Day 29 – Hells Canyon Rim

September 13 – Blue Mountains TrailNE Oregon

Goodbye cannons

Today and the next few days we will continue hiking along the west rim of Hells Canyon. I was looking forward to it. I had passed through the canyon portion of the BMT now that I had exited Hells Canyon. Or at least I could say I managed it once I climbed up to Lord Flat and found some water. I was also starting my last 100 miles. The rest of the BMT seemed very doable…once I found some water.

I had my last drink of water and had a protein bar for breakfast. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that it hits the water soon. I was going to leave early so I could take the 18 bends and get to Lord Flat before the sun hit me. I didn’t have much capacity to sweat a lot.

Looking back along Summit Saddle and my route yesterday.

Hello friend, it’s the time of year when you want to be most afraid of me.

puddles

A lot of bucks were also heading towards Lord Flat, and he didn’t seem too worried about me. He had decided to aim for Lord Flat Spring, which was not far from the path. I approached and my heart skipped a beat. Water! Then I got closer and saw that it was a muddy, oily mess of cows. Damn cows!

I pulled out onto the road and was passing a puddle when I stopped and yelled «water!» and he gave thanks for that storm two nights ago. It was muddy but with a layer of clear water on top. I was able to get enough clean water for about 1/3 of a liter. Then, in the next puddle I was able to get another ¼ liter. Relief!

The sign in the mud reads: «To protect this spring for future use, wildlife, and historical value, PLEASE keep all livestock out of the spring area. Thank you. US Forest Service.»

Hmm, cooling water.

Dorrance Cow Camp

I decided to take the short detour to Dorrance Cow Camp and was very glad I did. I was greeted by a beautiful spring and a retired teacher named Tammy and her dog, Max. Tammy and her husband had resurrected spring and it was great. I had a gravity filter running so I had immediate water I could drink, plus it filled all my water bottles.

Her husband was still hunting and she hoped he wouldn’t get anything because it would ruin an otherwise enjoyable camping trip. We had a nice chat and then I walked her through her advice on which springs along the edge were good and which weren’t. Tammy was the first person I had seen since David and I had broken up four days earlier.

The path along the edge is actually more of a trail.

The edge

Then it was a long walk along the edge. The road was closed to vehicles and in poor condition, so it actually looked more like a trail. I saw a few more hunters and some camps that looked empty, some very elaborate. I regularly got stunning views of Hells Canyon and passed a tree that had recently been struck by lightning, probably in that storm two nights ago. Huge pieces were thrown 50 feet away from the tree in the explosion that followed.

Endless and stunning views of Hells Canyon.

I had missed a good water source that Tammy told me about, but it wasn’t far from their camp, so I was doing fine at the time. As the day progressed, I kept an eye out for puddles again and filled in a couple of them. Then some guys driving a string of horses and mules came out of the side road right in front of me and their horses and mules muddied every puddle along the road. Oh really?!

All rigs and trailers parked at Warnock Corral.

Late in the afternoon I arrived at Warnock Corral, where the road was closed. Right outside the door were a bunch of horse trailers. Also, there was Jack and his daughter, sitting outside their trailer watching a movie. I asked if there was water around and Jack directed me to where Temperance Creek flowed, downhill from Warnock Corral. I filled it out and then came back and thanked him. He offered me a cold Powerade and we had a nice chat on the trail.

Sluice Creek Saddle

From there, uphill, the boys with the horses and mules unsaddled and fed their animals. I scolded them for ruining my puddles and they offered me a beer. A good exchange, in my opinion. Sluice Creek Saddle was recommended to me as a good place to camp, so that’s where I headed. It was just a couple of miles further down the road.

Sluice Creek Saddle was a great place, right on the edge of Hells Canyon. I finally had a cooked dinner, my first since Coyote Campground, four nights ago. I made sure to set up my tent so that I wouldn’t walk out of it in the middle of the night and fall into Hells Canyon.

What a view of Hells Canyon and the Seven Devils.

Elevation Tracker

Day 29: 4,377′

Total: 90,176′

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