Headed out Sunday the 7th for a rendezvous with Lava Beds National Monument in my 95 Tercel expedition vehicle. The only real agenda on this trip.
Spent the night with an old classmate north of Eagle Point. Had dinner with he and his lovely wife. 5 star dinner too.
Made my way to Lava Beds Monday and was able to get campsite 6. This one has a unique view of the monument and is my favorite. Took in a couple of lava tubes and generally bummed around. The quite is awesome. Clear night for the stars and even saw a meteor that lasted for 30 degrees or more. One of the best. Was supposed to get down to 30 or so but the clouds came in and didn’t break 40. Fine with me
Tuesdays late start would bite me slightly by nightfall. I headed back to Klamath Falls for fuel and to hit a parts store as I popped a CEL. Code was cat not working right. Seemed to be running ok so I headed out to Lakeview, Or. , Plush and Hart Mountain.
I developed an interest in hot springs a few days before I left oddly enough and with the internet, found one on Hart Mountain.
Hit Plush late and did not make it to camp before dark. Hate arriving at a campground in the dark. I’d been this way before, to the Headquarters(where the turn off is) and on to Frenchglen and the Steens Range so it wasn’t entirely new.
Found the main hot spring and then scored a camp site. Set up camp, mainly the ‘bed’ and off to the hot spring.
The spring was ‘enlarged by a rancher that tossed in a stick of dynamite and there you go.. There’s a ‘wall’ around it with benches and a ladder to climb down with. Water is around 101-102 it seems. Very nice.
The two youngins’ in the spring when I got there told me about the other, shallower and hotter spring about 60 yards away. The next morning I tried the smaller spring and it was glorious. Shallower and hotter than the other, it is also out in the open with a view of the surroundings. Brilliant. A tad muddy in the bottom, you need to sit on a rock which works fine.
After a dip in the ‘muddy’ spring, you go back to the deeper hot spring for more relaxation and to rinse the mud off.
Wednesday I took off east about 10 miles and found a spot and just hung out for a while. Bagged some sage. Love the smell. The quite is intense out there. Not even aircraft save for the occasional military flyover.
Thurs morn I got up at 6am and a balmy 31 degrees to sit in the small hot spring and watch the sunrise. Glorious. Another dip in the deep spring and back to camp to pack.
Part of the packing was the firewood I brought and scored more of at Warren’s.
The only chance I had for a camp fire was the morning at Lava Beds. At Hart Mnt, no fires were allowed due to fire danger. Probably had 50lbs of wood in that little Tercel taking up valuable space. Next time…not!
As I was leaving I took the opportunity for a last potty stop. I had used this same outhouse the day before but when I tried to unlock and exit the lock didn’t work. Jiggle jiggle, bang bang and the door did not open. Panic ensued, deep and real panic that I have not experienced. . It was hot inside and there were not many people around. More jiggling and pounding, more panic and suddenly…the door popped open. Glory be!! Life is good again. Onward…
Back down the mountain to Plush. Out to Lakeview and …wait. Awfully close to Lake Abert to the north and the spot of an ill-fated trip back in 06. Got stuck in the mud on the west shore, walked out 10 miles in July, ended up at the north end of the lake at the so called ‘Cowboy Cabin’ where I was rescued.(yes 911). For some reason, I wanted to go back, at least to the cabin. I drove up to Abert Rim and to the north end and along the way, right along the road I saw, for the very first time, Big Horn sheep. A ram, does and others…right along side of the road. They did not dart off either. Pictures, video and on to the cabin.
Stunning scenery for me, especially the west shore. Not sure why. Just is.
Back to Lakeview, on to Klamath Falls and Medford and Warren’s place for the night.
Friday I stopped by Sportsman Warehouse(massive selection, prices ok) to browse and check out ice chests. Also stopped by the new REI. Not sure why but I wasn’t impressed. The old Northern Mountain Supply(Killerdeals.com) in Eureka was way better but they didn’t survive the ‘economic down turn’.
A lot of miles, outstanding back country and a new favorite spot at Hart Mountain. I do love the Oregon Outback. The quite alone is something to experience. Big skys with big open tracks of land to explore. October is a great time to visit.
The Tercel actually did great. It was overloaded and the suspension is shot but it drove like a trooper and didn’t miss a lick. I even got around 42mpg though I was hyper-mileing pretty hard.
As I was nearing home I had blue skys of summer to the east and the clouds from the Pacific to the west signaling winter. Summer was over for me and time for the last preparations for winter.
I will return to Hart Mountain and the Oregon Outback...soon!
Pics and vids here
I <3 you Russ
no crowds also.
