Oregon Hikers

My partner and I took a jaunt out to the Spring Basin Wilderness on Earth Day, as part of an extended weekend trip to the Painted Hills and other parts of central Oregon.

3.33 miles, 1100 ft gain.

We generally followed the beginning of the Spring Basin Loop hike mentioned in the Field Guide, taking off from the unofficial trailhead just north of the official one.
Wildflowers were abundant, ticks were nonexistent, and when we caught the top of the ridge after 1 mile the Hedgehog Cacti were in full bloom.
We didn't feel like taking the whole trek to Horse Mountain, so we gained a high point about 1/2 mile north of where the trail meets the ridge. It's marked with a large cairn.
The views looking south over the Spring Basin Wilderness were very enticing. I'll need to plan a couple days to extend my visit next time.
This was also one of the beta tests for car camping in the GTI. It's snug, but it can be done!!! We found an amazing spot on BLM land to set up for the night. Minus the wind, it was incredible.

Thanks for the report! Nice to see the hedgehog cactus in bloom. They are so pretty and unique.

Do you think there's any drinking water there?

retired jerry wrote: ↑

April 28th, 2021, 1:36 pm

Do you think there's any drinking water there?

I didn't see a drop anywhere. But we didn't get down into the drainages south of Horse Mountain where it might be more likely.

there are some springs shown on the map, I wonder if any of them have water

I went there a few years ago and carried water with me, didn't see any water

I was there last year about this same time, and it was just as parched. It'll be interesting to see what it looks like if we ever actually get some winter rain out there.

Hey, I just came back from there!

I arrived in the evening and backpacked in a short distance carrying an extra gallon of water.

Woke up early and did the loop up and over Horse Mountain-fabulous ridge walking! The swaths of phlox were a surprising bonus. I also visited the spring and it was running, with a few spots of clear water, and some other spots of green algae covered pools. Not a robust flow, but enough to draw and pump.

where was that spring

there are many on the gps topo map

It was in Spring Basin Canyon proper, SW of the Horse Mountain ridgeline. Now that I look at my track, I didnt make it to the place marked spring on the USGS map, this spring was further "upstream". So there may be another spring further down.

Coords: N 44 51.8756, W 120 24.6363

thanks

I now have a return trip in order.

I think it will be maybe 10 months from now - it's going to get mighty hot there