Usually when we are on the Crooked River, we’re on the other side of the road, rod in tow and knee deep in the stream. However, today it was a scramble up one of the many dry gullies to the east for a look out over the Crooked River canyon south of Prineville.
Chimney Rock is a distant cousin to the more famous Crooked River basalt formation Smith Rock.
But here again, we are talking about a much lower attendance on trail and of course much less technical hiking.
There is a short climb up the side of the river canyon to a juniper and sage ridge. The trail then meanders along crossing and re-crossing a dry creek bed. Ancient juniper trees are literally poking out of rock outcroppings. The surrounding canyon walls are home to a conspiracy of vocal ravens.
The day offered an interesting prospective on a stream we often camp along, and provided a delightful hike on a sunny winter afternoon.
Northwest of Bend, a man-made lake occupies a space made up of igneous rock, once cut into by three rivers. This is where the Metolius and Crooked join the Deschutes river. The waters of Billy Chinook draw hundreds of power boaters from May to November, however in the winter months, the canyon walls are quieter and we can indulge our geological interests in relative peace.
