Craft Cabin, Joaquin Miller Horse Camp and Myrtle Creek, Oregon

It seems like everybody has heard of Joaquin Miller Horse Camp, but not many people have actually been there, possibly because there is not a lot of information out there about it. But it does exist, and the camp is actually really nice, and has a lot of amenities.

Joaquin Miller Horse Camp.

I've ridden with friends in the Malheur National Forest before, but we were not on designated trails at the time. I wanted to check out the two trails that are close to Burns Oregon, and in the general area of the camp.
I drove straight  from home to the Craft Cabin Trail, or I tried to, there are supposed to be two trailheads, north and south. I passed by the road going to the north one first, but there was recent logging activity and a sign that said "trucks" so I thought maybe I would drive the extra two miles to the south trailhead. I got to where it was supposed to be and there was nothing, no sign, no clue whatsoever, so I drove a little further and found myself on a dead end road with a gate into private property. Consequently I had to back up for awhile until I could find a place to turn around. Obviously I then went back over to the north trailhead, but since it was becoming clear to me that this is a lightly used area, I had lost my trust that the north road would actually get me to my destination. Since it's only a mile to the trailhead from there, I parked along the main road instead, tacked up and rode down to find this elusive trail.

Proof it exists.

Once at the traihead it was obvious it was not a well used trail, but it was marked with orange diamonds and I followed it for about five minutes until I ended up in a lovely meadow with a stream.

The meadow on the Craft Cabin Trail.

At this point the trail disappeared, there was a fence with a gate, but you had to go down a steep bank and cross the creek to get to it, and I saw no more orange markers. I looked at a map later and apparently the trail does follow the creek, but to be honest I was getting a little fed up with the Craft Cabin Trail and it was getting late. Or at least I thought it was later than it was, because apparently I had passed over the invisible line into Mountain Time and didn't realize it for awhile. The meadow was so nice that I rode through it instead, and then up into some nearby mountains, spending about three hours just exploring.

Heading towards the mountains.

As the crow flies I was almost parallel to Joaquin Miller so instead of driving all the way back out to Hwy 20 and then back north again, I cut across on gravel forest service roads to Hwy 395. This was actually very easy, as the gravel roads out there are in pretty good shape. I came out on the highway only about 1.5 miles from camp and arrived to find, as expected, that I would have the place all to myself.

Joaquin Miller is a large camp that has 13 official spots, most of which are big enough for trailers. There are also 15 other spots that are not numbered and have no picnic tables, most of those are small, and would only fit a car. Oddly the FS website says there are only 8 sites!
The numbered sites are not all numbered correctly, and in fact mine had no number at all.
But mine was one of only two sites that have steel corrals, and there are two more spots with hitching rails. These are all in a row, they are all pull through spots and have the best access to the water. While driving in the gate, take the far right road for the easiest way to get to the corral sites, otherwise you will be looping around needlessly on other roads for awhile.
There is a bathroom, two manure bins that are right in front of both of the corrals, and potable water from a spigot that is attached to a solar powered well house. Although there is no day use area, there are plenty of extra pull outs and places to park.
This camp is gated and is open from May 1st all the way through Dec.1st.
There is no garbage service and it is $8.00 per night.

One of the two corral sites.

Potable water!

The following day I rode out the gate that is located behind site #6 and takes you into the national forest. There are no designated trails from this camp, but if you are happy to just explore there is plenty of land, and you can ride for days. Update: A friend camped there in 2023 and reported that there are now junctions and diamonds/decals for some of the roads, to mark and designate them as horse trails. I rode north until the road I was on petered out, then headed west for awhile. I saw several antelope along the way and although they are not keen on sticking around, I managed to get a photo of one that was curious enough to stop briefly.

Riding north on forest service roads.

This antelope stopped briefly to check me out.

Since I like loops I just rode in a big circle, at one point going up onto a couple of small hills to see if there were any views. (there weren't). This is grazing land so there were a lot of obvious signs of cow traffic.

The Malheurs are not all forested, there are a lot of meadows, open spaces and creeks. Sometimes it is sagebrush flat lands and other times you are in the pines. The higher the elevation, the greener and lusher it is.

Looking out across a meadow area.

In the national forest.

A bull by a watering hole.

Just following our nose.

I eventually headed back to camp doing about 6 hours of riding that day.
I could have explored more on the west side of the highway, but there was a whole other east side to check out, so the next day I did just that.
There is no access into the forest directly across the highway, I had to ride along the road until I found a way in that had a wire gate. The highway is not very busy and there is plenty of land beside it, so I did not have to ride right alongside traffic.

I could see mountains in the far off distance and my goal was to get to them. It took a little while but eventually I did. I ended up bushwacking for some of the time, and then came upon a ravine that I needed to follow until I could find a way to cross it. I picked my way through some areas where tree thinning was happening, and then ran up against a fence and private property.
As I ate my lunch a herd of curious cows decided I was the most exciting part of their day and gathered for observational purposes.

Came across a ravine.

Curious cows.

Because of these cows, there are fences and cattle guards in a lot of places, and I did have to change direction a couple of times to find a gate in order to continue east. On the way back I followed along a fairly well used road that popped out onto the 2820 Rd which is the one I had used to drive across from Craft Cabin. This passes the Idlewild Campground and Snow Park, which is just 1/4 mile off of Hwy 395.

Views from a small hill over towards John Day.

On my last day I packed up and trailered over to  Rd 31, which is only about a mile south of Joaquin Miller, and from there it is another 13 paved miles to the Myrtle Creek Trailhead. I saw no one on this road other than more cows, the kind that don't care to move at all as you are driving straight at them, but then at the last minute, panic, and start running amok usually right in front of the truck, instead of getting off the road. Once I got to the trailhead I was at a much higher elevation, and it was nice and cool for the first part of the day. This trail follows Myrtle Creek for 8 miles one way, and there are mileage markers on the trees as you ride. I was prepared for this trail not to be cleared, but it was actually in good shape. I came across a couple of downed trees, but nothing that was a problem. Once I got to the 6 mile marker, I only rode a little bit further as I wanted to get back home at a decent hour.

The Myrtle Creek parking area is not huge.

The start of the Myrtle Creek Trail.

On the first part of the Myrtle Creek Trail.

This bridge has seen better days.

Mile markers on trees, on the Myrtle Creek Trail.

On the Myrtle Creek Trail.

Quite a few flowers in bloom.

Photo opportunity.

After I turned around, I had only been riding a few minutes when I spotted a bear cub on a hill on the other side of the creek. Two things went through my head simultaneously. One: Oh my god a bear cub, how cute! and Two: Where is the mother bear? Because as everyone knows, you don't want to be between her and her cub if possible.
So I froze on the trail and scanned the area, but I did not see her, so I continued riding, keeping an eye on the cub. The little fella was climbing higher up the hill and then he stopped on a rock and looked down and I took his picture. He may not even have had his mother with him anymore, since the mother kicks them to the curb after about 18 months.

Bear cub!

Myrtle Creek.

I definitely saw more wildlife than people on this trip and other than in hunting season the Malheurs can be a nice place to get some solitude. A friend camped at Joaquin Miller in April and the ranger she talked to said they may shut this camp down if horse people aren't using it.... so check it out!

GPS COORDINATES TO CRAFT CABIN TH

GPS COORDINATES TO JOAQUIN MILLER

GPS COORDINATES TO MYRTLE CREEK TH

Miller Peak, Stafford Creek and De Roux Horse Camp, (The Teanaway) Washington

After my last camping trip got cut short, and the other place I was thinking of going had thunderstorms in the forecast, I had to find another place that was going to have accessible trails this early in the season and enough riding for several days. So I got ahold of someone I know who lives over near Yakima WA and asked her for ideas and she suggested the Teanaway. (Thanks Susie!)
It had been on my list, ever since I went to Cayuse Horse Camp and the camp host told me I would like the riding from De Roux, and so I figured, no time like the present!

Gallagher Head Lake.

I wanted to visit more than one place and there are quite a number of trailheads to pick from but Susie suggested I try Miller Peak and Stafford Creek. Although there is camping at Millers Peak, which I drove through first to check out, Susie had also mentioned there is a nice dispersed spot between the two trailheads and it turned out to be perfect, so I camped there. There were, of course, no amenities but it was right next to Bear Creek for easy access to stock water.

My dispersed camping spot between trailheads.

On my first day I decided to do the Miller Peak Trail and loop back down the Iron Bear Trail which is a 13 mile ride with about 3800 feet elevation gain. This trail is in the national forest and is shared with motorcycles. On the plus side, the trails had been cleared, ( the FS website was incorrectly stating they were not ) on the minus side it was the weekend and I had already heard a couple of motorcycles pass my campsite earlier in the day, and I was hoping I was not going to run into any of them on a cliffy section of trail.

Miller Trailhead has three spots for camping, but only two that you could fit a trailer into easily. There is a bathroom with a garbage can, and stock water from the creek. You need a NW Forest Pass to camp or park there. No corrals, potable water or manure bin.

You can camp at Miller Peak Trailhead.

I climbed steadily until I reached Miller Peak, where there are some great views. The actual loop bypasses the peak itself, but I rode the extra mile or so to get to the top. The last little bit was a rocky scramble, so I stopped just below it.

The Miller Peak Trail follows Miller Creek for the first part of the ride.

Views from the Miller Peak Trail.

Just below the very top of Miller Peak.

Heading back down using the County Line Trail.

I took a break at the top, then went back to the junction and proceeded to do the rest of the loop. At this point I heard motorcycles coming. It's a pretty rough trail and in my opinion, they are nuts to want to do it on a motorcycle, but they probably think I am nuts to do it on a horse.... in any case, they have no choice but to go fairly slow, so I had time to get off the trail. I ran into a couple more later on, and they stopped and turned their bikes off. I kind of doubt it's quite this busy during the week, but it was a Saturday. Also the area had just opened to motorized use as of June 15th which just happened to be the day I rode it.

Views from the County Line Trail.

The Stuart Range is partially visible from one section of trail.

On my way down I got hit by a couple of storms. I waited the first one out under a tree and did not really get very wet BUT the rest of the trail was very brushy, so as I continued riding, I got soaked anyway from all the water getting dumped on me from the foliage. During the second storm I found an even better tree and a couple of ladies that were hiking huddled under there with me for awhile. It wasn't cold out, but I was delighted to get back to camp and get into dry clothes.

The weather was fantastic the following day and so I rode over to the Stafford Creek Trailhead.
Stafford also has a couple of camping spots, one you could probably fit a trailer into, but I wouldn't recommend it, this is a busy place with cars lined up on both sides of the road. There are plenty of large dispersed camping spots on the road just before getting to the trailhead that would be preferable. There is a bathroom with a garbage can and stock water from the creek. No corrals, potable water or manure bin. You need a NW Forest Pass to camp or park there. There is a fee station where you can buy a day pass if you don't have the yearly one.

This trail climbs steadily, but not as steeply as Miller and it is gorgeous all the way up. This is NOT a motorcycle trail but mountain bikers can use it. I kept running into backpackers in droves on their way back down, after spending a soggy night on the mountain. Trail runners were passing me on the way up, and one guy asked me if I was going all the way to the top and I said yes.

On the Stafford Creek Trail.

On the Stafford Creek Trail.

About 3/4 of the way up, there is a nice meadow where all the backpackers put up their tents. After the meadow it becomes very barren for awhile and then you climb over a ridge to Navaho Pass and BAM! you get hit in the face by a view of the Stuart Range that will take your breath away. I hung out up there for awhile and got a kick out of watching the hikers reactions as they saw it for the first time.
I took a lot of pictures but it is one of those places where a camera just can't capture the vastness and all of the small details.

It just gets prettier and prettier on the Stafford Creek Trail.

The meadow where the backpackers camp.

Gets a little barren near the top.

Wow....the Stuart Range is amazing.

The hikers behind my horse are impressed with the view, but Rina... not so much!

As I was taking a break the trail runner I mentioned before came by again, and I asked him where he had been. He said you can continue just under a mile up to Navaho Peak and the view from there is amazing. Normally I would have been all over that idea, but he said it was very steep and my horse was looking a little wilted from all the climbing of the last couple of days, so I reluctantly decided not to do it. Instead we headed back down and it was considerably less busy on the way out.

The following day was a "pack up camp and drive over to the next destination day" and a day off for my horse. I arrived at De Roux trailhead/camp around noon, and it was deserted so I picked a spot and got all set up. I twiddled my thumbs for the rest of the day hoping my horse was getting nicely rested up for our next couple days of riding.

De Roux has five sites, some with highline poles set up, a bathroom, and stock water from the creek. The last two spots have the easiest access to the water and are the most roomy. There are also a few hitching rails and it is free to camp if you have a NW Forest Pass. There is a fee station at the beginning of the spur road that leads to camp, where you can buy a day pass. Again, no corrals, potable water or manure bin.

De Roux Trailhead/Camp.

My spot at De Roux.

My plan was (hopefully) to do a loop from the Boulder De Roux Trail to Gallagher Head Lake, up Fortune Cookie Pass ( love the name)  and then down the Esmeralda Basin Trail. However I knew there was a good chance that would not happen, even though the elevation wasn't any higher than the two previous rides I had done, this area had more valleys and shaded areas where snow could be lingering.

It's a decent climb to get to the lake with lots of small waterfalls to catch glimpses of through the trees along the way. The trail had been cleared except for one log and it was easy to get around. Motorcycles can use this trail, but I did not see any all day. When I was less than a quarter of a mile from the lake I started to hit big snow patches. It took awhile, but we got either through or around them and finally made it to the lake! Once there, I rode a bit further but trying to follow the Fortune Creek Jeep Road past the lake the snow just got deeper and deeper. So instead of doing the loop I followed the jeep road in another direction, climbing up to a high point for some awesome views.

The bridge over De Roux Creek was looking a little sketchy so we went through the water.

At the junction for Gallagher Head Lake.

Views from the switchbacks up towards Gallagher Head Lake.

At Gallagher Head Lake.

At Gallagher Head Lake.

Riding on the jeep trails above Gallagher Head Lake.

Another view of the Stuart Range from afar.

Looking way back down the valley we had come up.

Later that day back at camp, a couple of ladies on horseback ponying a pack mule rode by and wanted to talk to me. They wanted to know which trail I had done and whether it was cleared. It turns out they work at High Country Outfitters which is located on the main road just before the turnoff to De Roux. They were clearing trails and asked me for a favor, whatever trail I did the following day, would I leave them a note and tell them what the conditions were, so they could plan accordingly.

I had a choice for my last day of riding. Go up the Iron Peak Trail and possibly do a loop from there or go up the Esmeralda Basin Trail, which was where I was supposed to have looped around the day before. I picked the latter, out of curiosity to see what I had missed.
This trailhead is actually not right at De Roux, but there is either an access trail to get to it, or you can ride the road. Although the parking area is plenty big enough, you are not allowed to take trailers up there.

Riding the road to Esmeralda I noticed some climbers on the cliffs way above me.

Esmeralda Basin Trailhead.

This is a fairly easy trail compared to some of the others I had already done, and it gets quite a bit of use. I dutifully counted downed trees along the way for the outfitter ladies, 13 in all, but they were very easy to get around, since most of the trail is very wide except for a switchback section near the top. This is not a motorcycle trail, but mountain bikers can use it. After passing a couple of beautiful meadows, doing the switchbacks, and then skirting a very large snow patch, I arrived at the top. I left my horse below me and hiked up a small hill to get the full scope of the views in every direction.

On the Esmeralda Basin Trail.

At the summit of the Esmeralda Basin Trail.

More views from the hill I climbed.

I saw the tip of this mountain the day before, but who knew it was actually this big!

From the summit of the Esmeralda Basin Trail.

Heading back down the Esmeralda Basin Trail on the narrower section.

On the way down I detoured briefly up a trail with a sign for Lake Ann, but after going up some rocky switchbacks, it leveled out and I came upon a lot of snow so I had to turn around.

I was originally going to stay another night but since my ride that day was much shorter, I was done much earlier than normal. Also once I reached camp it started to get stormy, so I left a note for the outfitter ladies (hope they got it) packed up and drove half way home.

Brooks Memorial State Park is conveniently located in the middle of most of my trips to Washington. I have stopped there before, just to rest, but this time I spent the night, although it is right next to the highway and not exactly peaceful and quiet, it was nice to not have to drive as far the next day. For Brooks Memorial info.


GPS COORDINATES FOR MILLER TH

GPS COORDINATES FOR STAFFORD CREEK TH

GPS COORDINATES FOR DE ROUX