, Steens Mountain to the SW, Blue Mountain and the Oregon Canyon Mountains to the south, and the Owyhee Canyonlands to the east. I wanted to be sure I had visited the highpoint of the range, so I descended and hiked up Point 6258 to compare views, and decided from my altimeter that Point 6289 was, indeed, the Sheepshead Mountains Highpoint.

I returned to my jeep and set up camp, then spent a relaxed late afternoon and evening enjoying the views and savoring my autumn experience in Oregon’s remote Southeast. It was a pleasant night and the next morning the sunrise added a warm glow to the views over breakfast.