Solo Trip The Day After Christmas to Eastern Oregon

 It seems I have another annual tradition now to go camping the day after Christmas for a week or so alone, this being my 5th trip and again with our dogs Duke and Bailey. The only other tradition we have camping wise is to camp on Thanksgiving, now up to 42 years straight. 

I took out the flush toilet in the bathroom and added a platform and porta potty. That means I don't have to come back to Boise and rush to dump the black tank and re-winterize when it's below freezing. I also use a tupperware basin in the sink and bottled water for everything so no need to put fresh water in the tank of the camper. Wala, no re-winterizing anymore for winter camps plus I will put the toilet back in for regular season camping.  

As usual for a lot of trips the road starts out as boring as can be, lucky I know where this one ends up. And even though the roads looks good in the picture it took an hour and a half to make the 20 miles to the end.

A trick of the tail, in a moment of Genesis, had me looking out over the "basin" I'd be hiking in the next day

Some shadowtography happened, I'm getting better at it maybe?

There was some color to the evening. Duke didn't care, it was dinner time.

I cared though, it meant a cold, clear windless night, great for a fire. It would hit a cool 13º that night.

Fog had settled in overnight and left its calling down in the basin I wanted to hike. 

It also left some nice hoar frost on the sage brush.

The calling card was also on the hood of my truck with ice crystals growing upward.

I was amazed at having a small signal here, not having one anywhere in the Owyhees before. The weather app told me what I already knew though, it was a cold morning for a hike.

The Steen Mountains of south eastern Oregon are visible in the far-off.

We started walking down an old road with a few spots I would not have taken the truck this time of year. Hence "the walk!"

The truck was back up just over the ridge. It would be close to a 7 mile walk that day and soon we'd be walking off-trail. Just the way we like it. I've never enjoyed walking along dirt roads, seems I ought to be driving them instead.

Soon enough we were, ok I was, scrambling to stay on my feet while heading down a small frozen stream. Oh for four legs when you need them, right Duke?

It was looking like I think it would on Mars as I spaced out, my footsteps carefully.

I had stopped to put on my ice cleats so I wouldn't slip. I have before, slipped, a few weeks after back surgery. That slip and fall took 2 years out of my life and I try not to do it again. It seems I'm smarter out hiking alone than when walking out the front door with my wife behind me telling HER to watch for ice. It makes sense yes?

Still on Mars...

We hit a waterfall with no way down...

so we had lunch, cold cuts and dog biscuits hah.

Duke absconded with my trapper hat, and looked the better for it. Well looked better than me anyway, he's a stylish dude.

We climbed up and around the falls and looked down at the streamed as it worked its way to the Owyhee River just a whoop and a holler away. 

Then we climbed...

Believe it or not I was rock hounding but the small amount of snow made it hard to find anything. I found peace and quiet instead, more valuable to me than gems.

We made it to the top of a ridge covered with dark sand, it seemed out of place. I was going to walk over to the yellow dome dome in the distance, right over the Owyhee River. From here and following pictures I can see a point in the far distance, there's the River in between, where I'd spend the night after this night. 

Duke died on me temporarily, no doubt the sun made for a soft warm place to lie down. I didn't try it.

My new smart watch was having issues. Just a second ago it was 2:16. I must be on the Oregon-Idaho border and it didn't know what time it was. Funny to me, it didn't matter at all, I was on my own time.

Almost to the dome I've added an arrow to show where we'd camp the following night.

A peek-a-boo view of the Owyhee River. In the spring the River will be running high with rafters.

Turning around to start the walk to the truck, I could see a face on the far hill. And you??

Even though there aren't the outrageous colors of the desert southwest I'm still in love with the Owyhees and the quiet scenery that they give me. The snow in any amount adds to the color and is a main draw to winter camping. The geology is also something that can't be beat. I mean how did all those rocks get there in the soft dirt, dropped there by an unseen hand?

The hike out gave us good juju, with a local guide leading the way.

Almost back, the dogs were picking up the pace. We had just recently discovered that little Bailey has diabetes and I was giving her shots twice a day. She was also losing her eyesight, something we didn't realize, and a month after this trip as I now write, she is completely blind. It happened that fast.

Dreary skies have little impact on us, but a good campfire really sets the mood. 

And Holy Christmas, I was getting some badges! Right there, from my new smart watch to iPhone app! I'm not sure what that meant, would I be getting a major award when I got home? 

A big wooden box with Fra Gi Le labeled on it? (French for Fragile hah) Maybe a nice big leg lamp? (*See: A Christmas Story)

Well I already have that so I was hoping for money honey.

Anyway the dingy sky gave way at the last minute for a little afterburn...

and we appreciated it along with the fire.

With her blood sugar still out of whack, it took us a month to get the insulin amount figured out, little Bailey wasn't her usual outdoor self. She stayed warm inside while Duke and I partied by the fire.

When we came in I put Duke's bed in front of the heater vents, it was another cold night.

I had found some color on the ground a few times while hiking, here is one example. After I clean it and spray it with some clear urethane it will look pretty cool.

Driving the 20 miles back to the highway...

we drove up on the posse. I invited them over for some burgers later, my usual invite. Was it something I said? I was only trying to break the ice, geez, a cow giving me the bird? (Well, it was the best I could do in a pinch)

Driving up to the next watering hole I could see them...

wild mustangs, wanting water.

I stopped only for a few pics, not wanting them to leave because of me. If they didn't water here they'd run off to find another hole maybe as far as the river. It was really neat to see something left of the old west.

Further on, I was amazed at the pattern on this cows face, I named it Rorschach.

Getting to the highway I turned east for a few miles and then north again on dirt, having crossed the Owyhee River at Rome Oregon. It's a bit disturbing at times, these dirt roads. I was too unsure and felt like I was trespassing to take pictures as I drove right through a corral with cattle, opening and closing two gates behind me. Yet the topo map app I use showed this as the road back to where I wanted to be. And why were those cowboys chasing me with ropes? Ok not so much but the feeling was still unsettling. 

I finally got to the plateau where I wanted to spend the night and do another 7ish mile hike along an old wagon road that would take me to the Owyhee River. Oy, another dirt road to walk along, one strike against it. Two, it was muddy from the snow melt. And the third strike was me not feeling like hiking again just yet. Duke and Bailey were't interested either so we just hung out and took pictures of the weather.

The yellow domes below the horizon are where we were yesterday. The River is in between here and there just below the distant sage.

Along with getting diabetes Bailey has lost a lot of weight, making her cold all the time. Me, no cold here, I am wintering well at this point.

It was a cloudy night with just a brief break for a full moon picture.

Overnight there had been a dusting of snow and it was cold enough to refreeze the mud on the dirt roads. At least for most of the day.

We started off on a 30 mile backroad drive and found a small lake. I'll go back sometime to see if it has fish. (See: McElligot's Pool by Dr. Seuss)

In one area I lost the road completely.

I drove for many miles next to a huge lava field, wishing I had a drone to capture the size of it. 

I was looking for a lake sitting right in the middle of the lava and an accompanying ranch house.

I had to drive up on a lava outcropping to see the lake, which was frozen over. Another place to check for fish in warmer weather.

Driving back to the highway was problematic again due to the roads and my map app. Almost getting stuck on a muddy road going across a dike I couldn't figure things out. The actual road had gone straight up to a ranch house, which made me think the dike road was the one I wanted. You couldn't steer the road it was so muddy. A foot to the left of me was a 20 foot drop off into a creek and to the right was a 3 foot drop into a canal. Either way I'd be royally screwed and on my side or upside down in the truck. These kinds of places are where I'm glad to have a diesel that will idle on it's own like a tank, not giving either gas or brakes. Still, that makes twice since 2007 I've been scared chitless 4wheeling in mud. Making it to where the canal on the right of me ended, I tested a small patch of dead grass by foot before backing onto it to turn around. More pucker factor set in while I crawled back off the dike road. And geez, back at the ranch house I could just see another gate around the corner leading south. So I have to wonder, was the house built there first long ago and the road added for the owners running their cattle? Or was the road there and someone built their house in the middle of the road? It still puzzles me how these roads run through homes and corrals. 

Going through the last gate I could see where someone's cow must have tried to hide itself during round-up. "They'll never find me here." And there it is to this very day. 

Almost to the pavement I can across a place I have read about and wanted to see. The resting place of Sacagawea's son Jean Baptist Charbonneau. Born during her leading of Lewis and Clark he had an amazing life here and in Europe. While going from the goldfields of California to Montana he got pneumonia and died here at Inskip Stage Station now part of Ruby Ranch. 

There was no change in the weather, and no change in my pocket for me to pay homage...but I'll be back.

Thanks a lot for reading, or just plain ol looking. 

Dave Rogers

P.S. As soon as little Bailey's blood sugar levels off we will have her cataracts removed and she'll get new lenses for her eyes. At only 6 years old we hope to keep her hiking and swimming with us a whole lot longer. She is an excellent outdoors dog who loves to swim, run, and smiles while doing it. And I call her "Snowplow"