The summer had ended and autumn had begun, and still I had not returned this year to hike peaks in Southeast Oregon. There was only one more peak on my Oregon’s Highest Peaks list in SE Oregon I had not yet climbed, and I had that peak in mind when I traded my Ford Explorer for a Jeep Rubicon. So I watched the weather forecasts, and on October 24 – just a few days before winter-like weather was forecast to arrive – I packed my jeep and drove to McDermitt, Nevada, to begin my explorations.
The Oregon Canyon Mountains Highpoint, also named “Stevenson Benchmark”, has a reputation for difficult access. In particular a frequently used road is long, remote, and has a reputation for shredding tires. However, Caleb Morris posted an alternative driving and hiking route on SummitPost.org that proved to be much shorter on difficult driving and included an interesting ridge hike.
[Read more…] about Southeast Oregon Peaks, October 2013