I am, of course, all set up for dispersed camping and seeing as how I cannot camp in actual campgrounds right now, it is just a matter of finding other places to go. Collier Memorial State Park in Chiloquin has a small horse camp that I had not been to yet, but since it is closed I camped across the highway, and was able to ride on most of the same trails and roads.
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| The Williamson River. |
I headed over to a large area a local rider had told me about where I could camp, found to my delight that it was not occupied, and then I set off on my first ride along the Williamson River. I followed a trail to the north that was short, but very scenic, then the river narrowed at a rocky crossing and the trail petered out.
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| Riding north along a trail beside the Williamson River. |
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| The Williamson River. |
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| I crossed the river here, but the trail did not continue on. |
After that I went south on dirt roads briefly, then west up a hill in order to cross over the highway to Rd. 9732 which took me first to the Oux Kanee Overlook, and then eventually to the headwaters of Spring Creek. At the overlook I found a blue plastic egg filled with lifesavers, there must have been an easter egg hunt recently and some poor kid missed one!
Although I've seen quite a few rivers that originate from springs, this one was pretty interesting since it bubbled out of the ground instead of coming out of the side of a bank. The picnic area at the headwaters is not being maintained, not just because of the recent closures, but it's obvious that for quite awhile the bathroom has been locked and unused, and things are generally in disrepair.
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| At the Oux Kanee Overlook. |
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| Spring Creek from the Oux Kanee Overlook. |
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| Spring Creek's headwaters bubble out of the ground. |
I love my horse and even though she is getting older and has had some issues last year, as long as she is still healthy and happy, I will continue to go on adventures with her, since training a great trail horse is a long time in the making, and a good mind can be hard to come by. This is never more apparent then when something happens that could have been a disaster. As I was riding cross country back to my camp spot, I was looking over towards a camper that was parked nearby, and was not looking at the ground in front of us. My horse walked straight into two strands of barbed wire, she must have hit them with her front feet, but picked them up high enough to get over the first strand, then I felt her back leg get caught on the second strand. I immediately asked her to stop, backed her up just a bit to get the tension off, dismounted, and got her back leg up and over the last strand. The only damage was one minuscule scrape on one leg, but if she was a horse that had panicked, didn't listen, and didn't ground tied, the outcome would have been much different.
I got back to my rig and set up camp. This area has no grass for grazing, and although it is in the general vicinity of the river, it's definitely not close enough to easily get water, just a good spot if you are completely self contained.
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| My dispersed camping spot. |
The following day I crossed a one lane bridge over the Williamson River and rode on the east side all day. Right after you cross the bridge there are several different dirt roads to choose from, I went right first, still following the river, but then looped back after running into private property. All these roads eventually lead to train tracks, which you can cross and continue riding on the other side.
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| Riding dirt roads across the river. |
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| Found a meadow for grazing. |
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| An odd watering hole. |
There were a lot of ticks out and about, so when we stopped for snacks, I had to keep an eye on my horse's legs. She is very good about letting me know about the ones that manage to actually get close to her skin, she will start gnawing on her fetlock and she either removes the tick herself or I can swoop in and remove the little bugger for her. Another insect that was a nuisance was a very determined bumblebee who was convinced that I was a flower and would not quit buzzing around me, so I had to outrun him, (well my horse did), and we left him in the dust.
On the last day I rode across the bridge again, and this time went left, which took me to a nice overlook of the river, and then I continued north, again on the many options of dirt roads, although some would peter out after awhile and I would have to follow another one. At one point I found a nice red cinder cone to climb to the top of, where I got some great views.
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| On a ledge with a great view down onto the Williamson River. |
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| Sand lilies. |
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| More dirt roads heading north. |
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| Nice views of Mt. Scott and Mt. Thielsen. |
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| On top of a cinder cone. |
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| On top of a cinder cone. |
On the way back while riding on a road near the train tracks, not one but two trains went by within ten minutes of one another. Although my horse has seen one once before this was much more up close and personal. And just when she thought she had experienced everything!
I was planning to stay a third night and then drive home the following day but when I returned to camp, there were a couple of homeless looking people parked across from me. The place I camped at was big enough for trucks and trailers, but one of the smaller more scenic river spots would have been much nicer for someone without a horse, so why they chose to camp so close to me is a mystery, but that made me decide to pack up and head home.
At some point in the future when areas open up again, and I am driving by, I will stop and do a day ride from the state park, and then I will update this blog about the horse camp facilities they have.
Even though I did not camp at Collier, these are the GPS Coordinates to the park:
