Region Two, Oregon Desert Trail: Above the Basin and into the Hills of the Chewaucan Watershed

                

About one mile past Avens Pass heading East, we had an outstanding evening for Milkyway and shooting star viewing.

Day One: A nice trail. Bruce, our Trail Angel dropped Korina Riggin (Guppy) and me ( Mountain Bird) on the Oregon Desert Trail a route taking us into the  Fremont Mountains and trailhead along the Chewaucan River.  The wildflowers, the tall pine, and frequent mountain springs nearly gave us a surreal sense of beauty in a highly anticipated yet relaxed sort of way.  Did I mention water? Not a problem. These trails look to be in good shape thanks to the volunteer work of Oregon Timber Trail, Oregon Natural Desert Association, and Volunteers with The National Forest Service. At least on the portion of Region Two, any cross-country travel we want to take on will be by choice rather than necessity.

Mountain Bird and Guppy at Chewaucan River Crossing.

Always a favorite along the trail, Arnica Cordifolia.

Tonight, we are camped along the Southwestern Fremont Trail Rim for a 360° view of nothing short of stellar. We've enjoyed our little camp spot for any number of reasons. 1) High winds kept the mosquitos down low. 2) Rocky outcroppings up high make for some fun climbs around camp. 3) With our tent screens set up, we'll both enjoy the night sky views and mosquitos can't make it inside once the wind calms down.  The rocky soil along the ridge made it only slightly difficult to find a good spot for both our tents. Even so, I plan on sleeping well.

Hidden in the Lupines, Can you find Guppy?

                 

Allium in bloom!

                     

Larkspur, unusual white outer petals with small purple petals inside.

     Paintbrush takes our breath away and makes the Fremont Trail loved all the more.

Always smiling back at us, Arrowleaf also tells me it's time for a break, so I plan on breaking often.

 Day Two: Excluding road walking, the Fremont from Paisley to Albert Rim South is about 33 miles long. We were sure we'd see more hikers on the trail Bring on the flowers, more mountains, more spectacular views, and a lot more Mountain Mahogany.  But what's missing?  Where are the people? Near day's end, we only had one surprise encounter with one very nice hiker along the trail. He caught our attention due to the fact that he was only carrying a small satchel. I wondered, Was he also hiking the ODT?  Michael turned out to be the Morgan Butte Fire Lookout and was equally surprised to see us.  He told us, "I never see anyone on the trail and I've been stationed at this lookout going on my 4th year in a row!" This bit of information was a surprise. I believe he began this year's lookout job later after those two groups had already passed through. Korina and I made a promise to visit Michael at his lookout. So, we did! We knew some recent trail work had been completed by Oregon Timber Trail volunteers and we thought Oregon Desert Association volunteers had done the same.  

                            

                     Morgan Butte Fire Lookout is surrounded by scenic beauty, geology, and ancient history.


High above the desert floor, the Fremont Trail averages about 6,000' once you reach the second water source at Skunk Creek. The trail sees little use by humans and the forest service leases most of the land out to cattle grazing, so we see more cows than we do people. That's all fine except when cattle bust over fences to get to a precious water source, the springs. Even so, most of the springs were well protected. All that is, except one. 

*We like to call day two our Cow Shit Water Day. 

Yes folks, there really is a small pipe coming out of the ground in this Meyers Meadow Springs mess.  Don't be fooled though...it gets awful tricky. I'll preface this event with the fact that Korina and I made a stop in Paisley at the Ranger District after completing this section in the Fremont.  At the Fremont Ranger Station, Korina pointed out the need to have the Meyers Meadow Spring fences repaired after telling the ranger our story. She and I came across Meyers Meadow and recalled Michael from the lookout telling us to watch for a grove of Alders. We looked, or we thought we did. We found the spot.  I left one liter of purified reserve water in my pack as back up and headed down the slope to search for the spring source with Guppy. Upon reaching the meadow, we found a near-empty trough full of algae and a meadow of cow trodden mush, and a few obnoxious cows of course. After some searching, we thought we came across the source since it appeared that someone had laid out boards and branches to reach the source of spring water. Never trust boards and branches, and there wasn't a pipe, or one that we could see, just fresh-ish looking water in some awkward places. O.K. It looked do-able, or maybe just O.K. So, Korina and I set out plans to sterilize 5 or 6 liters, or enough to make into camp that evening where another source of spring water was only a few feet from our supposed destination for the day. I admit, we sterilized a lot since we weren't sure things would improve at camp. With our fresh supply of sterilized water contained, we hauled the water back up the hill and settled down to have lunch along the trail. Korina was dehydrated and chose the new Meyers Spring water to rehydrate right away. BAD decision. Her expression told me everything. She nearly puked the water back while hollering, "That's cow shit water...ack!" We dumped all 6 liters out and were thankful for the extra stash of good water. It would last, we'd bet on it. Only a short 400 ft up the trail we discovered the sign for the real Myers Meadow Spring*.

No more Cow Shit Water days for us!

Korina and I did locate the real source of Meyers Meadow Springs...and it was good. Now, two hours later than we'd expected and after a good long lunch, we began to revise our schedule. My heart was set on climbing high and staying up high for the remainder of the day. After a careful review of the topography, we discovered staying high undoubtedly would mean quite a bit more cross-country on steep timbered slopes. It could get messy. That fact and the fact that Round Mountain, our intended destination has cellular towers and some other equipment that was clearly unsafe. Given our loss of time and the situation on top of the mountain, we chose to stick with the trail and gosh was it ever beautiful!  

 Near Round Mountain and the views of the Upper Chewaucan River Valley below.

               

Mountain Mahogany, Round Pass Camp 2

Views from Round Pass

Second night camp. Tomorrow we're going to begin our descent from the higher elevation in the Fremont. We will both miss this section a lot. Considering that my little toe is sore and Korina has a sore ankle, it's the best decision we could have made.










Even so, the views have been spectacular and we've gained an immeasurable appreciation for the trail crews that have kept this trail from heavy more erosion.  The work never ends.

 Looking into the distance I reflected on my recent hike (in the distance )into the ODT, Region One.

From here on it's going to be a little bit up...

and a little bit down.

Day three included a stopover at Moss Springs. The springs are well off the trail and appear well protected.  The water coming out of the pipe was delicious. While we stopped at Moss Pass we noticed several small roads leading up into the hills. Maybe one of those roads leads to the top of Round Mountain?

Great spring water and no need for sterilizing!

A mushroom bigger than my foot.
Yes, that big!
Is this ancient looking?

From time to time, I had a few catchy names for this trail, Lonely for Love Trail,  Mountains of Mahogany Trail, and  Wildflowers Wonderland, to name a few.  Our last spot for camp along the Fremont trail was certainly an important one for one reason, but maybe not worthy of a trail name. It wasn't the scenery here, it was pretty but not breathtaking, and it wasn't the wildlife, we didn't see that much anyhow. Our last night was important in that we had pretty little Pine Creek coming down the mountainside, no wind and no mosquitos, with ample room for each of us to clean up, soak our feet and treasure the sound of swiftly running water nearby.  Pine Creek was not clear water and may not come from an ultra clean source, but it felt good all the same.              

Then, budding Prarie Smoke day one...

Now, Prarie Smoke seeding as we leave the Fremont.

When I return to the Fremont, I would like to be working with my trail eyes. Guppy and I felt this should become all trail users best practice, one where the users of trails give back, mile for mile, tread and drainage. The Fremont Trail is now home for Region Two, Sections 1 and 2 of the Oregon Desert Trail as it moves West to East along the Oregon Great Basin. It is also home for The Oregon Timber Trail, a mountain bike route that stretches from Oregon's borders North to South near central Oregon's Cascade Range.

Once again, I would like to thank Trail Angels, Renee Patrick and Bruce Sullivan. They are both angels that keep on giving. Also, my trail partner, Guppy, Korina Riggin. She has years of trail experience and trail lore. She also has a gift for caring about the quality of our feet. Take it from Guppy that, no matter how stinky and filthy, no foot goes ignored!

                                 Almost finished... On to our exit at Cox Pass Trailhead

                            We will return to the Oregon Desert Trail!