Before the weather turned again, I motored out to the John Day River and did this loop in Cottonwood Canyon State Park. I began at the first parking area, and took the short trail up to Sage Knob and then headed up the ridge to Peak 1443. The steppe wildflowers were beginning to bloom, and a cool westerly was blowing. The cheatgrass was still soft and not prickly.
From the little cairn on Peak 1443, I descended to the boundary fence line and followed the barbed wire, which is down in several places, to Gooseneck Gully. It’s a rugged 500-foot drop to the bottom of the gully, where the stream was still trickling, and then a 600-foot ascent to the plateau again. The carved amphitheater of Gooseneck Falls might be a worthy destination some day.
Once up top again, I got excellent views of Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams past the windmills and power pylons. Then I followed the old jeep track along the crest of the Gooseneck peninsula, getting views of the river upstream and downstream. From the last little rise at the end of the Gooseneck, I followed the crest down, getting clear views to the Lost Corral tucked below its shady cliff at the mouth of Esau Canyon. There are cliffs at the end of the Gooseneck, so I cut down, dropping down the south slope of the east ridge, to reach the Pinnacles Trail.
Two hundred yards to my left, I could see the seasonal closure barrier (February through August) at the Gooseneck cliffs, so I went over to take a closer look. This is about three miles from the kiosk at the beginning of the Pinnacles Trail. (The golden eagles actually nest about a mile downriver from the barrier.)
Then it was the level hike along the old farm track, with the dark maw of Rattlesnake Canyon across the John Day. I took the Lower Walnut Trail, which runs right along the John Day in spots, and rejoined the Pinnacles Trail at the big walnut tree. This gnarly old denizen, perhaps planted over a hundred years ago by a rancher, is not leafing out yet and neither are the hackberries that are common here. However, the golden currant was beginning to bloom.
Passing below the last cliffs, I got to thinking that I had not seen the expected bighorn sheep when, lo and behold, I spotted a small family group up Gooseneck Gully. Up on the skyline, there were a few more. At the kiosk that marks the beginning of the Pinnacles Trail, a post mentions a cougar-killed sheep four miles downriver.
Gooseneck Loop (Cottonwood Canyon) 3-20-24
- Splintercat
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Re: Gooseneck Loop (Cottonwood Canyon) 3-20-24
Nice report, John - thanks! I've tried propagating Golden currant from cuttings with no luck... I'd really like to add a few to my home landscape. Lovely plants!
Tom
Tom
Re: Gooseneck Loop (Cottonwood Canyon) 3-20-24
From my visit up there recently, it looked on the topo like from the barbed wire fence, you could angle left where the fence ends and have a much less deep gully to cross, at the cost of a longer hike. There was a large ranch building - one of those roofs on poles (no walls) that I assume is for storing hay and keeping it dry.
Re: Gooseneck Loop (Cottonwood Canyon) 3-20-24
Yes, it's not really a boundary fence but I think a cattle fence, now no longer repaired, that separated a former grazing concession in the canyon from farmland above. Looking down from Peak 1443, you can see a gate in the fence. You could follow the jeep track on the other side as far as a farm road (but not as far as the barn, which is where the road goes). Then you could start angling down into the gully. However, there are vertical bands of rimrock there as well, especially on the east side, so it's debatable whether it would be any easier. Probably some deer/sheep trails to follow though. There doesn't appear to be a fence on the actual BLM boundary, and the farmer seems to be using some BLM land on top. You would have to trespass as far as the barn to enjoy a gentle crossing of the gully.
There appears to be a fence line right at the barn, well into private property. There's also a rusting harvester there. (Click to get larger map.)
The state park closure map shows the "trail" doing this from the high point on the fence line - but of course there's no real trail!
There appears to be a fence line right at the barn, well into private property. There's also a rusting harvester there. (Click to get larger map.)
The state park closure map shows the "trail" doing this from the high point on the fence line - but of course there's no real trail!