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| Morning sunrise greets us. |
Cindy Hull (Wildflower) and I (Mountain Bird) began our Oregon Desert Trail adventure out of Sqwaw Flat in the northernmost region of the Great Basin. Earlier on, I had completed Badlands, Horse Ridge and Pine Mountain route with my husband Bruce. Cindy and her husband, Bill did some as well.
At our rate of travel, approximately 17-18 miles a day, Cindy and I quickly found the Oregon Desert Trail, Region One, a quiet kind of wild, a place of solitude, a closed dry basin, a place like no other.
Whether it was to be a sunshine or semi-cloudy kind of day, the temperatures called for plenty of sun protection and more water, much more than we'd imagined. That reality hit us quickly. Other realities of the trail awaited us as well, the good, the outstanding and the kind that hurts.
From my notes: Today, we hiked 18 wonderful miles, well over half were cross country through incredibly diverse landscapes. All along the route, I sang my favorite songs, Last Train From Poor Valley, a Norman Blake tune, and other gems that I might have remembered. When it comes to great old-time songs I miss my husband a lot (we sing together often). Underfoot, the soils change about every 1/8 mile. We sifted through sands and dry playas and marvel at the ease in walking over cracked alkaline lake beds before we'd climb up to another ridge-top of basalt. There were literally thousands of hues-of-blues Flox scattered everywhere we walked.
There is so much space...wild, quiet space.
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| Mountain Bird and Wild Flower |
Wildflower and I have seen hundreds of tiny Horney Toads, popping around the route today, and an explosion of ant hills. Those ants are the true excavators in this great desert. Tonight, writing from inside my cozy bivy, I hear hundreds of songbirds, thrush, sparrow, warbler? Seemed to me that we saw them darting in and out of the sage all day, but tonight they're out and singing, possibly feeding on mosquitoes and all the other bugs that may come out at night. I've also determined mosquitoes must breed at the base of the sage plants, a very dark, semi-green environment and good grounds for those buggers to survive. I only hope we don't encounter too many. My days living in Alaska already took care of my quota of giving blood. Tomorrow we resupply our food and water with Bruce.
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Young Penstemon, Paintbrush and pretty purples
Soaring high overhead, we caught sight of a few hawks, but with a limit to our already weighted packs, I only brought along a small pair of binoculars..it was really all about the weight and the water!
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| Symbiosis is alive and well in the high desert. |
A long day, but ended the last 5 miles with tall grasses, more wildflowers (some unknown to me) and sage. All is well, excepting for some new bothersome tiny bites, or tiny welts appearing on our heads. Hmmm? Tonight we sleep with the tall pines in Lost Forest. Gentle winds are blowing, stars are brilliant and we've been well fed. Bruce resupplied us with a bit of Mezcal, and delicious salads and other foods. Tomorrow we have to get up earlier to beat the heat. It will be a long day through the dunes and on toward and then past Berma Rim.
Cross Country Day! Leaving Lost Forest, Wildflower and I hit the sands of the Sand Dunes Wilderness, although the ODT notes say short primitive roads exist, it seemed to us most of it was covered by blowing sands. A cool thing happened along the way, we saw what appeared to be a massive cat box! We had heard one hiker saw a cougar and we were sure from the prints, this was one popular spot for the cats. I failed to mention that today, and others, we observed very large holes in the ground, large and deep. They must be coyote dens, and plenty enough of them too. Sleeping where it's cool in the heat, then up and yelping for a good hunt at night while we sleep. The night sky is spectacular too!
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| Bird heading down a primitive road. |
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It was going to be our biggest XC day yet and I began to worry about water. Worrying about stuff like this goes back to my near 30 years teaching school, especially outdoor education. I had to be prepared. Students might lose a hat, a glove or a mitten, maybe a tooth! Because unfortunate things do happen outdoors, I always and forever overpack for fear of losing something or running out. Out here I worried about our water supply, so I tried to skimp water, just a bit less...not so good.
We began to see signs of lightning struck Juniper. Singled out amongst the open space and still standing at around 8 feet, these water sucking monsters of the high desert eek out their existence and provide homes for so much wildlife. A breeding pair of Flickers caught sight of us and dashed out of their home, a sweet little nesting cavity in a lightning struck Juniper. We had to admire the Juniper's capacity to take a beating and still keep on. I mentioned to Wildflower that I thought they were pretty cleverly cloned, even when it appears completely dead, absolutely fried, a new branch develops.
A very VERY tough hiking day, but we made our goal with enough water for a great dinner* and chat about the day. Tomorrow we will pick up extra water at cache 4. Actually, we decided to take another gallon. Yes, our packs will be heavy. I wanted to write more about our short-term hiking goal today, waypoint to waypoint. It was more like far distant Juniper, to shade, far-distant Juniper to shade...rest, and repeat.
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| Pretty and full of life, Mormon Tea. |
Scorpions, Snakes, Wild Stallions, and Ticks: Hello morning! I woke up to find a scorpion under my bivy tarp. I knew they had to be out here somewhere and so must have heard me coming and found me instead. Arg! The first time I saw a scorpion was in the Grand Canyon. Hanging around bushes, they are neon green/yellow when we spotted them with an ultraviolet light at night.
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Now that we've seen one scorpion,
I'm not so set on rushing to put these socks on today! |
So, this morning we shook everything inside and out. Onward....a big day!
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| Wildflower begin the descent from Sheep Rock |
Long mostly CX day and we both found ticks climbing up our legs. Good that they were super tiny, not too hard to find and easy to brush away. Tiny welts are not going away and we're both not sure what they are. Not ticks, not lice, not bed bugs or fleas. Nonetheless...vigilant observation was big on our watch.
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| One serious wild Stallion kept watch over his mares as we approach. |
Ticks...now wild horses! We headed up toward Sheep Rock, a gentle but incredibly rocky XC climb. Along our way, we spotted a small group of wild horses in the direction we needed to travel. They were about 400 ft out, just close enough for a great view. The brown and black stallion was magnificent and dignified, standing about 40 feet from the mares, surveying for any threat or competition. Wildflower and I chose to stand on a good viewing rock and watch them for a bit, hoping they'd mosey out of our way. Wrong-oh!
Obviously, we were naive. Cindy and I had a bad hair day every day, and at this spot and place, she decided to dust out her wild hair. It's white/silver and long. At the top of the rock where we stood about 10 feet up a short rocky slope, she shook it to out in the wind. The moment the stallion saw her hair flying, he grunted loudly, shook his mane, wildly galloping quickly toward us! Dear oh my...we assessed the situation, full out panic, with hearts pounding, quickly stood tall with hiking poles up high above. The stallion put on the breaks about 40 feet from us, thank goodness. Making his own assessment, he stood to stare at us for a minute or two. Then, satisfied, he left us, galloping back to his harem and they all left. This would not be the first time we had to get through the wild horses of Oregon's high desert. Only, after this thrilling episode, we kept our hair tucked tight in our hats...and bravely moved on. Every stallion we encountered (nothing this close) kept a vigilant eye on us as we crossed through their space. I marvel at those untamed horses...so wild and free. Wow!
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Desert Varnish: A highly polished manganese oxide and iron,
or microorganisms that live on the rock. |
Yesterday, was what we felt to be "another" longest XC yet. Some primitives, but for short durations. Even so, we made it safely over the Sheep Rock area and on towards Diablo Wilderness, although now Cindy has a back that won't stop aching. Climbing is not her friend today. As for me... I consider myself a strong climber, although some blisters have begun to form something more serious under my toes and I'm having to take more ibuprofen to ease the pain. Time to hang out socks, soak feet..do something. We need a break big time. We also need to carry a bit more water in this heat. The UV umbrellas are helpful and the UV shirt I found at a second-hand climbing store in Missoula for $10 bucks rocks!
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Frosty night dry out.
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Today, we are going to in search of our water at Cache #5, except Cindy is having major leg and some back issues. Can she keep going? Since today is to be almost all uphill climbing to reach Diablo Peak, she has decided to have her husband drive the primitive road to come get her and rest then see a doctor in Bend. I will continue on to the end.
Today, mid-morning, I loaded up 6 liters of water and left Cindy waiting safely at the site for her ride out. I quickly headed up a primitive road 4 or 5 miles, then on to the XC climb up to Diablo Peak Wilderness. First thing, I found an old horseshoe...yeah..good luck! Right after that, a big jackrabbit hopped out in front of me. Things were looking good. Then my next challenge, a tough as nails barbed wire fence/gate. These old obstacles are hard enough to open between Cindy and me, and now I am alone. My attempt was worthless, so my pack and I hit the ground and did it like it's done...combat style.
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Breaking for water on my way up to Diablo.
Climbing up Diablo is mind-blowing, and near the top, it's 360 degrees of rocky wild wilderness |
I came across 20 bighorn sheep napping in the noonday sun...or was it mid-afternoon. The entire trip I never looked at the time...why, why not? I just didn't want to know. But today WAS different, I'd spent a good deal of time looking for cache #5, my water for the next two days, so I could move on. I knew it was already later in the day than I'd anticipated and I needed to make distance if I was to get to Paisley tomorrow afternoon.
Last night out: Sleeping on the edge of Diablo last night was fantastic, excepting the only place my bivy would fit was a 3ftx2ft slice of dirt hidden between all the sharp basalt. Ridiculously crazy that I slept here...oh man! But I just I had to stop last night, I was too tired to go on and the sun had already set. BTW, my blister looks totally out of control.
Last day of hiking Region number ONE! Today, it's going to be the warmest yet, and I'm down to just over a liter, so I must make Paisley or the nearest point where Cindy (Wildflower) and Bill can pick me up with their truck.
But before I head out again, I must say, I love this place!
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| Sunset from Diablo Wilderness and my last night out on Region one of the ODT. |
Photo credits: Cindy Hull and Robin Sullivan
On a personal note:
I want to thank my precious friend and Desert Wildflower, Cindy Hull for being the absolute best trail partner I could have imagined...and we have more miles to cover. Also, Bruce Sullivan and Bill Hull...you guys are our desert rock stars!
Also, all of the angels along the way, and good friends that helped me prepare for this ongoing trip, and finally the Oregon Natural Desert Association, this is an organization with a big heart (Renee Patrick) in the heart of the Oregon High Desert. We could NOT have gotten this far without you!
The ODT environment is much like that of the Northern regions of Alaska, on the tundra. Instead of tussocks full of life, there is sage full of life, instead of wolves, there are cougars. Important differences...no frozen ground, no water!
*Extras:
I made all my own delicious dinners. First, I poured a cup of my choice of premade dinners into my lightweight steel insulated coffee cup, then added hot water to cover it, snugging the lid tight, and waiting for 20-30 minutes. I let this sit while I finish making camp for the night. My food was perfectly cooked and VERY good. I added dehydrated squash from last year's garden, dried carrots and peas, onions, spices, and much more to each packet.
Dinners: each packet contains somedehydrated squash from last year's garden, dried carrots and peas, onions, spices, and much more to each packet.
Ramen with hot curry, cashews, and powdered coconut milk
Soba noodles with miso cup of soup (Mary's seed crackers too!)
Dehydrated lentil and rice and a few dehydrated chicken pieces (Mary's seed crackers too!)
Dehydrated beans/rice with a dash of falafel mix and taco seasoning
Split pea and soba noodles. (Mary's seed crackers too!)
Vegetable and chicken with ramen
Chili with powdered cheese
Annies' mac and cheese
Dessert:
1/8 cup powdered peanut butter mixed with 1/8 cup powdered pudding. Add dark chocolate crumbles. Add 4 tbs. water and wait 5 minutes.
Breakfast:
Oats and Flax Granola with dehydrated blueberries, strawberries, cherries, raisins, cashews, almonds and sunflower seeds. Lastly, I added 4 cups of the popped amaranth that we had carefully brought back from Oaxaca. I made at least 4 gallons of granola, or 40 days worth at about one cup each. I added one tsp of powdered milk to my granola before adding water. So full of goodness...Yum!
Extra photos:
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Mountain Bird and Wild Flower say our goodbyes to Bill and Bruce, our angels!
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| And we're off.... |
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| Waking up is hard to do! |
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| Our angel, Bruce brings us our resupply and...an extra gallon of water to carry! |
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| My resting state. |
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| Heading out of Burma Rim. |
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| Haddie gives me lots of love once I'm finished! |
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| Rusty lichen? |
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| Our afternoon break under our UV trees. |
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| Some kind of lily's seeds hang on from last fall. |
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| Spiky little plants. Ouch! |
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| Lots of rocks to climb over, or better yet around. |
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| Ready to head up to Diablo with chocolate smeared on my lips and nose, along with sunscreen. |
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| Jut wow!!!!!! |
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| At home nursing my hurt little toe. |
