Resuming a quest for the unexplored I took off with my friend to check out the Lower White River Wilderness area. The wilderness was designated in 2009 and there are no trails anywhere in the wilderness. The wilderness was designated to preserve a stretch of the White River and obviously this is its only main feature surrounded on both sides by steep canyon walls.
We started at the Keeps Mill campground and simply headed downstream. We didn’t really have a destination goal because of the obvious length other than go as far as we would want to hike back the next day…. We didn’t get far, travel was very demanding. Hiking streamside was not practical the entire way especially with the river raging from early season snowmelt. We found it best to scramble roughly 100’ above the river and side hill the canyon which was demanding because of its steepness, intense dry thick brush… despite the eastern Oregon climate this is not an “open country” bushwhack.
Shortly into the hike we happened upon a man-made structure unknown… running the length of the canyon a series of wood framework forming a rail-line or track of sorts that appeared to be a level surface platform. All of this is collapsed and decayed and by our guess about 100 years old. We made guesses but lacking the metal rails a train or mine cart would use I decided it was an old aqueduct, but even that didn’t make sense.
More scrambling downstream with a real interest in being streamside we were constantly defeated by the brush or too steep riverbank terrain and this abandoned rail or duct line proved the easiest scrambling…. With a caution of stepping on old rusty nails. Note that while this “line” is more efficient than trying to hike streamside, it’s no cake walk. It’s completely destroyed and in piles of wood and nails alongside a steep 30-45deg slope of loose scree and boulders. This entire hike is more than half scrambling.
There is only one place worth camping that in itself was worth the rugged journey being perfectly flat, large and slightly offset from the river roar and most of all solitude.
Part 2: Forest Wanderings…
Sunday awoke to bluebird skies and a slight breeze. After a leisure breakfast we broke camp and erased our campsite and set out to climb straight up and out of the canyon. We decided it easier to hit a forest road above and walk the roads back with one short bushwhack in line. This plan worked out fine, we hit our waypoint on the road perfect and walked it to its end. Motocross is prevalent here and this old road is used as a couple of MX riders passed us by, probably never seen anyone backpacking in the middle of nowhere before. Our next XC route to get to the Keeps Mill road was interesting in that there is a hidden network of well used MX trails cutting out half the bushwhack which worked out great for us. Then to top it off, the only hiking trail in the area (490A) has a new section not shown on the map connecting the road down to the campground saving us the longer road walk.
Conclusion: Caltopo.com has a great 1914-1945 historic map layer which shows a sawmill just uphill from what is now Keeps Mill Campground. Our guess is the wood structure is an aqueduct that would be used to float precut timber downstream effortlessly to town. Construction made it about 2-3 miles in and gave up due to the rugged terrain or other lack of planning (I cant imagine where such a feature would escape the canyon at…) our track went near its terminus which GE clearly shows.
I also think that traveling further downstream in the canyon would only get more and more difficult but I cant really say what hidden gems this wilderness hides but my guess is kayak the best way to explore this rugged canyon……
