I crossed Trail Creek on the log bridge (Policy here is not to replace bridges when they collapse, and this one is the last properly standing), and began the undulating hike downriver. This was the first hike of my trip to the Blues where I didn’t spend any time in a recent burn although across the river there were slopes of recovering forest from decades-old conflagrations. There are four old miner’s cabins along the way to Trout Creek. The third one, Blue Heaven, belonged to Guy Hafer, the last man panning on the river, which he did until 2004. He passed away in 2007. The final structure is the Home Mines Cabin, immortalized by William L. Sullivan as the “Bigfoot Hilton” when he holed up there for two nights during a snowstorm while he was completing his trans-Oregon trek, written up in Listening for Coyote.
North Fork John Day River Loop 06-25-17
North Fork John Day River Loop 06-25-17
I hiked this 14-mile loop out of my campsite, which itself was emblematic of the trail’s major features. I set up my tent in among the rockpile tailings of a gold rush that began in 1861 and resulted in whole hillsides and gravel deposits in the Powder River/North Fork John Day area being sluiced away with high-pressure hoses to get at a few flakes of the glittery stuff. When the North Fork John Day Wilderness was declared in 1984, over 200 claims in this area were grandfathered in. One by one, the old miners grew feeble and died, and the river has reverted to true wilderness although exhibiting multiple scars of the past.
I crossed Trail Creek on the log bridge (Policy here is not to replace bridges when they collapse, and this one is the last properly standing), and began the undulating hike downriver. This was the first hike of my trip to the Blues where I didn’t spend any time in a recent burn although across the river there were slopes of recovering forest from decades-old conflagrations. There are four old miner’s cabins along the way to Trout Creek. The third one, Blue Heaven, belonged to Guy Hafer, the last man panning on the river, which he did until 2004. He passed away in 2007. The final structure is the Home Mines Cabin, immortalized by William L. Sullivan as the “Bigfoot Hilton” when he holed up there for two nights during a snowstorm while he was completing his trans-Oregon trek, written up in Listening for Coyote.
Most people turn back at Trout Creek, where the footbridge is broken but there’s an easy ford. From here, it’s an undulating walk along ponderosa pine/larch slopes with pocket meadows and trickling seeps. Across the river, I discerned the conical tailings of the Thornburg Mine, originally the Steuben Placer, which began operations in the 1880s. This more industrial concern harvested 8 – 20 cents worth of gold per cubic yard of gravel until the 1920s. Then the trail followed a miner’s trench, dug to power the water cannons, which ran next to the trail. Eventually, I fetched up at the junction with the Crane Creek Trail, and took that path down to the North Fork.
Here a ford was necessary, so I slapped on water shoes and picked up an extra staff for better balance: the river braids here, so it was about 30 yards at knee-depth to an island and then another 15 to the opposite bank – where there was no trail! I sloshed back to the island and got out my maps. I realized that the Crane Creek Trail followed the north bank of that stream, and that was about 100 yards upstream from where I was. So I waded that distance up the river (The water was comfortably warm), and picked up the trail heading across a marshy flat to a campsite. The Crane Creek Trail, then proceeds upstream from there, sometimes overgrown, but usually obvious in its lower stretches. Even though Sullivan advertises this loop, it’s debatable whether he’s actually hiked it because he simply follows the inaccurate Forest Service trajectory on his map and does not note, for example, the four crossings of the creek, two of which were fords.
The trail reaches the creek at several points, and I was able to replenish my water supply. About a mile from the trail’s terminus at FR 73 (the Elkhorn Scenic Byway), I began swishing through a lush meadow where the trail essentially gets lost. I figured the best course of action was to stay close to the creek, but staying in the meadow was also where I probably picked up a few ticks. At the Crane Creek Trailhead, I took the North Crane Trail, a connector that passes through numerous meadows, some offering a view to Elkhorn peaks, and crosses the tailings of the Klopp Mine Claim. Sullivan says another ford of the North Fork is necessary to get back to the campground, but in fact all you have to do is walk 20 yards out to FR 73 and cross the road bridge, which is right at the campground entrance!
I crossed Trail Creek on the log bridge (Policy here is not to replace bridges when they collapse, and this one is the last properly standing), and began the undulating hike downriver. This was the first hike of my trip to the Blues where I didn’t spend any time in a recent burn although across the river there were slopes of recovering forest from decades-old conflagrations. There are four old miner’s cabins along the way to Trout Creek. The third one, Blue Heaven, belonged to Guy Hafer, the last man panning on the river, which he did until 2004. He passed away in 2007. The final structure is the Home Mines Cabin, immortalized by William L. Sullivan as the “Bigfoot Hilton” when he holed up there for two nights during a snowstorm while he was completing his trans-Oregon trek, written up in Listening for Coyote.
Most people turn back at Trout Creek, where the footbridge is broken but there’s an easy ford. From here, it’s an undulating walk along ponderosa pine/larch slopes with pocket meadows and trickling seeps. Across the river, I discerned the conical tailings of the Thornburg Mine, originally the Steuben Placer, which began operations in the 1880s. This more industrial concern harvested 8 – 20 cents worth of gold per cubic yard of gravel until the 1920s. Then the trail followed a miner’s trench, dug to power the water cannons, which ran next to the trail. Eventually, I fetched up at the junction with the Crane Creek Trail, and took that path down to the North Fork.
Here a ford was necessary, so I slapped on water shoes and picked up an extra staff for better balance: the river braids here, so it was about 30 yards at knee-depth to an island and then another 15 to the opposite bank – where there was no trail! I sloshed back to the island and got out my maps. I realized that the Crane Creek Trail followed the north bank of that stream, and that was about 100 yards upstream from where I was. So I waded that distance up the river (The water was comfortably warm), and picked up the trail heading across a marshy flat to a campsite. The Crane Creek Trail, then proceeds upstream from there, sometimes overgrown, but usually obvious in its lower stretches. Even though Sullivan advertises this loop, it’s debatable whether he’s actually hiked it because he simply follows the inaccurate Forest Service trajectory on his map and does not note, for example, the four crossings of the creek, two of which were fords.
The trail reaches the creek at several points, and I was able to replenish my water supply. About a mile from the trail’s terminus at FR 73 (the Elkhorn Scenic Byway), I began swishing through a lush meadow where the trail essentially gets lost. I figured the best course of action was to stay close to the creek, but staying in the meadow was also where I probably picked up a few ticks. At the Crane Creek Trailhead, I took the North Crane Trail, a connector that passes through numerous meadows, some offering a view to Elkhorn peaks, and crosses the tailings of the Klopp Mine Claim. Sullivan says another ford of the North Fork is necessary to get back to the campground, but in fact all you have to do is walk 20 yards out to FR 73 and cross the road bridge, which is right at the campground entrance!
-
justpeachy
- Posts: 3068
- Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm
- Location: Portland, OR
- Contact:
Re: North Fork John Day River Loop 06-25-17
Oh wow, very beautiful! Sorry about the ticks, though. 
Send him a correction. My theory is that next time he's updating that book he's more likely to carefully inspect trails for which he's received information from other hikers.In September 1902 Silver Star Mountain was the center of the Yacolt Burn, the largest fire in Washington history until 2014, which took 38 lives and burned over 238,000 acres
Re: North Fork John Day River Loop 06-25-17
I had this route, along w/ Crane Creek trail on my short list a few years ago for a fall trip. I hadn't seen anyone report about it. Thank you for checking it out! I love Central Oregon forests and river trails.
"The top...is not the top" - Mile...Mile & a Half
Instagram @pdxstrider
Instagram @pdxstrider