Tag: Upper Deschutes

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Just A Hot Week in July

A stream beats the summer heat

We spent this week trying to stay out of the heat. A wildland fire burning in the southwestern corner of Oregon finally managed to drift some smoke over our way.  The drop in air quality on top of hundred degree daytime temps wasn’t very conducive to outdoor activities.

However, we did manage to fit in a trip to the Upper Deschutes. There are some well shaded nooks along the stream to set up a chair, cast a fly and throw a stick.

The weather man promises a  moderation to record setting heat ahead , , , we’ll see. But there are plans being made to locate other shaded spots.

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Fall Yet?

Our screens are filled with Fall and Halloween, content but summer’s not giving in that easy. The PNW swelters under a heat dome and it does not feel even a little bit like Fall.

Wading rivers is a great way to beat the heat. Usually we can time our trips to take advantage of the cooler morning hours. Neither of these strategies worked this week. The day’s heat never gave way to a typical morning chill. We needed to find a different escape.

The Upper Deschutes is a perfect spot. Tip can enjoy a game of fetch and a swim. A dense lodgepole forest gives plenty of shade along the stream bank so it is a good choice for these last days of summer. The weatherman predicts a shift to more ‘Fall’ like weather in the days to come. For now we make do.

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Stream Side Respite

Early summer on the Deschutes headwaters

The Deschutes River headwaters couldn’t be more different from its iconic lower runs. From Lava Lake to Crane Prairie Reservoir, the Upper Deschutes is more of a creek than river.

It meanders through grass meadows and Lodge Pole pine forests. This week that stretch of river opened. Literally, the USFS unlocked roads and the stream was opened to fishing.

Signs of life after the winter snows retreat

This seven mile stretch of stream is a favorite summer destination. There are great spots to picnic, excellent stick fetching and good fishing. Even in the hottest days of summer, there are shady spots along the river to open a camp chair and enjoy the day.

Few things are more relaxing or peaceful than a spot in the shade by a quietly tumbling stream.

We’ll be back up here often until the snow closes things down for another season.

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Getting a Start on Summer

A pelican flies over a side channel of Crane Prairie Lake.

May is nearly over … that went quickly.

A couple of things happen this time of year; the Cascade Lakes Highway and fishing season on the Upper Deschutes open. This marks the beginning of summer in Central Oregon.

April showers brought additional snow pack to the mountains and we found six foot banks on the highway between Bachelor and Elk Lake. Meaning, it will be a few weeks before you see wild flowers in those alpine meadows.

 

Skunk cabbage makes an early appearance.

However, once we’d dropped to Little Lava Lake and the head waters of the Deschutes, snow lay only in a few patches and new growth was poking through winter matted ground.  Some wildflowers were showing as well.

In prep for future trips, Tip checks out the river and I did some entomology research. We are ready for the start of summer fishing on the upper D.

 

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Smokey Daze

This week smoke from all those wildfires settled over Central Oregon. The nation’s largest wildfire burns just an hour south of us and a stormfront  brought hundreds of lightning strikes and of course, more fires. Nearly all the “hot spots” have been extinguished, but the big blazes in Southern Oregon and Northern California resist efforts to contain them.

All trips to the river result in a wet dog.

Mostly we stay indoors and out of the thick air. One day, when the air quality got a bit better we did the Cascade Highway loop. This takes us right by a favorite spot on the upper Deschutes.

Tip got to do some swimming and we had a brief picnic lunch before the smoke settled back down on us. The weatherman suggests air quality might get better next week.  But we have to keep in mind that August is peak wildfire season so we’re not holding out much hope. Glad we managed a few moments on the river.