I have now walked all of the publicly accessible trail along the Deschutes between Sunriver and Bend. Yesterday, I walked the final little section between the private property where LOGE sits (sat; it is closed now) and Meadow Day Use Area. I have avoided this section in the past because it is among the more crowded sections of the trail, especially because it runs through the GoodDog! off-leash area. A bonus is that all those people come with happy dogs and I got to meet a lot of awesome dogs. Usually, I park in the middle at Dillon Falls and go upstream to Benham, downstream to Meadow, or some combination of upstream and downstream.
I parked at Rimrock Trailhead and walked into the sun up and over the rim rock, then down to the river, then south along the river to Big Eddy where I turned around, a total of a bit more than 10 miles. The following photos are more or less in the order I shot them.
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| Ample Frost as I Scaled the Rim Rock |
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| Winter 2026, Where is the Snow? |
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| Fencing Around Restoration Area |
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| Pebble Garden |
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Unmistakable Lodgepole Pine Cones
They Remain on the Tree Until They Disintegrate |
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Mature Lodgepole Bark
When Younger, the Bark is Scaly |
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| Columnar Jointing in the Basalt |
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| More Columns |
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| Greenleaf Manzanita Blooming Early This Year |
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| River Opposite Deschutes River Woods is Flat |
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| Male Mallards are Getting Frisky |
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| River Scum in an Eddy |
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Creeping Oregon Grape
Low Growing, Matte Burgundy Leaves |
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Holly-Leaved Oregon Grape
Tall Growing, Shiny Deep Wine-Colored Leaves |
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Pygmy Nuthatches Everywhere
All Three Nuthatches in Evidence Yesterday
Pygmy, Red-Breasted, and White-Breasted |
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| Cattail Along Slough Behind Seventh Mountain |
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| Prince of Pine, Lava Island |
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Main Stem of Deschutes from Lava Island
Accessible in Winter, No Water in High Water Channel |
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Crumbly Lava and Fissures
Required Careful Footing Placement |
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Fissure in Lava Atop Lava Island
Island is Remnant of 7000-Year Old Flow from Lava Butte |
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| Empty High Water Channel at Lava Island |
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Impressive Witches' Broom
Infection From Mistletoe Causes Excess Growth |
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Another Crazy Witches Broom
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| Western Dwarf Mistletoe Causes Witches' Brooms |
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Ponderosa Framed Against the River
Red Osier Dogwoods in the Background |
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How Many Times Have I Taken This Shot?
Part of Big Eddy Snaking Through the Lava
Water Level is Low in Winter; Being Impounded in the Reservoirs |
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| Massive Ponderosa Stump |
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At Big Eddy, Water Slamming into Lava
Deflecting to the Middle of the River |
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| Something Zen About This Rock Garden |
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| Dried Bloom Stalk from Woodland Pinedrops |
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| This Female Common Merganser Swam Alongside for 15 Minutes |
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Females are Famous for Woody Woodpecker Tresses
Males Have Deep Green Smooth Heads |
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Scraggly Male Hairy Woodpecker
Using Tail as a Prop |
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| Iron Oxide Red on Columnar Basalt in GoodDog! |
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| The Rim Rock on a Gorgeous Day |
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Round Hole Called Tafoni
Unusual but not Rare in Basalt |
So far, this has been the winter that was not: no snow on the mountains, no snowshoeing, and April-like days in January and February. Although the weather has been great for letting me hike through the winter, I fear for fire season.
