North Fork Umatilla Wilderness 5-29-18

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bobcat
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North Fork Umatilla Wilderness 5-29-18

Post by bobcat » June 6th, 2018, 1:11 pm

I spent a day hiking a couple of trails from the Buck Creek Trailhead on the west side of the North Fork Umatilla Wilderness east of Pendleton.

I had hiked the Ninemile Ridge Trail a couple of times before, but the last time was on a blazing summer day when I could inhale five or six grasshoppers if I opened my mouth. This springtime excursion was much more positive. There were two school buses at the trailhead when I arrived, but their occupants were returning from short hikes in time for a mid-morning snack, and I met only two other hikers while on the trail. The Ninemile Ridge Trail switchbacks up a grassy slope studded with ponderosa pines, crosses a couple of wooded creek drainages, and makes several lengthy traverses before hitting the ridge itself.

Wilderness sign, Ninemile Ridge.jpg
Above Buck Creek, Ninemile Ridge.jpg
Elkhorn clarkia (Clarkia pulchella), Ninemile Ridge.jpg
Arnica slope, Ninemile Ridge.jpg
View to Grouse Mountain, Ninemile Ridge.jpg

The trail then keeps to the crest of the ridge. Wildflowers were at their prime, most spectacularly clarkia, paintbrush, mule’s ears, balsamroot, lupine, larkspur, and desert parsley. The views stretched across the Buck Creek valley to Buck Mountain as well as north to Grouse Mountain. A bear had been digging up onion bulbs on the rocky spine of the ridge, leaving large divots and a massive pile of scat. There’s a wide meadow frequented by elk at the false summit, and a more substantial cairn at the true summit about 200 yards away. From here, I could see the continuation of the trail along the open ridge, but decided to descend to take up another exploration.

Mule's ears (Wyethia amplexicaulis), Ninemile Ridge.jpg
Elegant mariposa (Calochortus elegans), Ninemile Ridge.jpg
Prairie smoke (Geum triflorum), Ninemile Ridge.jpg
Looking north from Ninemile Ridge.jpg
Hoary balsamroot (Balsamorhiza incana), Ninemile Ridge.jpg
Columbian onion (Allium columbianum), Ninemile Ridge.jpg
On the Ninemile Ridge Trail, Ninemile Ridge.jpg
Wildflower meadow, Ninemile Ridge.jpg
To Buck Creek and Grouse Mountain, Ninemile Ridge.jpg
Summit cairn and Buck Mountain, Ninemile Ridge.jpg
View along Ninemile Ridge from the summit.jpg

Back at the trailhead, I headed up along the creek on the Buck Creek Trail (The third trail here is the Buck Mountain Trail, and you could make a 13-mile loop using these two trails if you can find the tread). According to the Forest Service, the Buck Creek Trail crossed and recrossed the creek 30 times (!), but a number of years ago, perhaps in the ‘90s or early 2000s, it was rerouted to stay above the north bank of the creek. The path continues through brush but sometimes emerges on grass slopes. At one point, I noted a basalt dike above the trail. The trail ends where it crosses the creek to join the Lake Creek Trail about 3 ½ miles in, but I didn’t get that far. Fallen trees and increasing brush, including some of the prickly kind, made me decide to turn around about 3 miles in and head back to set up camp.

Buck Creek ford near the junction, Buck Mountain Trail.jpg
Ponderosa pine on Buck Creek Trail.jpg
Little wild rose (Rosa gymnocarpa), Buck Creek Trail.jpg
Bead lily (Clintonia uniflora), Buck Creek Trail.jpg
Orange honeysuckle (Lonicera ciliosa), Buck Creek Trail.jpg
Crossing a grassy slope, Buck Creek Trail.jpg
Common houndstongue (Cynoglossum officinale), Buck Creek Trail.jpg
Sulphur lupine (Lupinus sulphureus sulphureus), Buck Creek Trail.jpg
Basalt dikes, Buck Creek Trail.jpg

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