Oregon has some absolutely fantastic state parks (think Ecola and Silver Falls) among which Smith Rock is one of the more spectacular. Known in Central Oregon as the place for rock climbing with nearly 2000 routes, Smith Rock State Park also has miles of hiking trails. This week, we headed out and ended up walking just shy of 7 miles. The first part of our trek was intensely up and so those 7 miles felt more like 14. Most of the trails we walked are classified as the most difficult trails in the park and our route would not be suitable for those in dubious shape.
From the parking lot, we traced a big counterclockwise circle of the park taking The Chute down to the Crooked River where we crossed the bridge switchbacked up to the right and started the steep slog past the Red Wall on the Misery Ridge Trail up and over Smith Rock. We then went down the backside around the Monkey Face column and from there, we headed north on the Mesa Verde trail past the walls at First Kiss, which are closed for falcon breeding season.
Mesa Verde runs into the Summit Trail which heads first north out of the park onto private property, then swings east through the park making a long climb from 2700 feet to 3500 feet. At the peak just outside the park on BLM land, we headed downhill at long last on the very steep (I broke out my poles for this descent) Burma Road, a jeep track all the way down to the river and irrigation canal.
At the location where the irrigation canal heads into a tunnel under Staender Ridge, we had some difficulty finding the beginning of the Wolf Tree Trail (it branches right and downhill from the map at the base of the hill). Initially, the Wolf Tree Trail heads down steeply but once it reaches the river, it's a smooth flat walk (even shaded in some spots) back to the bridge for the bitchy little climb back up The Chute to the truck.
The following photos are in the order that I shot them.
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| Our Greeter in the Parking Lot |
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| Smith Rock in the Morning Sun |
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| Initial Switchbacks at the Base of the Cliff |
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| Climbers are Everywhere at Smith Rock |
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| Wooly Goldenweed, Stenotus lanuginosus |
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| A Lance Leaf Mustard, Perhaps a Sisymbrium |
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| Carey's Balsamroot, Balsamorhiza careyana |
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| Yellow Salsify, Tragopogon dubius |
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| Don't Mess with This Poison Hemlock, Conium maculatum |
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| Down The Chute, Near River Level |
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| Sagebrush in Crooked River Bottom, Looking East |
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| Nootka Rose, Rosa nutkana, Common Along River |
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| They Are Not Kidding! |
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| Climber at Base of Red Wall |
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| Violet Green Swallow at Red Wall |
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| Honeybee on White Horehound, Marrubium vulgare |
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| Common Yarrow, Achillea millefolium |
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| Douglas' Dustymaiden, Chaenactis douglasii |
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| Western Juniper, Juniperus occidentalis, Nearing Summit of Smith Rock |
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| Annie's Boot Shot Up Top |
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| Consulting Trail Map in Meagre Shade |
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| Spiny Hopsage, Grayia spinosa |
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| Looking Off Back Side of Smith Rock |
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| Monkey Face |
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| We Have to Descend to River Level |
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| Path Down by Monkey Face is Steep |
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Back Side of Monkey Face
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| Black Butte, Monkey Face Right |
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| Ferns Growing in a Crevice |
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| Adult (right) and Baby (left) Rock Wrens |
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| Stokes and Crutches Base of Monkey Face |
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| Headed North by First Kiss on Mesa Verde Trail |
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| Tiger Swallowtail on Western Juniper |
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| Purple Cushion Fleabane, Erigeron poliospermus |
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| Looking Back Upriver, Monkey Face on Left |
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| One of Many Hoodoos |
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| Another Hoodoo |
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| Heading East on Summit Trail |
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| A Large Flowered Fleabane or Aster |
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| Desert Yellow Fleabane, Erigeron linearis |
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| Leiberg's Stonecrop, Sedum leibergii |
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| Threadleaf Phacelia, Phacelia linearis |
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| Western Fence Lizard Hiding in Plain Sight |
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| Lambstongue Ragwort, Senecio integerrimus |
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| A More Visible Western Fence Lizard |
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| A Buckwheat, Eriogonum sp. |
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| Looking West: Three Sisters |
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| A Cinder Cone to the Northeast |
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| So Many Penstemons |
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| Spectacular Dorr's Purple Sage, Salvia dorrii |
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| Looking West from Burma Road |
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| Blazing Yellow Oregon Sunshine, Eriophyllum lanatum |
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Ann: "Those Switchbacks Look Terrible"
Ed: "We Climbed That"
Ann: "WTF!!!" |
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| A Paintbrush, Castilleja sp. |
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| Another View with the Three Sisters |
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| Large Spreading Juniper Behind Massive Boulder |
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| Penstemons and Erigerons Cliff Above River |
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| Annie's Penstemon Glamor Shot |
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| Escarpment in Newberry Basalt Flow |
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| Descending Along the Wolf Tree Trail |
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| Clump of Lupines, Lupinus sp. |
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| Back Down Riverside |
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| Large Thickets of Red Osier Dogwood, Cornus sericea, Along River |
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| Whitetop, Lepidium draba |
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| First Wax Currant, Ribes cereum, Fruit I've Seen in 2022 |
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