Getting There
This was my third day in Central Oregon. I still had Black Crater on my mind so I figured I actually take a slow day since I'd hiked the last two days: Tam McArthur Rim and Tumalo Mountain. While having coffee at The Commons Cafe and Taproom, I did some Googling to find somewhere to go that I hadn't already been; this included Newberry, Christmas Valley, Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway.
Something I read clued me into a scenic road near Prineville. Even though I wasn't hiking today (wink!), I went back to my motel to get my boots & pack, and other stuff.
As I would learn, Google Navigation is sometimes recommends odd ways of getting somewhere. From Hwy 97, instead of directing me to OR-126, it had me exit SW Airport Way and follow a circuitous route to OR-126.
Note: I realize now I missed an opportunity when passing by the Redmond Airport: the Redmond Caves! Dammit! That would have been cool. In fact, I'd researched it as a possible destination but it slipped my mind in the moment I was driving past.
I followed OR-126 to Prineville. I had at least a 1/2 tank of fuel and started down the Crooked River but u-turned and found a gas station, then I was off again.
The scenery was muted by the overcast skies but it was beautiful to drive down this canyon along the Crooked River. I passed some day-use/campgrounds. There were hardly any vehicles on this road. I noted some RVs coming from the south. I read that part of the road is unpaved. I knew I had the vehicle for anything but seeing RVs made me a little more comfortable with doing the loop though I was prepared to circle back to Prineville.
I'm not exactly sure why I stopped where I did to hike Chimney Rock. I pulled into the campground to take a look at the river-side sites. It was peaceful and quiet.
I noticed a Sprinter parked across the road from the day-use area. I was just going to look at the signage and maps for the trail. When I read that the distance to Chimney Rock was just over a mile (one-way), I knew that was perfect for a stroll.
The Hike
Elev. gain: 587ft
Moving time: 1h 15m
Avg. pace: 25:30
Calories: 664
Total time: 1h 21m
Encouraged by the short distance, I got my usual gear on and set out on the trail. I knew there was at least one hiker, possibly more from the Sprinter, I ventured into the unknown. I had a photo of the trail map but what fun to go "blind".
From the trailhead, you can't actually see Chimney Rock but you can from across the road at the day-use area.
The trail is just 1-2 feet wide through rock, desert scrub. It follows a shallow canyon north of the big butte that shields my goal. It's not particularly steep so it was easy going.
It curves the north (left) to a point then switches back the other direction. When I got to a dry waterfall, I crossed paths with the folks from the Sprinter (a couple and their dog). We chatted about the coloration of the roads in the middle of the rocks (a light blue tint). Probably some mineral deposits?
From the wash there are not more inclines, it just wraps around the butte. To be honest, I mistook the butte for Chimney Rock. I went off trail to check out the views of the river below. I just see my car in the parking lot.
After returning to the trail, I pulled out my map (AllTrails) and saw that I was mistaken and the trail continued to Chimney Rock. (Ohhhhhhhhh! LOL).
In fact, the trail does drop down a little but it's negligible. I wandered down there and had a looksie. If I was even moderately skilled at rock climbing and had gear and climbing friends, it'd be cool to climb this thing. Instead, I just poked around at the base as far as I could.
I thought about lingering for a bit but knew I still had some road tripping to do south of my location. I was going to do the loop rather than return via Prineville. I started back down the trail.
I noticed the same coloration on the rocks as I was heading back down through the canyon. Again, it looked like shallow water had evaporated and left some mineral deposits.
The Return
I passed by the western edge of the Prineville Reservoir but there wasn't anything that called out to me that I needed to see. I continued south. Indeed I reached a point where the pavement ended and I was on a washboard gravel road.
I only drove slowly for a little bit (rattling everything in the car and probably a couple bolts or sheet metal). I decided to speed up. While going about 35-40 MPH allows you to skip on top of the crests of the washboard, it makes the tail end of my Jeep feel a bit loose. Fortunately, there were almost no vehicles going northbound. I stayed in the middle of the road and gunned it. Happily, the road is in decent shape, no potholes. It wasn't bad but I was on-edge the whole way so as not to spin out or drift off the road. I was happy to reach pavement again.
I followed US-20 back to Bend.
