I had a big morning with the widowmaker rapid, a mandatory portage, and before and after it were a bunch of other rapids, so all in all it was a full morning of scouting, running or portaging.

All went well though, and I was glad that I wasn’t here when there was more water with less time to make decisions and bigger consequences. Once I got through all the rapids on the map, again there were plenty of others…in fact a lot of stout little Class III. I walked around a couple,  and on one portage just where I was going to step there was a little rattler. I’m glad he let me know he was there and I chose to go different way. Only my second rattlesnake of the trip!

Both my seat and my boat had little leaks today so when I got to camp I went about patching them, and hopefully they hold. Both were minor but the inflatable seat was quite annoying. I would blow it up and slowly start sinking, and it started happening more more frequently.

It’s Kirk birthday today; I wish he could be here, he would really love it. He’s run this river, both of upper and the lower before, but never at the low flow. I’ve been able to text him a couple times daily with my delorum inreach…it sucks be away from him on his birthday but we’ll celebrate when I get home. I’ve had a couple people on this trip ask me how he handles letting  me do this alone, but really he has no choice! He’s always known this is the kind of life i like to live, and if he had it his way he’d be with me, but he in no way prevents these adventures, and always plays a big part in the trips. I feel lucky to have someone who understands,  supports, and trusts me out here by myself.

It was a quiet morning as I had over 5 miles to go before my first big rapid called half mile. I’ll let you guess why its called half mile. The thing about boating at low flow, is there are lots of rapids that appear that normally aren’t there. Fortunately most of them are class two and three and a lot of fun to boat. I wanted to come do this trip in July to see how it would be to packraft it this time of year, and present this trip as an option for others, and my conclusion is it’s definitely doable, but only for experienced boaters!

I got to half mile about 10:30 in the morning and I just took it one rock at a time. I was able to boat some, and I had to portage some, but all in all it took me about an hour and a half. I think the rapid was much longer because it was low flow. Regardless I was happy to cross this barrior. I had some more big rapids today, but found plenty of others due to the 169-200cfs.

This canyon is gorgeous. It is absolutely stunning; I can’t believe I’m in Oregon and this is part of the trail.

All in all it was a good day. I did slip once when I was scouting and hit my tailbone good…I think it might be bruised as there’s no shooting pain. If thats all that happens aside from the numerous bug bites, bushwacking scratches, rock scrapes and other random mishaps, I’ll be in good shape. Note to self bring a tent next time. There are lots of biting things as I sleep on the sand next to the river and my bug condom just isn’t cutting it, especially because it’s warm at night and for some reason I brought my 20° sleeping bag which I don’t want anywhere near me.

So it looks like I’m making good time for the first half of my trip. I have another day and a half of boating before my resupply stop,  and then another week to go. I had no clue how long this first stretch would take, so I’m rather please that I’m doing what I expected. I have a big morning of rapids coming up and after that I think it’s a little mellow…but then again the river maps don’t show the low flow rapids so who knows? I still haven’t been sleeping well and I think that effects my energy level during the day so I’m crossing my fingers for a good nights rest tonight.

When I woke up I knew I only had 2.5 miles to go to meet the main fork of the Owyhee river. I made short order of those miles and when I got to the confluence I was stoked to see the river was flowing. Break out the packraft!

I put on the water and it was as good as I could have imagined. The cliffs were towering over the river and I was floating  along giggling at how difficult the last few days had been, and now how easy the float was.

Just in time for lunch I realized the water seeping out of some rocks were warm springs. No soaking pools, and some barely warmer than the water, but warm springs none-the-less. I pulled over where there were a few small streams, and lay down in the shallow cascade feeling like a million dollars.

There were several more warm springs before the big one – Three Forks warm springs. Right before I got there I noticed a man on the bank. I surprise him when I said hello. He was out with his grandson – Ron and Gavin had been hiking and had even tried to hike a bit of the canyon near Anderson Crossing the day after I was there. This was their first time here, and were camped out for a few days. I explained my adventure with them and it turns out Ron is a member of ONDA and he lives over in the valley! And he hadn’t even been aware of the Oregon Desert Trail.

I was approaching the Three Forks warm springs when I saw more people. In fact they were kids tubing. When I saw cascading waterfalls I knew the soaking pools were up off the river, so I pulled over I made my way up. What a blissful scene. Warm water, deep blue pools, amazing. I enjoyed my soak but there were other people around and I was enjoying my solitude, and even though I considered camping there for the night it was only 3 p.m. so I decided to push on.

I passed the Three Forks boat launch and the other Fork of the Owyhee (which was barely a trickle). I knew I had a Class IV+ rapid around the corner called the ledge. Because the water flow was so low I wasn’t sure if the rapid would be just a bunch of boulders I could navigate in the slow water, or if it would be something I would have to walk around. I have lots of experience scouting rivers with Kirk, and am comfortable in Class III. I’ve run Class IV before, but would definitely not on this trip as I’m by myself. I came into this trip feeling confident I could figure out the best course of action.

When I got there I could see a horizon line and lots of large boulders so I pulled over river right to scout. It didn’t look like the boat could fit through any of the rocks so I decided to go to river left and double check from that angle. Once I was on the other side of the river I could definitely see none of the channels were big enough for my boat, the water was just too low. So I began a slow process of walking and lining, climbing over rocks, and walking in the water to get my boat past the impossible rocks. I thought I was done but there were more, in fact the rapid seem to be about a quarter mile long before I was in calm water again. All in all it took about 45 minutes to get through that section, so it gave me some perspective on whats to come.

I floated just to while longer until I saw a sandy bench under some trees where I decided to make camp. I am exhausted but exhilarated that I made so much progress today and have started my packrafting portion on the adventure. There are a number of notable rapids coming up, but I will take each one as they come, and do what I gotta do to keep going forward.

I was so tired but barely slept at all. When I went to bed there was a frog croaking, and he sounded like he was in my ear. What does he have to croak about? He kept on about something most of the night, and the last time I looked in my watch it was well after midnight.

So when I woke up I was tired but I had hope that today the going would be a little bit easier than yesterday. I packed up my boat and planned on a full day of hiking. I made good time this morning (Averaging  about a mile and a half an hour). The canyon seems to get more interesting the further I went, but the water for some reason started disappearing for long periods of time. I’ve only been carrying a small bit of water because I can grab it whenever I need it, but then I found I was needing it and there wasn’t any.

Lots of big boulder gardens to pick my way around and I still needed to pay attention to every step. I did take one small fall this morning but it was minor.

At lunch I went for a swim in a deep water hole and was surprised to see large fish. I picked my way over the boulders and finally when I got to Toppin Creek it felt like I was making progress. I only have a few more miles to get to Five Bar where i join the main river…and maybe, just maybe, I’ll be able to float. If not I’m hoping at 3 Forks to be packrafting the rest of the way.

Just before I made camp, I looked up the cliffside and saw two big horn sheep! So spectacular! The canyon just keeps getting better.

12 hours to go 7.5 miles? I knew the going would be tough, but holy cow!

Soon after I started hiking I came to some huge boulders choking the creek. Climbing up I saw my options were to swim the deep pool on the other side, or blow up my boat! I opted for the boat, and used my throw bag to lower the boat into the water, then lowered myself down.

Since I had already spent the time to transition to the packraft, I wanted to try and use it…so for most of the day I pool hopped down the creek. I probably could have made better time with my pack on, but there would have been significant swimming, so I was good with my choice.

The going was slow though. Each time a pool would end I would heft the boat (all my gear is stored inside the boat) onto one shoulder and often have to push my way through thick willows and thorny bushes. I was crossing my fingers that I wouldn’t pop my boat, and seemed to do ok.

It was exhausting. The load was extremely heavy on my shoulders and they ached terribly after a few hours. I was being very intentional with each step because I am extremely remote out here. Lots to pay attention to…but I missed something. I had my gopro out in the late afternoon, and when I took a break and decided to put the boat away and hike again, I realized it was gone. I could have sworn I put it away, but it wasn’t in my day bag. Shoot! I left my gear and hiked back a bit, but didn’t find it. I hope one of the next hikers down here finds it!!!

It was a good call to put the boat away, because soon after I started again there were HUGE boulders to climb up and around. Think Mooshic notch on the AT.

I inched along and had to go for a swim…up to my neck!

I stopped at a gravel bar for camp. I was starving, soaking wet, and Soooo tired.

I woke up early to meet Mike, one of my colleagues at ONDA, to drive out to Burns, where I would then meet Julie, a former ONDA board member and desert guru, who would then take me to McDermitt where I would meet Ken, the owner of the market there, who would take me to Anderson Crossing where I had started my trip last time. Logistics of getting around to these remote areas of the Oregon desert can be  complicated. 

All was going well until I got to McDermitt to find Ken had to make a last minute trip to Boise due to some broken equipment, and he thought i was going next week! It was only a minute before Julie offered to drive me to Anderson Crossing. She had a small car, but has lived long enough in the desert to know to put heavy duty tires on the car…and even though the car would be scraping bottom in places, she was gracious enough to make the trip.

I’m glad she did, I had a great time getting to know her and learning about her years living in the high desert. I definitely owe her dinner sometime soon!

It was the hottest part of the day when I got started. Instead of dropping down into the canyon at first, I opted to check out an alternate entry 9 miles further down stream. I had heard the first miles of the little west Owyhee (Louse Canyon ) were a very brushy bushwack, and I had a data point from a spot someone entered the canyon a few years ago. 9 miles of hiking on old roads put me in 13.5 river miles from Anderson Crossing. It was hot, but there was a decent breeze. My pack was massive with all my boating stuff, 7 days of food and things like wag bags I usually don’t carry (no pooping in the canyon! Pack it out!

I hope to float more than pack, but we’ll see. I dropped down at Flag crossing, but took my time picking my way down the boulders…on high alert for rattlesnakes and ankle twisting rocks. The extra weight makes everything take a little longer, so I was more realistic in my mileage on this trip. I will be lucky to average 10-13 miles a day in the canyon either walking along the water or paddling.

The heat had gotten to me, and even though I was drinking water and eating snacks, I felt a little out of sorts in the canyon bottom. I took some time to lay back and rest, and finally decided to just call it a day. It wasn’t even 6, but I’m trying to learn from my last ODT section hike and not try to do too much at the beginning. I have an open ended finish date this time, and can even take more than 7 days for this first stretch if I need to. I’ve tried to think of all the senarios of what I would encounter down here, and having flexibility is definitely a major factor in a successful trip out here.

It’s already a beautiful deep canyon. The water is shin deep so far and fairly stagnant. Lots of cow poop and willows too. I’m not expecting to be able to boat for a few days, so will be picking my way down stream. I’m stoked to finally be here!

Morning comes so early in June. The sky starts to lighten around 4:30-4:45, and the birds start chirping…life starts moving around, so that by 5:30 or so when the sun actually rises it day feels like it’s well on its way.

I woke for my last morning in the sagebrush (on this section anyway), made my coffee, ate the last of the gronola, and was hiking just after 6am. I would keep to roads the whole way. A dirt road took me at the base of Hart mountain and east side of Hart Lake. I knew there would be pictographs today, so when I started seeing large boulders that had fallen from the rimrock above, I started to look. They were everywhere! Many of the rocks had drawings, this must have been a popular route back in the day. Again, I want to do more reading about the area, learn about the native Americans who lived here, and about the first homesteaders.

The bugs were really thick along the lake. I didn’t stop for any breaks because to do so would be to surrender to them.

I passed several springs… the springs usually have big cottonwoods, so you can see them miles away, and they are usually the location of the old homesteads. So much history.

By the time I made it to the pavement (9 more miles to town), my feet wanted me to take a break, but again the bugs! A couple of guys were unloading ATVS to go explore some of the old military road. Again…want to know more about this old military road.

I was walking on the road when a pickup pulls up and asked if I was ok, “yep, just hiking the Oregon Desert Trail,” i responded. Jesse is a local rancher who has actually been following my hike, and knew who I was! We chatted there on the side of the road for a while, I learned his family had been one of the first homesteading families out here, and they used to run cattle in Orejana Canyon where I had been a few days before. I was glad to meet him and hear a bit about his background. My hope is that I can get to know a lot of the ranchers and families along the trail. Ranching and conservationists haven’t always gotten along in eastern oregon, but perhaps the trail is an opportunity to find common ground: a love of the land.

I continued on the road, and when I was about 2 miles out another truck pulled over to see if I was ok. Neil Taylor was another rancher in the area, and when he asked if I wanted I ride, I decided to take him up on the offer. Even though he was going the other way, Neil turned around and deposited me at the Hart Mountain Store. Thanks!! I’m continually thankful for the generosity of the people I’ve met out here.

I went into the store and Dave, the owner fixed me up a double bacon cheeseburger with fries. Oh heaven!

I hung out at the store for a few hours, pulled a book off the shelf (a lot of the little towns have a book exchange area) and sat on the porch reading until check in time at the Hart Mountain Cabin down the road. A few hours later Allen, who owns the cabin with his wife Barbara, came to the store and let me know I could head over. He had tried to call, but there is no reception in town. So a bought a few more goodies at the store and headed over to the cabin.

Oh beautiful little cabin!!

I spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning up, soaking feet in Epson salts, reading the book I picked up, and watching a movie. Kirk pulled in about 9pm bringing lots of birthday goodies….but he was the best present.

Feels good to be 39! Although I feel much younger. It may be that hiking keeps you young. I’ve always loved having a summer birthday, and it often means a trail birthday!

I had a slow morning over coffee, granola and some more of my book. The first few miles were quite marshy…no shortage of water in the Hart Mountain area.

The terrain started to dry out some, and by the time I got to the edge of the refuge it felt like I was back in the desert. I did spy a pronghorn family…two little babies with their folks ran away from me right before I dropped down to the base of Hart Mountain.

There was a possibility of hotsprings at the base…it is on private land, but the springs are open to soakers. The thing was I had heard it was getting trashed, and the soaking tub might have been removed. I had my fingers crossed.

And there it was!! Some kind of tub was lined with a few tarps, and the water was clear. A pipe was spilling hot water off the side, I moved it into the tank and jumped in.

Bliss.

I got out, had lunch, and got back in. All to myself with a stunning view of Crump Lake.

After I walked a few minutes down to some trees and had a little nap in the shade. This day was going to happen on its own with no need to rush.

I hiked on a few more miles and took a minute to call Kirk. My section hike is finishing tomorrow, and he’s driving down to spend the weekend with me at the beautiful Hart Mountain Cabin. Happy birthday to me!

I put in my order of steak and cake for him to bring from Bend tomorrow. I’m excited to see him. Two weeks apart is much better than the 5 months last year!

I passed some petroglyphs, saw 2 arrow heads, and there should be more petroglyphs tomorrow. I’ve got an awesome view at camp, 15 miles to hike tomorrow, lasagna for dinner, and a Twix for desert. Getting older is awesome!