Tag: Upper Deschutes

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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.

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Summer’s End

In one day alone, lightning ignited 19 wildfires across Central Oregon.

August came and brought a scattering of rain showers, as well as a renewal of the heat warnings. The West is still on fire, the air quality drops to moderate and storms bring some rain but also lightning.

This week our escape was to drive a few miles west to the head waters of the Deschutes River and Tip’s favorite swimming hole.

 

The ODFW has placed restrictions on Oregon’s large rivers as water temperatures rise from the heat wave.

These “Hoot Owl” hours protect already stressed fish, limiting hours we can be on the water.

The Upper Deschutes benefits from higher altitude and mid-summer snow run-off, so it’s waters stay cooler and fishable, for now.

Tip loves this spot to wade the stream and play fetch. Once started it’s pretty hard to get his focus off the game. We’re glad to set our chairs on the shady bank and take in it’s natural AC.

There is a ten degree difference in temp plus the soothing sound of moving water (broken by demanding barks from the dog). Half a day on the stream and we all are refreshed.

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Stick Game

December’s snow melted away between Christmas and the first part of January. We took the opportunity to do some exploring along the upper Deschutes River.  It’s closed to fishing this time of year, meaning far fewer people and with only a hint of snow on the roads you can get nearly to Wickiup Reservoir via USFS roads.

At one spot we stopped to grab some pix of lichen and such with the macro lens.

Tip figured it was a good time to play a bit of fetch. He proceeded to pull a stick from the pine needles and insisted one of us throw it for him.

This game can last a few minutes or carry on for half an hour … today it was a brief game before we got back on the road and continued exploring.

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River Dog games

There’s a spot on the Upper Deschutes river that has become a favorite of Tip’s for swimming / fetching.  On exiting the car he will locate  a stick and lead the way down the trail.  Then it’s game on!