Malheur County High Point Trip Report
Date: September 18, 1997
Author: Andy Martin
Since we were making better time than anticipated I decided to take a side trip to a
"nearby" Oregon county HP, 8,027' BM Stevenson, Oregon Canyon Mountains, Malheur county.
We could not spot the south route near McDermitt, so we took the turn off to Schoolhouse Hill.
Here I got my maps crossed, and "navigated" us on to private property.
We were backtracking our way out of a dead end when the ranch hands drove out to meet us
and encouraged us to speed our journey. They did give a valuable hint about the correct route,
which is a saddle at the head of Twelvemile Creek. We camped by some trees and the creek,
which was much preferable to the wind blasted thick sagebrush flats everywhere else.
After about an hour of drizzle the tent seemed kind of attractive.
The next morning there was a touch of frost. This was perhaps a bit too much of a change
from the 100+ degree days we had recently "enjoyed" in Tucson.
From here the drive to the top was about 30 miles round trip.
The views were pretty good, but the road was slow, with a high center and some rocky patches.
Pick-ups will tolerate this, passenger cars will probably not. For several miles near the
summit the road and surrounding terrain had lots of obsidian. In fact you could spot pieces
glinting in the early morning sun. The BM was found at the top, as well as a very light
snow dusting. We also drove over to the 8,014' area, where someone had built a 5' cairn.
The round trip drive off pavement for this summit was 60 miles.