I took the morning off.

I had found a little slice of paradise at the Refuge,  and wasn’t in a hurry to go hiking quite yet. My night by the rushing creek was very peaceful, and when I woke in the middle of the night to go pee, i stared at the sky for a good long while. More stars than I had seen…probably ever. And the Milky Way glowed bright in the sky.

When nature called early, as it usually does, I went to the privy, and then over to the hotsprings for an early soak. Again I had it all to myself, and could feel the heat soaking into my bones. I went back to my camp, popped my latest round of blisters (I wanted to wait until after my soak so I would have any open wounds in the water) and then went back to sleep for a few hours. Bilss!

It was almost 9 when I woke up the second time, and heard Joan and Mark moving around, so I went over and returned their cup I had used for wine the night before. I also gave them an ODT sticker I had with me, my only real way of saying thanks at this point. Joan immediately offered me a muffin, some figs and a few gronola bars. They were headed out for a day of wildlife viewing, and i hope to see them in Bend sometime soon.

I returned to my tarp, made coffee, ate the muffin and the rest of the berries they gave me last night, and started to read my book. I had picked up “Child of the Steens Mountain” (a signed copy!) by Eileen O’Keeffe McVicker in the Frenchglen Mercantile. It was slim, and I wanted something to read about the area I’m hiking through. It’s a sweet tale of growing up in a shepherding family in the 20s and 30s near Fields and the Steens.

I lay about in the shade for the next few hours willing my blisters to dry out and toughen up before hiking out in the afternoon.

I love hiking in the refuge. Because is hasn’t been grazed or burned  (at least in a while…) the plant and animal variety were incredible. It seemed lush, and there was very little cheat grass or invasive weeds.

I had a break at an old homestead, and thought I could easily live here. With a spring a mountain, and a meadow what more could you want?

I kept walking, Guano Creek was lovely and lined with aspen trees. The air smelled the sweet aspen smell and reminded me of Colorado.

I came to a stand of pines. Ponderosa I think. It was the first I had seen these trees! This was the site of camp Warner, I believe an old military camp. I need to read up on the spot. While I was there a white Fish and Wildlife pickup pulled up. I met Dave who works for Oregon F & W, he works out of Hines and was checking on fish in Guano Creek. We had a nice chat, then I sat down for a late lunch. Tomatoes, a kiwi, and figs, compliments of Joan! That’s all I really want to eat out here: fruits and veg, but that’s the hardest thing to find. There has been little to no produce in any on the towns/stores I’ve visited.

I walked a few more miles, noted a discrepancy between what’s on the ground and on the map…a minor change to make back in the office. I’ve been making lots of notes of things I want to add to the trail resources, for example today I passed 4 outhouses! All with toilet paper! It’s the white gold and can make a world of difference to know it’s there if you are in need.

I pulled up for the night in some trees at the base of a ridge. When the wind blows the mosquitos arn’t bad, but I may have to put up my netting tonight.

What a day!! Where I struggled with the hike, trail magic and generosity more than made this one of the best days out here so far.

I woke early in the sagebrush. I had just over a liter to make it 7 miles to my first water source of the day, so I even did the unthinkable….I went without coffee. In retrospect that might have contributed to my sluggishness later on, or it could have been the heat/humidity, or all of the above.

The morning hike on old roads went quick, till I discovered I missed a turn. The other road was so obscure I had a hard time seeing it even when I knew it must be there. I had entered Hart Mountain Refuge this morning, and when they close down a road, it gets reclaimed. I lost and found it several times until I was almost to a more well traveled road when I see a beer. An unopened beer! There was a note and I could just make out “Go Renee!” but not the signature. I sat down and opened it right there at 7:45 this morning. Sweet As Pale Ale from Goodlife brewing…not a bad way to start the day!! I later found out that it was Christof, a guy who will soon be attempting to run the trail. He has been running the sections on the weekends to prepare, and must have left this for me recently. Thanks Christof!!!

Soon I made it to my water source, Rock Creek, and after filling up lay down and closed my eyes for a minute. I fell asleep, and was a little groggy when waking, which could have contributed to my slow-as-molassas pace after that. Or it could have been the beer.

Most of the day followed old closed roads, but again, I couldn’t see the road. I stumbled around sagebrush and rocks. The going was very slow. I started to blame the heat, it must have been in the 90’s, but then realized it was extremely humid. Thunder clouds were brewing, and after lunch got a brief reprieve when a few sprinkles fell. It was still humid though, and even though I didn’t have that many miles to make to hit the Hart Mountain Refuge Headquarters, I just was moving so slow. And the cross country terrain and sweaty feet was giving my blisters blisters. I was feeling low.

Please just rain!

I finally made it to Poker Jim Spring, a fresh, clean and cold water source, and started to feel a little better. The “road” actually turned into a road at that point, or at least a 2 – track I could see. At this point I knew I wouldn’t make it to the refuge before it closed, but they have a water pump open 24 hours, so at least I could get clean water. I had slim hopes of making it to the hot springs, another 5 miles past the refuge headquarters at this point. Even though it was hot, my body could sure use a soak.

I was getting close, right around the corner in fact, when a truck pulled up and asked if I needed anything. In a spur if a moment I said I wanted to go to the hotsprings,  and they said “sure, jump in.” Lori and Don helped me get water at the pump and before I knew it I was there. Don hiked the PCT in 1990, so knew all about being a trail angel. Thanks!!!

Don & Lori

I set up camp, cleaned up and made dinner. It had been another day of not wanting to eat due to the heat, but the campground was cool, and I was able to put away an entire dinner. Whew. I needed that.

I had a soak in one if the sweetest hot springs I’ve been to, and i had it all to myself!

When I got back to camp I said hello to my neighbors, and before I knew it Joan and Mark (also from Bend) were giving me fruit and a cup of red wine. I just couldn’t have imagined a better ending to a tough day.

I’m sleeping by a rushing creek, and am so tired I’ve gotta go.

Excellent day.

The day started with a short sprinkle, but then it passed quickly. I wish the clouds would have stayed with me today because it was bloody hot was I was wilting most of the afternoon.

Mostly road walking this morning, it was quick going and at one junction in the middle of nowhere I happened upon a stop sign. Hmmm. I had seen this stop sign in other thru-hikers’ photos and here I was! Later on the same road I came upon a “Log Trucks” sign. This rancher must have a sense of humor. No trees for miles.

I stopped for a long lunch at Buckhorn Spring, which was really just a dank cow mud hole, but it was the last water for the day and the next morning, so I tried to ignore the rancid smell, prefiltering the brown water through my shirt- twice, filtered it through my Sawyer Squeeze, and then added a few drops of bleach to each liter. Yuck. 6 liters later I’m still imagining it could make me ill. I’ve drank lots of water like this, but it’s been a long time.

This is after all my treatments...Still brown.

This afternoon I decided to take a side trip down into Orejana Canyon. At the bottom I found another cow tank with water, at it was about the same condition as the last one. I primary walked in the dry creek bed which was mostly a mixture of sandy rock. There was small puddles of water most of the way, but again they looked stagnant and brown. I had already filled up anyway. The going was slow, I was baking in the sun, and the heat was making me not want to eat. All day I was forcing myself to eat little bites, but had no appitite, and I’m sure that made me slower. The canyon was pretty, and towards where I was going to hop back on the trail, big boulders the size of cars started choking up the canyon.

By the time I made it on top I was done. The trip in the canyon had tacked on some miles, and I was ready to stop walking.

I’m set up in some sagebrush again, I haven’t seen trees all day.

I only ate half my dinner, which is a shame cause it was a Backpacker’s Pantry Beef Stroganoff. I wanted to make a strawberry cheesecake for desert (another BP delight), but I didn’t want to waste it if I wasn’t hungry.

Tomorrow I’ll hit the Hart Mountain Refuge, and will pass by the headquarters at the end if the day. They have water and bathrooms! That sounds down right luxurious right about now.

My feet & legs feel great! Time to hike!

The mosquitos are bad. Frenchglen borders the south side of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, which is a large wet, marshy area. All this water is what makes the area spectacular for birding, but ripe with mosquitos. I had slept in my bug condom (mosquito netting that goes over my sun umbrella with elastic to cinch at my waist- it fits under my tarp too to keep the bugs off my face and arms when I sleep), which worked out fine, but waking up and making some coffee exposed too much skin. I spent the morning in the laundry room to to escape the bugs, and put a big dent in the book I was reading.

I decided to go up to the Frenchglen hotel for lunch  (breakfast & lunch are open to the public, dinner is family style and is by reservation only…if there is room after the guests of the hotel eat), so started on the 3 mile walk up there, when a guy in a backhoe offered to give me a ride up there. He went and got his ATV, and it was then I met Orritt. Orritt works for the Refuge and just happens to live in the house where ONDA was founded about 30 years ago. (For those of you just tuning in, I work for ONDA – the Oregon Natural Desert Association- a conservation group who has been working for 30 years to protect, restore and defend Oregon’s high desert. They created the Oregon Desert Trail to get people out to experience this incredible place). He knows a lot about the area, and I was glad to meet him. He recommended I get the Steens burger, and when I sat down to order, I found out his wife Twyla works there! Twyla and Dawna took good care of me, and since I was the only one there at that time Twyla sat down and had lunch with me.

I think a big part of the hiking experience in these remote places are the people you meet. This hike gives you the chance to meet people who have often lived in these areas for generations and who know the land extremely well. It’s primarily ranching land out here, and while ranching and conservationists don’t always see eye to eye, I thinks it’s important to understand both sides of the issues like grazing on public lands. So far I’ve been welcomed and helped by almost everyone I’ve met, even if we don’t always agree on all the issues. I think hikers will find a lot of trail angels out here who have no concept of what “angeling” is, but just friendly folks who see some who might be in need of a ride, or water, or a cold beer.

Anyway, the Steens burger was AWESOME. In fact I found they had room for dinner tomorrow, so I’ll be back for that, and will probably have breakfast when I hike out the next day. Too good to pass up!!

I chatted with Melina at the Mercantile next door and she was curious about what hikers would like to eat…she has plenty for a basic resupply if you aren’t picky, and I told her about some fuel options hikers might like, and some other meal options like Backpackers Pantry.

I sat on the porch of the hotel for a while reading my book and drinking a Steens Mountain Brewery beer before Orritt returned to see if I wanted a ride back to the campground. See?? Good people!!

I went back to my spot in the laundry room, and a few hours later after chatting with Debbie and learning the cabin I’m renting tomorrow night is open tonight too, decided to splurge and sleep in a bed tonight too and forgo the buggy tarp situation.

Ahhhhh!

I checked out a few DVD from their library and spent the rest of the afternoon / evening watching the boob tube.

Life is good!

I just looked back at the first week of the CDT for some perspective on milage…by day five last year I had gone 89 miles. This year on the ODT it was 107.6 miles. Yep, I guess I needed to remember to ease into the miles. Such is life!

I thought I would talk a bit about blister care out here. When a blister forms I take out my sewing needle, and put a short amount of thread in it. I sterilize the needle with a lighter, and smear a small amount of triple A ointment on the thread, then pop the blister and “thread” it, leaving the thread going through it. This will hopefully keep the blister draining and prevent it from closing back up and filling again. Then I smother with more antibiotic ointment and bandage. It’s important to start with clean skin. I carry wet wipes for this purpose. Once the bandages are on I go hiking!

At every break I take my feet out, remove the bandages and try to get some sun on them. That’s something a hiker named Billy Goat told me on the PCT. Get those feet in the sun and let it dry them out. Those blisters will toughen up and turn your feet into calluses and the hoof-like walking machines they need to be to hike steady 20-30 miles days. For me at least it’s a process I go through on just about every trail. No pedicures for me! I need all the tough skin!

Ready to go!

So after my morning blister care, I sat and tried to decide what to do. Fact: my feet and body need some time off. Fact: I have a reservation to stay in a cabin at Steens Mountain Ranch in a few days. Fact: if I take time off where I am, I won’t make it my cabin rental in time…and EVERYTHING has been booked, so I don’t want to pass up my one chance at a bed on this trip. So, I decided to hike to the road and try to hitch up to Frenchglen. I’ll camp out for a few nights at Steens Mountain Ranch, air out the feet, rest the legs, and stay in my cabin, hiking out from there…continuing West. That means I won’t be hiking up and over the Steens on this trip, but that’s ok. I want to come back this summer/fall and spend some time in the Fields area anyway looking at a few route options, so I’ll just tack on a few days and hike this 50 or so miles that I’m bypassing now. It’s all good! And I feel happier and stronger already. Just remind me to schedule in some rest days next time!

Making a sign helps to get a hitch, at least i think so.

So I walked the few miles to the highway, and after an hour and a half a pickup pulls over. Woody and Chris were going to Burns to do some shopping (the 3 hour drive is the closest “big” town for them). I was really glad they picked me up, because they have lived in the area for a while and were full of great information. Woody’s mom works at the Fields Station, and Chris cuts firewood for them. Woody runs a tour operation and will take folks out to cool spots in the desert, and more importantly runs a tow service. If you get stuck on the playa or trying to get back to do a section of trail, he will come pull you out. I’ll be adding him to the trail town guide. BUT the biggest thing I learned was that there isn’t water available at the Alvord Hotsprings, but there is at Frog Springs, just a few miles south from there on the road. This is critical because there is no potable water between Fields at the climb up into the Steens…some 20ish miles. It was an awesome hitch, and I was stoked to meet those two.

One in Frenchglen I picked up some snacks at the Mercantile and walked the 3 miles to the Steens Mountain Ranch. Debbie & Mark who run the place are incredibly helpful, and their place has everything a hiker could need: wifi, laundry, showers, camping, cabins, small camp store, power (gotta charge those electronics!).

Frenchglen is on the edge of the Malheur Refuge which means water, birds, and mosquitos!!

Time to rest and refuel! And they have a little book library, so I’m diving into a V.C. Andrews book, which brings me flashbacks to junior high.

And today is the day my body…and the trail…tells me to slow down. Sure, I’ve had a few blisters, and my legs have been burning, but that’s what I always do on a thru-hike. Oh wait, I’m not on a thru-hike. And for some reason I didn’t schedule myself any rest days; I always do that on a thru-hike. 20 mile days for 2 weeks, that’s not much, right? Well today the trail and my feet sat me down to tell me what’s what.

I only had 9 miles to make it into Fields, and I had breakfast on the brain, so of course I got there by 9:30 this morning. Then I rested until 4pm, that should be enough, right? Do another 8 miles? Well after the miles I sat down to find massive new blisters, one where it doesn’t even rub! What’s up with that?

Then, the hike out this afternoom was quite extraordinary. I walked by Borax Lake and hot springs. But not the kind you soak in. Think Yellowstone where it will melt your face off. But so beautiful in the evening light. Then I get to where the trail goes cross country towards Alvord Lake, and it appears to be water. Hmmm. Someone told me today that the area has had the most rain in ten years. It’s wet out there,  and on an alkali desert that is something I don’t want to walk through. 

So i get the message. I’ll slow down. I’m going to find someplace to hole up for a day or two and rest this body, then continue on. It is my job afterall! I can come back and do this section multiple times.

Oh,  and the highlight today? I had someone ask me if I was hiking the Oregon desert trail. ..and she just happened to be a blog reader of mine!  Jen is from Eugene and was out to do some birding, and had just read some of my posts…and just thought it might be me. I think the damp socks drying in the sun might have given me away. And she was wearing a Purple Rain skirt! Hiker, and cool chick. As she was leaving she walked over with a beer, Picky Bar, and Epic Bar. Score! First trail magic of the trip!

Whew. Time to turn in. What tomorrow brings I don’t know, but isn’t that the adventure?

It took me 13 hours to go 16 miles. That folks, are the Pueblo Mountains.

It will take everything you’ve got with the elevation gain, primarily cross country travel, some knarly bushwacking at times…but so worth it. It’s definitely a range you should spend days in, with minimal miles so you can savor the stunning beauty.

Denio canyon

Denio Canyon was very choked with willows and such,  but starting from the south I could see lots of traces of the old road, and if that wasn’t passible, would side hill on the talus until i could see a path on the road again. Once the drainage split it was impossible to stay near the water, but climbed the south west side and found a good animal trail. I’ll try and draw it out on a map when I get home.

The sage definitely took a toll on my legs. I had my tall gaiters on all day, but the little skin showing got thrashed from the miles and miles of bushwacking before I put on my long john bottoms for protection. Bring pants & gaiters!!!

Once I reached Cairn #20 (this is a route developed by the original desert trail…in the 70s I think) and they put up a series of cairns in lieu of trail), I could tell this section was much more traveled….there was almost a trail at times.

Brilliant!

I could write more, but I’m exhausted. I’ll head into Fields tomorrow and try to take most of the day off. Feeling a little beat up.

I slept so hard last night, and my legs had stopped the buzzing ache from the night before. They were getting stronger!

This morning was a bit of road walking to meet up with no name creek where I then followed it cross country for a few miles. I soon discover what looked like a trail going in the path of least resistance from one side of the creek to the other. Those cows. I was thankful for them this morning as their path made for easy walking. Then it was some uphill cross country to Windy Point where I took a long break.

Just follow the creek!

Next up was a long hot descent to the Denio valley. The next 15+ miles I would walk across the flat. The afternoon was hot. The sun on the light colored sandy road reflected back up at me, and even though I was using my sun umbrella, I felt like I was getting cooked.

It felt like a million miles to the south end of the valley

I keep switching out my footwear from the Oboz Lunas to my chacos. My feet arn’t perfect in either until they toughen up more, but I think the variety helps.

I hobbled into Denio (just on the border of Nevada) to see what was there and try and get some good water. The small town was silent. It was Memorial Day, so even if there had been a store or something it probably would have been closed. I sat in front of the library and used their outdoor faucet. I couldn’t even find a plug to charge my electronics. There are simply no services in Denio. There is another town, Denio Junction, another 4ish miles south, but I didn’t want to go that far. The fact that there were no cars didn’t even tempt me to hitch.

I walked back out of town and cut over to Denio Canyon. I’m camped just inside the narrow walls. It’s already brushy. We’ll see what tomorrow brings!