Day 2: Sheepshead Mountains Long Loop
Day 3: Shangri-La / McIntyre Ridge Loop
Day 3: Leslie Gulch / Dago Gulch
I'm a big fan of the Southeast Oregon desert, and try to get out there to ride a once or twice a year, and for Memorial Day I managed to get away for a 5 day weekend.
Day 1: Sheepshead Mountains Short Loop
After a brief stop at Vulture HQ on the way, I found myself a nice campsite on the edge of Mickey Basin, with spectacular Steens Mountain lurking not far away :
First ride started off just a couple miles away, on the other side of the basin:
After a sweaty late-afternoon climb up a jeep trail (which appeared not to have been traveled by anyone since before last winter) over a big ridge, I was treated with this view deep into my private playground, the Sheepshead Mountains:
And looping around, I was treated to this sunset on the final descent:
Day 2: Sheepshead Mountains Long Loop
The desert is not as empty and dead as many people think. It's full of life, and one is never far from the sounds of meadowlarks and the bees. In fact, I had plenty of company in camp, including a scorpion (sorry, no photo) and this guy (about 1 foot long including tail, for perspective):
A couple days later, I will be startled by this guy along the roadside. In the 15-20 trips I've taken to the Oregon Desert over the years, this is only the second rattlesnake I've encountered:
And this time of year, the place is full of wildflowers. My photos don't even come close to doing it justice, but here's a hint of the beauty I was treated to on the second day's ride:
There might be uncountable flowers, but the rare trees are definitely countable. In fact, one guidebook claims that there have only been 7 trees counted in the entire Sheepshead Mountain range. There are actually more than that, but I wouldn't be surprised if the number is only in the double digits. On a 27 mile ride, this tree was a nice treat on this 90 degree day in the high desert:
Here's another view (from the car) of an awesome field of lupine below the north end of 30-mile long Steens Mountain:
Day 3: Shangri-La / McIntyre Ridge Loop
After a couple days in the Sheepshead Mountains (and 2 flat tires -- desert rocks are murderous), the weather was starting to change. I decided I might be better off heading further east to the Owyhee Canyonlands area, where Sparty and I had an epic 4-day BOB-camping trip a couple years ago. My first mission was to re-visit a valley we named Shangri-La. On that trip, Shangri-La felt like it was in the middle of nowhere, but in actuality the scene below is only 3 miles from the main road. The high butte in the center-left of the photo is Three Fingers Rock, visible for many miles in every direction:
Another nice view from the opposite side of the valley:
Next I climbed to the base of Three Fingers Rock, and was treated to this view over the huge Three Fingers Basin. We rode across this country on our previous trip, and we've vowed to return and explore it further:
I came back down from the Rock, continuing a fantastic 15-mile loop around McIntyre ridge, descending back into Succor Creek basin:
Day 3: Leslie Gulch / Dago Gulch
The weather started to get spitty, so I got in the car and headed to Leslie Gulch for a short ride with an easy bail-out to the car:
And since I'm riding a Vulture, I'm obliged to post a picture of the rock formation that Sparty and I nicknamed Vulture Rock:
Finally here's Dago Gulch, a brutally steep but very scenic ride with scenery like this (as is true everywhere in the Leslie Gulch area) around every corner:
I actually bailed out a couple miles into this ride because it was starting to rain harder, and the weather turned colder (55 degrees) and windy. Unfortunately it only got worse, and I wasn't able to do any more riding that weekend. Not that I'm complaining. It was still a great getaway.
ps ... 29"-geek content: bike is a custom singlespeed (EBB) Vulture 29"er . Gearing is 34x22. Front tire on these rides was an ExiWolf mounted on a Kris Holm rim for the beefiest 29" footprint available. Rear tire was a half worn-out Klaw for the Sheepshead rides, and a Maxxis Ignitor for the Owyhee rides. Despite its age, the Klaw had WAY more climbing traction in these conditions than the Ignitor.
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