Eastern Oregon Road Trip: Day 5

Strawberry Mountains

Tucker on Canyon Mountain

Sumpter Dredge

Kam Wah Chung

14 May 2010

I had a lot on the itinerary for today and was worried about fitting it all in, so got up at 5:30 and made coffee but skipped breakfast to get an early start on the day. The tent had a light frost on it, so it got packed up wet but would quickly dry out at camp this evening.

We were rolling a little after 7. Spent some time in Canyon City trying to find the Boot Hill cemetery mentioned in William Sullivan's guidebook, but after a couple failed attempts headed out to the Canyon Mountain trailhead. I wasn't sure what I would find today in terms of accessibility and snow, but was pleased to reach the trailhead in dry conditions. The sun was out, too, so I shed the jacket right away and set off through the pines in short sleeves.

Unlike most trails named after a mountain, this one actually traverses the mountain rather than scaling the summit. After a half a miles or so in the trees, we hiked the sunny slope amid early blooming flowers. After re-entering the woods, we began to encounter some small patches of snow, but nothing alarming. But we lost the trail completely at a stream crossing. On the other side, we bushwhacked uphill to intercept the trail. After another mile, the trail disappeared into the woods and a couple feet of snow, so we left it to hike out to a dry, rocky viewpoint that made a great turnaround spot. Impressive views of the John Day valley and the Blue Mountains.

Back at the car, I drove down the narrow track from the trailhead to find Forest Service vehicles blocking our exit to the main road. I'm sure it never occurred to them that anyone had gone to the trailhead so early on a weekday, but still! I had visions of spending my day on this snow-covered mountain waiting for these guys to return to their trucks when I heard voices in the distance. I walked up the road hoping I wasn't hearing things. Sure enough, a couple dozen newly hired trail crew members were grouped up for a training session. The leader sheepishly went with me to move the two trucks that blocked my exit.

Heeding the advice of the couple from Portland I met at the Alvord Desert, I visited the Kam Wah Chung museum in John Day--a tribute to the Chinese laborers that worked the mines in the late 1800s. A great diversion if you're ever there!

Eager to start the scenic drive for the day, I drove east to Prairie City where T and I walked around, refilled water and picked up some supplies at the grocery store. We stopped in Sumpter to see the restored mining dredge and had a beer at the Elkhorn Saloon (I was hoping it would be a neat place to hang out for a bit--it wasn't).

Now in the southern portion of the Blue Mountains, I continued driving northwest through the tiny hamlet of Granite and lodgepole pine forest with occasional meadows. The entrance to the North Fork John Day campground was partially blocked with snow, but was clearly open. The place was deserted save for the campground hosts (who said they just opened up) so we once again had our pick of campsites. I chose one with a nice flat spot for the tent and partially in the sun. A couple sites had healthy stacks of firewood, so I snagged some with the intent of enjoying a warm fire for a change. Tucker was tuckered and content to enjoy the views from his bed next to the picnic table.

After setting up camp, I sat down to read with a glass of wine. A few minutes later, a familiar white pickup pulling a pop-up trailer drove past. It was Valerie and Pat, a couple I met at the Page Springs campground when our dogs introduced us. They're from Poulsbo, Washington, on the Olympic Peninsula. We visited for a while--they planned to hike the North Fork John Day trail in the morning, as did I.

Eventually I abandoned my attempt at fire. It required constant attention to keep it going, allowing no time to relax and read. Tucker was more than happy to call it an early night, especially since we had gotten up so early. At the last minute, I draped the rain fly over the tent for extra insulation from the chilly air. Another clear night with stars!