Veterans Day gave us a long weekend, where would we go? There were lots of parades to choose from but in the end we decided to get away from it all. Surprised? If you are you haven’t been following along very well. Go back and read the other 99 posts (yes this is post 100!, can you believe it?) that came before this one. We headed out Friday after work and by 5:30 it was basically dark. We pulled into Chickahominy before it got too late and enjoyed a small fire as the cold wind came across the high desert. It didn’t take to long for the owl to start up, then it got closer. We were able to pick him out standing on top of a pole next to camp. He must have been 5 feet tall. We’ve been lucky with owls and coyotes near camp this year. It would be easier to list the camps with no owls or coyotes, there have been that many. Speaking of coyotes, they started up before bed and went on late into the night as well. Not a bad spot for a roadside stop.
The next morning we were up and headed east. We passed through Burns and turned north at Juntura, past Beulah Reservoir and towards Chimney Rock. Chimney Rock is an interesting and prominent feature towering over much of the upper North Fork Malheur River country. The first time I saw it many years ago it seemed out of place, a towering mountain flanked by mixed conifer forests otherwise surrounded by sagebrush country. It was good to get up close and personal for a few better views.
We continued on towards a possible camp, and as is bound to happen from time to time you get a surprise or two along the way. The road we were following to sneak into the eastern fringe of the Malheur National Forest started to fork, and each fork the road quality went down a bit. Just about the time I was starting to dread having to backtrack we made it onto the forest, no locked gates, road blocks or other obstacles brought us to a halt, but the rutted, narrow brushed in road made for an interesting drive.
Wow, the days are short in November! We continued on to Crane Crossing Camp and discovered the meaning behind the name. Two river fords were required to reach camp, but what a camp it was. We liked it so much we stayed the rest of the weekend and didn’t see another soul for two days.
We spent the next day on a relaxing walk down the North Fork of the Malheur, and the wild and scenic designation did not disappoint. A few small fish rose to a fly and came to hand and there was still a bit of color to enjoy on the larch.
After another hike upriver Sunday we reluctantly packed up camp and headed home. I have a feeling we’ll be back to Crane Crossing.
A camp with no other humans around – incredible.