Elkhorn Mountains Archives – Page 2 of 2 – GlassMountains Trip Reports

Maxwell Benchmark, Oregon, July 2020

August 13, 2020 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

Maxwell Benchmark and Hunt Mountain rise abruptly above the Baker Valley and invite a visit each time I see them. Early on Thursday, July 30, I left the valley to visit them.

Maxwell Benchmark (center) and Hunt Mountain (right) from Running Iron Road in the Baker Valley

From the Baker Valley I turned off Pocahontas Road and drove west up South Rock Creek Road. I continued along Rock Creek as the road entered National Forest, became FR 5520, and changed from pavement to good gravel to coarse and eroded gravel. I passed the Killamacue Trailhead and arrived at Eilertson Meadow.

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Twin Mountain, Oregon, July 2020

August 8, 2020 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On Saturday, July 25, I climbed Twin Mountain in the Elkhorn Mountains northwest of Baker City. Twin Mountain is one of “Oregon’s 100 Highest Peaks“, a list first published by Jeff Howbert in the May 1996 issue of Pack & Paddle magazine. Peaks on his list have at least 500 feet of “clean” prominence (rising at least 500 feet above any saddle connecting it to anything higher). I know of three people who have climbed all 100 peaks, Pam Otley, Jay Avery, and Troy Baker.

Twin Mountain rising to the east from Peak 8428 in July 2012

The High Cascades include many of Oregon’s highest peaks. These fueled my original interest in climbing and I focused on them for many years. In 2007 I started working on my remaining Oregon’s 100 Highest Peaks, making slow but steady progress on these peaks over several years. Thirteen of the 100 peaks lie in the Elkhorn Mountains northwest of Baker City; as of 2015 I had climbed twelve of them. The last one, Twin Mountain, rebuffed my exploratory 2015 attempt due to difficult access. Since then it had been easy to defer returning to try again as I became distracted by Oregon’s prominence peaks. It was finally time to return.

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Cougar Pond Southeast Peak, Oregon, August 2019

August 31, 2019 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On Friday, August 23, Linda and I drove up Pine Creek Road on the east side of the Elkhorn Mountains of northeast Oregon. My intent was to hike Cougar Pond Southeast Peak, an unofficially named peak in the nearby Elkhorn Mountains. Linda’s intent was to ride her mountain bike back to our campsite in the Baker Valley, then ride her road bike on a loop out of camp. It had been four years since I last drove this steep, rocky, and narrow road. I was glad to have my high-clearance, 4WD Jeep.

Linda prepares to descend the steep, rocky, and narrow road on her bike

Linda wondered why I had suggested she ride down on such a treacherous road. The previous day I had thought she would enjoy exploring this nearby part of the Elkhorn Mountains but this morning I wondered whether I had made a such a good suggestion.

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Elkhorn Peaks, September 2014

September 20, 2014 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

In mid September I hiked and scrambled up Red Mountain and Crown Point in the Elkhorn Mountains of NE Oregon. We are blessed with many diverse and scenic destinations to explore in Oregon. I felt renewed by the experience.

I began my trip by driving from Bend to Baker City on September 16 and checking with the Forest Service there about road conditions along the North Powder River. This is the access route I planned to use for Red Mountain and it is a popular 4WD route, though reportedly quite rocky. The prospect of driving roads like this to access peaks was the reason I purchased a Jeep Wrangler last year. The people I spoke to at the Forest Service were 4-wheelers, themselves, and described driving through the flooded road with water up to the windows. They cautioned that there might still be some flooding on the road. I left expecting an adventure.

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