Steens Mountain Wilderness
Steens Mountain Wilderness
We went up Steens Mountain, the highest point in Oregon in the middle of Oregon’s rugged wilderness. The mountain rises to 9,773 feet and is about 30 miles long and 10 miles wide.
We drove a well-maintained gravel road, part of the Steens Mountain Loop, to Steens Summit and hiked to the top on the steep eastern side of the mountain. This viewpoint, one verticle mile above the Alvord desert, and beautiful blue skies provided spectacular vistas of the surroundings. The Kiger Gorge Overlook gave another impressive overview of a U-shaped valley. This canyon, glaciated nearly one million years ago, is enormous, 2000 feet deep and 6500 feet wide. And then there was the abundance of colored wildflowers to admire.
The advantage of traveling around the States is discovering these not-well-known destinations that, in fact, are the gems we love to find. The Steens Mountain Wilderness was definitely one of those discoveries! We were literally at the edge AND on top of the world. What a magnificent place!
Date
Wednesday, July 26, 2023
DistanceS
1.41 miles
Moving Times
< 1 hour
Weather
78°F, sunny, light breeze