High up and far out

Green pastures, lush forests, crystal clear rivers....  Oregon is hopelessly typecast.  If this is all you’ve seen of our diverse state, it’s time to make the long drive to the extreme southeast corner of Oregon. Driving south and east from Bend on Highway 20 takes you into basin and range country, with a climate and geology that has more in with common with Nevada and Utah than the rest of our state.  Comprising close to a quarter of the land area of Oregon, these lonely mountain ranges and dry sagebrush steppes contain just 1.4% of the state’s population, with many areas receiving less than 10 inches of annual precipitation.

The best-known landmark of the area is the fifty-mile long and 9,700-foot tall Steens Mountain Range.  Unlike the elegant pyroclastic cones of the Cascades—built from ash and lava violently expelled from volcanoes—the Steens are a fault block range, an enormous wedge of earth shoved skyward about 10 million years ago.  The western slope of the Steens is a relatively gently ramp leading to a precipitous 5,000 foot drop to a desert basin in the east.

Unlike other fault block ranges further south, the Steens have been heavily glaciated.  The mountain’s most remarkable natural features are enormous U-shaped gorges carved into the west side of the mountain, some of them more than a half mile deep, five miles wide and twenty five miles long.

You can drive nearly to the top of the Steens along the 65-mile Steens Loop Road, but this route is closed until late June or even later most years, which misses the best time of the year to visit.

The most magnificent scenery in Oregon can be experienced with a 2-3 day backpacking trip up Big Indian Gorge to the top of Steens Mountain, descending back down Little Blitzen Gorge.  Depending on the snow pack, late May to late June are the best times of year. 

(Disclaimer:  This is a tough hike.  Weather at the Steens can change minute to minute; sun one moment, snow the next.  Lack of water, rattlesnakes and mosquitoes can be hazards or inconveniences depending on the time of year.  There are several very difficult off-trail scrambles that should only be attempted by people in good shape with orienteering skills.  Purchase a good map, consult guidebooks and the Burns BLM District for more detail and weather conditions, and come prepared!)

To get to your jumping off point, drive 60 miles south from Burns on Hwy. 205 to Frenchglen.  The small hamlet is named for Pete French, who moved to the area in 1872 and within 30 years built the single largest ranch in the United States.  The Steens is still ranching country, although a landmark conservation compromise led to the Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Area in 2000, which created a 100,000-acre cow-free wilderness.  Today, Frenchglen is built around the restored Frenchglen hotel, which offers reasonable overnight stays and wholesome meals for people who want to enjoy the Steens with day hikes.

Continue south on 205 another 9 miles to a well-signed road for the Steens heading east (a left turn).  It’s another 18 miles along a good gravel road to a bridge over the Blitzen River, then another 2.5 miles to South Steens Campground. The first part of the trip gives no indication of the spectacular scenery to come.  At the far end of the family tent sites, pick up an old jeep trail heading east.  In 2.3 miles you’ll cross Big Indian Creek, which is fast and at least knee deep until August.  Soon, you’ll cross Little Indian Creek and the trail will bend north, before turning east into the heart of the gorge.  The hiking is easy and there are dramatic views of cliffs and distant peaks.  Sagebrush and juniper ground cover give way to wildflower meadows and aspen groves as the route gets steeper.

In another four miles, you’ll reach the head of Big Indian gorge—an enormous natural amphitheater surrounded on almost every side by steep cliffs, dramatic waterfalls and lush spring wildflowers.  This is a great place to camp before attempting the scramble to the top of the mountain.

The best route out of the canyon is along the left side of one of the bigger branches of Big Indian Creek that curve south.  You’ll scramble up a series of benches to a saddle with a view of Wildhorse Lake, a brilliant emerald-green mountain tarn.  From this point, turn north and scramble along a ridgeline until you reach a gravel spur road.  At the end of this road you can take short hiking paths to the top of the mountain or down to the lake.  Keep an eye out for big horn sheep.

The view from the top of Steens Mountain is as dramatic as any in Oregon.  Looking south and east over massive Wildhorse Canyon is the Alvord Desert, waterlogged from Steens runoff in the spring, a heat blasted checkerboard of cracked playa in the summer.  Further to the south are virtually unknown but incredibly scenic mountain ranges:  The Pueblos, Trout Mountains, Oregon Canyon Mountains and, over the border in Nevada, the Santa Rosas.  On the clearest days you can pick out the Three Sisters to the northwest with binoculars, about 160 miles distant. 

After these exciting detours, return down the spur road until you reach the main Steens Loop Road.  There are plenty of good campsites, and plenty of snowmelt to replenish your water supplies (to be on the safe side, you should filter ALL water at the Steens). 

In the morning, continue north to a spectacular overlook of Little Blitzen Gorge.  Either before or after you reach this viewpoint, you can drop the 1,600 feet into Blitzen Gorge.  If the descent looks too tough, you can return to your vehicle on the High Desert Trail, which parallels the north half of the Steens Loop Road.

Follow the Little Blitzen River past more spectacular scenery for another 9 miles to an intersection with the Loop Road and a short walk back to the South Steens Campground. 

Oregon will never be the same.