Silver Creek Marsh and Farm Well Horse Camps, Oregon

I have wanted to go to this camp for awhile because it is a good climate and area to visit in
the spring, before the major heat sets in, and the trails are snow free and cleared earlier.
It is easy to access, 10 miles south of Silver Lake OR on a paved road. One of the perks of this area is the Cowboy Dinner Tree which is a very popular but rustic place to stop for dinner, reservations are required. You have to bring cash, there are only two menu options, and they have no electricity, but apparently the food is very good. ( I haven't actually been there yet )  Website for the restaurant

There are 15 sites in two loops, one for people, and then the horse loop which has nice large sites but only three of them have corrals. There is a hand pump for water and it is usually potable, but at this time of the year it had a sign on it saying it had not been tested for the season yet, so I would bring my own just in case. There is also a creek nearby. There is a bathroom, a manure bin, and it is $6.00 a night to stay here.

Silver Creek Marsh Horse Camp, this site has two corrals.

I got my horse ready and set off out of camp on the Fremont National Recreation Trail, this being the northern section of this trail that runs from Yamsay Mt. to Harvey Pass.

The National Scenic Recreational  Trail markers along the way.

I rode along Silver Creek  heading uphill to the Antler Trailhead. Antler is also a horse camp with all the amenities, but only two of the sites have corrals. This ride was an out and back and was 14 miles. There was a little blow down, but it was easy to get around.

Rock formations along the trail to Antler.

Antler trail head and camp.

Oddly the entire time I was near water on this trip I never encountered a single mosquito but when I was not near water they would show up in droves, they also arrived at dusk both evenings to irritate my horse.
In general, it could have been worse, I noticed the horses in a nearby campsite were not that bothered. I just have a horse that is highly sensitive to them and she tends to lose all rational thought. The good news is while I am riding her they aren't that interested in me, since she is apparently much more tasty!
That night after dinner I went on a stroll. All of a sudden I heard a thunk above my head, then thunk thunk as two birds fell from the sky and hit the pavement, they had collided in mid air. I wonder how often that happens? I went to check out the aftermath, one was DOA, the other was breathing and stunned. I knew not to mess with him, I figured there was a chance he could snap out of it and be fine, and sure enough the next morning I checked on him, and he was gone.

On day two, my grand plan was to ride the other direction on the NRT and up to the summit of Hager Mt. and back, a pretty long ride. I was quite enjoying myself until I arrived at what seemed to be the end of the trail, it spit me out onto a dirt road at a hunters camp. I rode up the dirt road for awhile but there were no more trail signs so I doubled back and checked all around the hunters camp and found no trail.
As it turns out, I would soon learn, this trail is usually quite well marked.... until it is not.....usually at a critical juncture.

Silver Creek.

So I rode around various dirt roads for the day, knowing that I was not to be thwarted from my goal of Hager, since I knew I could trailer over and do it from another trail head the following day.

Hager Mt. was in view, but at this point I was just exploring the dirt roads.

On the way back I eventually did find the place where I should have turned, a very faint path with no markers or signs, and much easier to see from the other direction, but by this time it was too late to continue on it.
Getting back to camp earlier than expected I decided to unhook the truck and drive up to Thompson Reservoir 5 miles up the main road. It was hot and I was ready for a cool refreshing dip. Alas, it was not to be. This is a pretty popular fishing spot, but I quickly found out the water is actually pretty icky, no one in their right mind would swim in it. So I hung out with the local critters for awhile.

Sharing my nectarines with the wildlife.

Then I drove back to camp and jumped in the extremely cold nearby stream instead... and hastily got right back out again.

I was up early the following day, packed the truck, and drove to Farm Well Trail head, this is also a camp, it's got 4 central community corrals and a  pond/swamp area for water.

Parking at Farm Well Trail head and camp.

From here it is a 12 mile ride to the top of Hager Mt. and back. However if that is your goal do NOT follow the giant sign marked TRAIL near the pond and day use area. It is actually the trail but this is the south side of it, heading away from Hager Mt.
I made that mistake briefly, turned around and found the right trail behind one of the camp sites, it is not marked except for a ribbon on a tree, and you go through a green gate.
It is a steady climb with some pretty steep areas, with one drop off section and there was a small amount of blow down.

Views on the way up Hager.

Getting closer to the top, the views back down were awesome, and there were a lot of wildflowers.

Wildflowers galore.

There were also two sun dogs, which look like a rainbow, but make a perfect circle around the sun.

Sun dogs at the top of Hager.

The hitching post atop Hager.

At the top there is a lookout, a bathroom and a hitching post.

Standing on the lookout balcony.

I walked up to the lookout and realized it was not yet staffed for the season.

Mt Hager lookout.

It's high elevation, but is snow free early in the season.

The view of Thompson Reservoir to the south.

I rode back down, on my head tossing, cow kicking pony....(the mosquito's again), and drove us home. There were other trails I did not do, for example trailering to Antler and riding up Yamsay Mt. although I have heard that section of trail might not be maintained. There is also a small loop from there called the Scenic Rock trail. Also from Farm Well the NRT continues to run south, the direction I mistakenly went briefly when leaving camp. Perhaps I will return someday!

Update: I have returned and camped at Farm Well which I write about in my blog Currier Spring and Farm Well Horse Camps


GPS COORDINATES TO SILVER CREEK MARSH

Baker Beach Horse Camp and the Cape Mountain Trails, Oregon

After a wacky winter with weird weather and having to be stuck at home more than I would like, March has come and spring has sprung, at least for now. I thought I would start the camping season early this year.
Seeing that there were a few good days of weather in a row, I started planning a trip and my friend Beth agreed to come along. Our destination was Baker Beach, 7 miles north of Florence, on Baker Beach Rd.
We left home late morning, due to having to wait until the pass thawed and was safe enough for driving. Finally arriving at the beach, we got there just in time for low tide. We then proceeded to gallop along the sand like idiots... okay that was just me, Beth followed at a more sedate pace.

Baker Beach

Baker Beach.

Getting a little windblown.

We found some rocks and caves at the north end of the beach, and Beth took a video of me going to look into one of the caves. My horse's expression is priceless...she turns her head and looks all the way back at me like "are you nuts, we aren't going in there are we?"

Beth and Chief 

We also came across what appeared to be a dead whale that had obviously been there awhile.
After a couple hours of exploring we headed back to set up camp.

Dead whale on the beach.

Baker Beach has a day use area and then a camping area for horses. There are 5 spots although the fifth spot is tucked back in the trees and there isn't really a parking spot for it.
This place is low on amenities with no corrals, no water of any kind, and no manure bin.
There is a bathroom, and it is $12.00 per night or $6.00 if you have a
NW Forest Pass. It was pretty quiet, since the beach is about half a mile from camp and there weren't a lot of people coming and going.
Update: In 2017 I did a day ride here, the fee has gone up to $13.00, it does not appear that they are giving a half price break if you have a pass now, although you can still use it for day use. Also there is a camp host and a lot of non horse people using the camp.

Baker Beach Horse Camp

Nap time.

On our second day we decided to explore the Cape Mountain Trails that are up in the forest across the highway. Herman Peak Rd. heads straight uphill for 3 miles to the Dry Lake Trailhead/Horse Camp.
We rode up the road to the trails with some nice views along the way. It is paved for about the first mile, then turns to dirt.

The view from part way up Herman Peak Rd.

Dry Lake is pretty small and rustic with only two corrals and a bathroom. There is a large parking area, but the actual corrals are up a steep dirt incline that has been washed out. There is a little lake/swamp very close by for stock water. We followed the Nelson Ridge Trail and made a loop along the Wapiti Trail and the Lookout Trail.
We found a grassy field with a nice view of the ocean for our lunch spot. The people responsible for making these trails have put many hitching posts and benches in along the way.
There are maps at every trail junction, and also paper maps you can take along with you. Most of the trails are marked, which makes this a very easy place to explore the 17 miles of various loops.

Lunch on the Nelson Ridge Trail

Getting ready to head out back on the Nelson Ridge Trail

Maps of the trails at junctions.

Beth on the Nelson Ridge Trail

Near the end of our ride, Beth's horse was showing some signs of distress, it seemed his back was pretty sore. She was not sure if it had to do with a new saddle she had used, but in the morning she made the decision to not ride him anymore, so she drove home, but I stayed one more day.
I went back to the Cape Trails, this time driving to the trail head, and proceeding to do the areas we had not done the day before. At one point I came across a bench and a little memorial plaque

about a young girl who used to love to ride the trails there, her horse's name was Princess Tasha and the trail is named after her.

Playing peekaboo on the Princess Tasha Trail

This trail is mostly gravel which is nice for traction since as per usual you can have wet/ muddy conditions at the coast, and eventually it becomes the Scurvy Ridge Trail.

A reconstruction of a "hitsi" an indian shelter

There is one other horse camp in the area called Horse Creek, which is a nice big camp with corrals which does not seem to get much use. There is no water in the camp, but a sign leads to the trail system where eventually (it's not close) you will come to a spring fed water trough. Update: For info about the camp, check out my blog from 2021. Horse Creek Horse Camp

After a brief lunch break I also did the Blue Horizon Loop hoping for more views, but there were only a few glimpses of the ocean. I followed the Berry Creek Trail back, this is a steeper trail and by far the most slippery, it hadn't even rained for a few days but we were still doing some slip and slide maneuvers.

Horse Creek Horse Camp

On friday night it started to rain lightly, by morning it was coming down full force. I would have liked to have gone on another beach ride and checked out a couple of the smaller inland loops but I had to call it a day, (my tent was leaking) and drive home. Rina and I were drenched and ready to get back to our desert home. A good time was had by all. Can't wait for the next trip!


GPS COORDINATES TO BAKER

South Steens Horse Camp, Oregon

As winter comes much earlier than normal to my part of the country this year, forcing me to curb my riding and hiking in the high country much too soon, I am reflecting back on what I was doing at this time last year.
In the first week of Oct. 2012 a friend and I went to South Steens Horse Camp.
We left from Bend and though it didn't seem like too long of a drive in theory, with a stop at the BLM wild horse facility on the way, once we passed Frenchglen and hit the South Steens Mountain Loop Rd. it slowed us WAY down. 18 miles on washboard is a bit of a nightmare! Hence, we got there quite late, but wanted to get in a short ride anyway. There is a 5 mile trail to the old Riddle Ranch so we did that as soon as we arrived.

There is another cabin on site that the caretakers live in, and then the original Riddle Brothers Ranch house which is open to the public so you can go inside and check it out, which we did.
A trail continues past the ranch along the Little Blitzen River and we followed it for awhile but then realized we had better hightail it back to camp as it was getting dark rapidly.

The Riddle Brothers Ranch

The Riddle Brothers Ranch.

South Steens is a BLM campground, with 15 sites, but only some spots have corrals. There are two bathrooms, potable water, and it is $6.00 a night. This campground is separated, one side for horses and then the people is campground right next door.When we arrived I realized that there was just one fairly large corral in our site so luckily my friend was able to find a rope that was just the right length to divide it in half. Otherwise it would not have worked out well for us to stay together with her 17hh horse who eats a bale a day,(ok slight exaggeration, but close) and my little 14hh horse who eats a flake a day. The camp was very dusty and COLD at night, way below freezing. But choosing that time of the year was a way to avoid the apparently non stop mosquitos that normally reside there.
It was hunting season, so it was us, the only horse campers, and a whole bunch of hunters.

After donning as much orange as was possible, (not my color), we rode Big Indian Gorge the following day. This is a beautiful ride, with quite a few streams to cross, aspens, cottonwoods and so many other different types of foliage in these gorges.

Big Indian Gorge

This is about a 16 mile ride, the trail fades away as you get to the end of the gorge but you can keep climbing up a bit higher.

At the end of the gorge, resting time.

The trail heads through the aspen grove.

Wendy and Ritz.

Riding back through Big Indian Gorge.

Little Blitzen Gorge was the adventure for our third day.

Little Blitzen Gorge

This ride has similar scenery to Big Indian, 17 miles round trip if you go to the very end. We decided to not do the whole thing this time, since my friend thought it was a little deja vu. It's a little rough in some sections, very rocky, with big boulders. We also ran into some hunters along this stretch but considering how many were in camp, those were the only guys we saw while riding.

Where we stopped for lunch

Little Blitzen Gorge.

These are the only three trails from camp, we would have liked to have continued driving across the mountains on the loop road and maybe finding another spot to ride on the way back, but we were low on gas.....certainly a good idea to fill up in Burns, even if you are not empty yet. So we drove back the same way. Frenchglen does have a small store with a pump selling some extra expensive gas/diesel, so we were in luck.

We had our binoculars and on the drive both ways we spotted some of the wild horses, although they were quite far away. On a sad note, we saw a lone horse pretty close to the road, I looked through the binoculars and saw he was skin and bones, no longer part of a herd ...just waiting to die.

We tried to find a stretch of the Oregon Desert Trail that was supposed to be near Frenchglen, but we did not find the trail, and in fact we were told it wasn't actually there anymore, so we rode on some BLM land our last day just for a few hours before the long drive back home.
A good end to the camping year.


GPS COORDINATES TO SOUTH STEENS

Box Canyon Horse Camp, Oregon

                                                                                                                   
Last camping trip of the year...sad but true.                                                    
Almost every trip I have done this year has been changed at the last minute due to weather.
This one being no exception.
I headed to Box Canyon on Aufderheide Rd. in the Willamette National Forest, since it is fairly close, and wasn't supposed to have as bad weather as my original plan.
This is a nice little camp. And it is free! It is well maintained, the corrals are in good shape, with wooden gates instead of chains. The road is paved all the way there, as is the loop in camp. It is a little tricky to back into some of the spots due to the narrowness of the loop road. Someone with a big rig would have to park in site #1 which is the easiest. The spots have two corrals each except for the two double sites. The ones with four corrals are separated, two and two, which is handy if you have horses that don't get along. There is no manure bin or garbage, or potable water but there is an actual tap for stock water, which is so much easier than the hand pumps!
It's a very shady camp with tall trees and rhododendrons.

Box Canyon horse corrals

There is a guard station across the street from camp that can be rented, and it has it's own large corral.

Box Canyon Guard Station

Next to camp spot #1 is one of the trailheads, this will take you to either the Grasshopper trail which I did not do, or the Chucksney Mt. Trail, a loop of about 10 miles, which is a bit of a climb.
This loop has good views, due to fire having burned the trees at the top.

Photo op, Chucksney Mt.

The Cascades

Chucksney Mt.

Enjoying the view atop Chucksney Mt.

I only had three days so instead of trying the Grasshopper Trail, (the first 4 miles is part of the loop I just did the day before), I decided to try the McBee trail which also starts from camp.
This trail goes on forever into the forest and is supposed to eventually reach the Mink Lake Basin and Horse lake area. It starts with a small slightly rocky climb, levels out for awhile and then gently meanders upwards to a ridge, there are brief glimpses of the Sisters through the trees. I eventually turned around and went back to a trail I had passed earlier called Crossing Way and decided to take it back to make a loop.
It popped me out at the Crossing Way trailhead which also happens to be a primitive horse camp, just pull throughs and hitching posts, nothing else. I then rode down the gravel road three miles to the main road, and then half a mile back to camp.
A nice easy trail, but no real views or any lakes, at least as far as I went on that day.

The McBee trail starts from the water trough in camp.

As I settled in to cook dinner that night the rain started. Luckily it was done by morning and things looked promising so I decided to do the Erma Bell Lakes trail.
There are two options with this one, either trailer in to it about 3.6 miles, (it says 4 on the sign, 3.6 in my hiking book), and do the 8.4 mile loop, or ride from camp, which adds the seven or eight miles to the trip, making it approx. 16 miles.
If choosing to drive, it is a one lane gravel road across from camp... and there is plenty of parking once you get to the trailhead which is also Skookum Campground.
I decided to ride in and do the long version.
Once there the trail starts across a sketchy looking bridge, that hopefully will be repaired soon, and goes through the forest for a pretty much flat mile, until you get to Lower Erma Bell Lake.

Lower Erma Bell Lake

As I rode the weather got gloomier and started to drizzle. After the first lake you pass a waterfall, and then there is Middle Erma Bell Lake, the waterfall connecting the two.

The waterfall that connects Lower and Middle Erma Bell Lakes

The rest of this loop is through various types of forest, passing many other lakes and ponds along the way. There are a few more bridge crossings, one that looked so bad I chose to go through the stream, instead, although I saw signs that horses had been across it.

All in all a good camp to go to in the heat of summer since it is so shady and the trails are so forested.
Weather wasn't as great for my trip, but a day on my horse is a good day in my book.
Until next year....:)


GPS COORDINATES TO BOX CANYON