jstv – Page 34

February 12, 2023February 10, 2023

Finding Whychus Creek

This week we thought it might be nice to take a walk. We don’t backpack, but we do often day hike. which in the winter can be tricky to find clear paths. A lot of people winter hike with snowshoes, and we’ve done that, but it’s not practical with Tip.

There are literally hundreds of short trail loops within a half-hour drive.

Most include a scenic overlook, waterfall, or some natural wonder. This week we went looking for a stream we’d heard a lot about, but had never actually seen.

Wychus Creek headwaters in the Sisters Wilderness area winds through the town of Sisters and empties into the Deschutes River a few miles west of Terrebonne.

An overlook loop is part of a series of interconnected trails that allow you to explore the creek or backpack up into the wilderness area.

(Right to left) Sweeping views of The Three Sisters and Broken Top Mountains.

The portion we walked is not only popular. but well groomed. Its half mile loop swings by a walled off ledge above the creek.

From this point you are treated to spectacular views of the Three Sisters and Broken Top with Mt. Bachelor to the south and Mt. Washington to the northwest.

On a different day . . .

We explored the area along the Middle Deschutes, about midway between Bend and Lake Billy Chinook.

Most of the Middle Deschutes River from this spot extending upstream above Bend is a designated paddle route that often includes walking trails. One section of those paths runs through a wildlife preservation area.

Borden Beck Wildlife Preserve is along a section of this trail. Caught in the middle of a dispute between land development or riparian preservation it wasn’t until 2019 that this parcel on the edge of Lower Bridge road received some protection.

The Deschutes River winds through marsh bottomland offering great birding at the right time of the year. This is not that time of year.

Sagebrush, juniper and blackberry line the trail

However, for a January day it was sunny and relatively warm. We got in a walk and figured out where to find the preserve’s parking and access point.

Both places have been added to the calendar for fall visits. After weeks of hiding from the frigid winter weather it was nice to get outside again.

February 5, 2023February 7, 2023

A day trip to Maupin

Early morning light on the Lower Deschutes River

January brought warmer days which cleared off the roads. When that happens we tend to venture out at greater distance.

Maupin and the Lower Deschutes River is this type of destination.

Winter fishing presents some problems, but it’s not impossible … just more fiddley.

I’m not adept at nymph fishing. It’s not the rig, tight-line or indicator that’s a problem. Patterns fished subsurface, any fashion, are uncharted water.

However, since moving to Central Oregon I’ve put a lot more effort into this type of fishing.

Drifting a dropper rig along the edge of a riffle.

The lower section of the Deschutes is a wide stream in a narrow canyon. Taking off from the northern edge of Maupin, the Deschutes River Road hugs the eastern edge of the river for thirty miles, offering perfect fishing access.

Downstream you can see the road ahead, cut into the hill side.

From November to April you can often have a stretch of this river all to yourself and it’s easy to drive until an open spot is found.

Taking a break at the confluence of the White River and Deschutes.

Winter this side of the Cascades presents frequent mild sun drenched days if you have an open schedule. Our schedule may not be open as much as it’s flexible.

This week’s trip was in hopes of finding a particular Baetis hatch. Blue Wing Olives, or BWO’s to the locals, is a small grayish winged Mayfly that shows up numerous times a year in Western Waters.

There has been a reliable hatch coming off the Deschutes mid to late January.

The draw of the Deschutes is that even if you don’t hit a hatch there are lots of other patterns that will catch fish. I know the ‘what’ now I’m working on the ‘how’. A week ago I hooked a very nice Rainbow on a Stonefly nymph, while this week’s trip drew a blank.

It’s a pretty long road trip but if the weather is decent there are lots of interesting pieces of nature . . . and time on the river is reward.

January 29, 2023January 29, 2023

Toys for the Holidays

Winter’s chill brings ice even on a river.

This post marks the beginning of BlackDogHair’s fifth season blogging from Central Oregon. As always the intent is to post a short, image-filled review of our week, each Sunday morning (best intentions).

Hope you’ll keep coming back to see what happens. If so inclined, you can leave a comment in the space provided. Regardless, thanks for reading!

A narrow channel of the Crooked River remains un-frozen.

The weeks after Christmas in Central Oregon were bitter cold . . . which prevented us from venturing out to play with the toys Santa brought.

A warming trend moved in a week or so after New Years, so that is when we actually got started on our 2023 adventures. Of course, we headed over to the Crooked River for an initial testing of holiday gifts.

Jack got a new fly rod, the Winston five weight that has been on his wish list since … forever. While no fish were caught, there was noted improvement in his casting.

JQ has been playing with macro photography for a couple of years now, using an adaptor on her iPhone. That small chunk of glass was replaced with a lens dedicated to the art of close up photography. Armed with this new optical marvel, you’ll be seeing a lot more of nature’s tiny wonders on this blog.

And with that we begin the journey . . .

December 24, 2022December 23, 2022

Year’s End

Halloween candy wasn’t even gone from the pantry and our social media feeds began to fill with gift suggestions tucked among the posts. It’s difficult to be in a holiday spirit when you’ve been bombarded with ads for two months. Amplifying the sales spiels is a din of corporate media messages passing off their price gouging as a recession.

With a lingering pandemic, threats to global peace and what appears to be half of the country ready to embrace a fascist coup, it’s not been a great year. Yeah . . . it’s hard to find any spirit of the season in our hearts.

But then we took a look back at the forty-plus entries on this blog and realized there were plenty of bright spots.

Fort Rock in the distance A year of laughing, living, and most importantly, having fun

In spite of the chaos that surrounds us, we’ve managed to get out in the woods, tramp across the high desert and stand in a stream or two.

Basically . . . enjoy the moment … we hope you have done the same.

There won’t be any blog entries for the next few weeks, but look for a new post toward the end of January. For now, take a moment and reflect on this year’s high points . . .

We wish all our readers Happy Holidays and a prosperous New Year!

. . . more roads to travel, trails to explore, more adventures to come

December 11, 2022December 9, 2022

Winter at Summer Lake

Trails and dikes wind through the Summer Lake marshlands

Foul weather is the reason most stated for not going outside … saw it on FaceBook, I think. Since moving to Central Oregon we’ve grown very attached to iPhone weather apps. Our weekly sojourns are guided by the trove of information available via this visual piece of software, now bundled with iOS.

Weather permitting, we like to take in at least one winter day at Summer Lake Wildlife Refuge.

Waterfowl forage and rest along these channels

Granted, peak birding season is March to May when a majority of the migratory birds are in the flyway. But winter weather doesn’t just affect wildlife, there are seasonal changes to vegetation around this marshy lowland.

Weather on the valley floor is dependent on and very different from Fremont Ridge to the south or Abert Rim to the East.

Snow covers sage and rocky desert terrain

Summer Lake and La Pine are at nearly the same elevation with a couple of ancient lava mounds between them.

Our day starts in a pine forest as Highway 31 scales the southern edge of Paulina’s lava flow. At the Fort Rock junction scenery changes to sage. There is a distinct high desert landscape along the southern edge of Christmas Valley, through Silver Lake.

From there it’s a gradual climb up the western slope of Fremont Ridge. Looking back, west from Picture Rock Pass, you’ll get a better sense of that elevation change.

From the same vantage point looking east, Summer Lake sits in a wide valley butted up to the nearly vertical rockface of Fremont Ridge. The slope along the lake’s southern edge, and in the distance Abert Ridge, present great photo backdrops. Wind has scraped recent snowfall into crevices defining Fremont Ridge as it pushes up from the valley.

Freemont Ridge (right) skirts along this snow swept wetland

In the refuge’s marsh golden shades of reeds and grass jutting out of snow add texture, as well as color.

It’s the middle of duck season and RV’s fill the camp sites but we encounter no one.

It’s a cold, sunny mid-week day and we’re finding lots of landscape photo ops, as well as a handful of raptor sightings. Just a typical winter’s day at Summer Lake.