Jim Witty

The Bulletin

If life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

Likewise, if mother nature gives you May in January, make the best of it.

One day last week I drove up to the Ochoco Divide to do a little cross country skiing. The problem was, the temperature at 5,000 feet was well above freezing and the snow, what little there was on the ground, was junk.

Rather than surrender to adversity and motor back to Bend with my head hung low, I decided to visit some of my favorite places in the Ochocos. What would have been an unpleasant if not downright treacherous drive most winters, turned out to be good fun.

Up on the divide, where Highway 26 crests the mountains 30 miles from Prineville and winds down past Mitchell and on to points east, there’s Ochoco Divide Campground (closed for the winter) and Bandit Spring (not much snow as of mid-January). Bandit Spring is a rest area with bathrooms and a trailhead for skiers, hikers and bikers. It’s a good one to keep in mind when the snow really flies or for a spring/summer mountain bike ride. The easy Ponderosa Loop Trail and the more challenging McGinnis Creek Loop take hikers/bikers/skiers through some big stands of ponderosa pines interspersed with more open country.

I stopped there for a break, then drove west on 26, back past Marks Creek on the left (a formidable sledding hill when conditions are right) and Mount Bachelor Academy on the right. The highway follows Marks Creek most of the way.

Mill Creek joins the fray at the eastern edge of Ochoco Reservoir. I turned right and headed north into a picture perfect little valley of ranches, alfalfa fields and rimrock buttes. The road turns to gravel at about the five-mile mark where it becomes Forest Road 33 (caution: this road can get sloppy and sometimes impassable from rain or snow). A few miles farther along, you’ll come upon Steins Pillar, a 350-foot-tall volcanic plug that lords over the narrowing valley. Scientifically speaking, it’s an erosional remnant of John Day Formation tuffs. From a layman’s viewpoint, it’s definitely worth staring at for four or five minutes.

A three-mile roundtrip hike from Forest Road 500 (weather permitting) takes visitors right to the pillar.

A few miles past the Steins Pillar viewpoint, the road ends at Wildcat Campground (also closed for the winter). Park in the lot, which was partially snow free late last week) and walk across the bridge spanning Mill Creek. Winter – snow, flowing water the color of dusk and barren limbs – all contribute a quiet beauty to the scene.

I saved the best for last. Driving back into Prineville, I turned left (south) on Highway 27 (Main Street) and followed the meandering Crooked River upstream into one of Oregon’s most photogenic canyons. At Milepost 16, you can stop and hike up to Chimney Rock, a four mile roundtrip, or continue up canyon past several riverside day use facilities and on to Bowman Dam. Crossing the dam, Prineville Reservoir is on one side and the Crooked River Canyon is far below on the other. Very cool.

You can retrace your steps back to Prineville and Redmond or skirt the lake and take Reservoir Road back to the outskirts of Bend.

Take your pick. It’s nothing but lemonade either way.

Jim Witty can be reached at 541-617-7828 or jwitty@bendbulletin.com.