Steen's Mountain
Read Part 1 — Christmas Valley
We woke up with the sun on day 2 of our Oregon Outback road trip. The night got a little chilly in the truck bed (we needed more insulation underneath us) but otherwise we slept well, and it was worth sleeping outside to wake up to a breathtaking view golden light on the surrounding hills.
Knowing it was going to be a long day, we quickly cleaned up our camp and rolled out to find a spot with a view of the reserve to eat breakfast in the truck. As we ate we discussed our plans for the adventure ahead on Steens Mountain, and our slight disappointment that we hadn't seen any antelope yet in the antelope refuge. Thankfully that was about to change...
Our route to Steens involved an hour long stretch on a well maintained two lane gravel road. About a mile east of the refuge headquarters we slowed down to let a lone coyote cross the road. Moments later we looked to our left to see a small grouping of tawny coated animals in the distance. I pulled out our binoculars to confirm that these were the antelope we were looking for. Sure enough it was, and looking further to the east we could see dozens more. Not being a fan of digital zoom on phone cameras, I carefully lined up my iPhone with the binoculars to simulate a telephoto lens. The trick actually worked out pretty well, and resulted in a neat effect.
Driving further east we counted a few more coyotes, a handful of rabbits, and many more antelope. Although the road was bit bumpy at times, we thoroughly enjoyed this bit, as Steens Mountain began to grow bigger in front of us. We took advantage of the long straight sections to put the Tundra's high speed gravel ability to the test. Naturally we stopped at the de-facto 55mph limit, and didn't do anything irresponsible like push the truck to 90 or anything like that...
Eventually we emerged from the gravel onto an immaculate stretch of fresh blacktop. Heading north to the semi-seasonal community of Frenchglen we had to pull over at the sight of a shoe tree. Strange fruit indeed.
Frenchglen is the gateway to the Steens Mountain loop. This tiny town appeared as an idyllic oasis of green trees and cute houses after the last 200+ miles of driving through browned out grassland. Apparently the historic Frenchglen Hotel books up months in advance, and is well known for its breakfast. In hindsight we should have worked that into our meal plans because the place was pretty cute, and the smell of fried food was hard to pass up.
At this point we had about half a tank of gas left, plus the cans in the bed. Doing the math we could have made it to Burns the next day with that amount, but we didn't want to risk it. The downside to our cautiousness is that the only gas station in Frenchglen has a hacksaw at the register to collect payment with limbs. We left the town a few limbs down, but at least our tank was full.
The 52 mile long Steens Mountain loop begins at the main road through Frenchglen. I wish we had more/better pictures from this part of the trip, but the fact is that Steens Mountain is almost too epic to photograph from this angle. Steens extends 9,733 feet high, and nearly 50 miles from north to south. The drive up from the west side is quite gradual, making photography difficult. In contrast, parts of the east face drop down almost vertically for 4,000 feet to the Alvord Desert below.
Another note through this bit of the trip was that we drove by several aspen groves that were at the end of their fall color cycle. They were still a beautiful sight, but coming up in the middle of September would probably result in the most dramatic view.
Our first stop was the famous Kiger Gorge. It's difficult to describe how awe-inspiring this place is, and our pictures don't do it justice either. You kind of have to just see it for yourself. It's worth noting that horseback rides are available into the Kiger Gorge for extremely reasonable prices. With Tessa's equine history we may have to return for that someday.
Despite the remoteness of Steens Mountain this is where we started to encounter people, and awkwardly full parking lots. Most of the tourists were retirees who were pretty chill, one couple thankfully offered to take our picture. We also encountered a group of older guys in a convoy of Toyota trucks, clearly having a blast bombing around together. Hopefully our retirement can be like that...
In addition to the nice people, we encountered more than a few oblivious idiots. Several cars nearly parked us into the small viewpoint lot. Getting the Tundra turned around was a challenge. Please be considerate when parking at a trailhead, just because there aren't lined spots doesn't mean that you can park where ever you want.
Having escaped from the Kieger Gorge viewpoint we traveled further along the relatively flat top of Steens Mountain towards its peak. Here we managed to escape the crowds, and enjoy the 360 degree views of an area the size of a northeastern state.
This is why we drove hundreds of miles into the middle of nowhere. Moments like this have a way of putting life's troubles into perspective.
We started to encounter snow as we drove further south towards the peak on the highest road in Oregon. We had a few brief moments of wheel spin getting up to the Wildhorse Lake trailhead, but 4 wheel drive and a steady hand on the wheel got us through. Thankfully the snow did a fine job of discouraging the other tourists down the road from following us.
The Wildhorse Lake trailhead grants access to a short, but steep gated road to the peak, along with the trail to Wildhorse Lake (obviously). We planned to do both, but headed to the peak first in case we didn't have enough energy after the Wildhorse hike. This turned out to be a good call, since the top of the mountain granted further views to the south, but the elevation gain at almost 10,000ft took a lot out of us.
Returning from the peak we prepared for our hike to Wildhorse Lake. The view from above was promising, but the snow and mud on the steep trail was not. With Tessa getting dizzy, and my legs a little shaky already, we made the rare decision to forgo this hike for safety reasons. I'm sure we could have made it down, but getting back up would be a challenge, and we still had miles to go on the road that day.
After lunch at the trailhead, and consulting our guidebook for an alternate afternoon hike, we headed down the mountain. The backside of the Steens Mountain loop features the "infamous" Rooster Comb. A steep section of road with tight blind turns, and a vertical slope on one side. Everything that I had read about this part of the loop online indicated that it would be quite treacherous, but in our experience it was simply lovely. If you have spent any time on mountain logging roads this bit will be easy, if you don't just be sure to take it slow and carefully. On our next trip to Steens Mountain we will likely go up this route, since the landscapes and gorges behind us were distractingly stunning.
Eventually we hit the pavement and turned south towards Fields Station, and the Alvord Desert. At this point it was hard to imagine that this trip could get any cooler.