Tales from the Damp Side: Steens Mountain

Frenchglen

It's been about 10 years since we visited southeastern Oregon. We thought it was time to go back so we loaded the car and drove to Frenchglen, not too far from the Nevada border. Population, maybe 30. Frenchglen has an old hotel, a mostly empty mercantile store, a couple of gas pumps, and that's about it. The big draw is that it borders Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, a migration stop for thousands of birds in April, May, and September. It's also at the doorstep of Steens Mountain, which stretches about 50 miles north to south and summits at 9,733 feet. And not too far away is the Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge. The birds are a nice touch but we came to ride up Steens, which has the highest road in Oregon.

If you turned a horseshoe upside down, the left side of the horseshoe would be the north road going up Steens, and the right side of the horseshoe would be the south road going up Steens. The entire horsehoe is gravel road of about 50 miles. Connecting the two ends of the gravel road together is a paved road of about 10 miles. This is the road that runs through Frenchglen, which sits at the base of the north-gravel road.

Frenchglen Hotel

Steens Mountain - South Road
Due to snow it is possible to drive the entire Steens road (the gravel horseshoe) only 2 or 3 months of the year. The BLM has a series of 5 gates on the road and each gate is opened for car traffic only after the snow has melted on that section of the road. Only the lowest gates on the road were open when we were there. Too bad for cars, but good for bikes. Sort of.

gated South road; the adventure begins

a little winter debris still on the road

cycling up the south side; still a long way to go

beautiful scenery, all to ourselves

uh oh........

snow!

tough going

what's doesn't belong in this picture?
(hint: it's white and cold and you love it when you're a kid but not when you're on a bike)

I gave up riding the south road after the fifth patch of snow. Chris soldiered on and made it nearly to the top.

Near the top of the south road
Alvord Desert in the distance

On the drive back to Frenchglen we saw these horses. I know they look like regular old horses, but they are part of a large herd of wild horses that roam the area. Some people visit the Steens just to try and get a glimpse of the wild herds... out in the distance... through binoculars. We lucked out coming across these guys without even trying to find them.

wild ponies

Steens Mountain - North Road

Because we are stubborn, the next day we tried for the top again, this time up the north road. Chris started at the bottom while I drove the car 10 miles further before starting my ride. Snow again, but not as bad as the south road. Success! We reached the top of Steens Mountain.