{"id":4750,"date":"2023-06-29T13:42:29","date_gmt":"2023-06-29T13:42:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/?p=4750"},"modified":"2023-06-29T13:53:26","modified_gmt":"2023-06-29T13:53:26","slug":"eureka-wagon-road","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/2023\/06\/29\/eureka-wagon-road\/","title":{"rendered":"Eureka Wagon Road"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Wednesday, June 21, 2023<\/p>\n<p>During my visit to northeast Oregon I hiked part of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oregonhikers.org\/field_guide\/Eureka_Viewpoint_Hike\">Eureka Wagon Road hike<\/a>.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>This hike follows the route of the old Eureka Wagon Road, which was built in 1902 to access the mines at Eureka Bar far below along the Snake River. The road is now a trail, and although you can follow it all the way down to the river, most people don&#8217;t go that far.<\/p>\n<p>Before starting the hike I visited the Buckhorn Overlook, which has a great view into the canyon of the Imnaha River:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53009876270_b45b16a7a9_c.jpg\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" alt=\"Buckhorn Overlook\"\/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53009971433_4555cb266a_c.jpg\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" alt=\"Buckhorn Overlook\"\/><\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s also an old abandoned fire lookout here:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53009656059_7daa82c85e_c.jpg\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" alt=\"Buckhorn Overlook\"\/><\/p>\n<p>From the overlook Road 780 heads downhill to the trailhead. It&#8217;s in rough shape:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53007892701_5ed7ff3383_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The Subaru could have made it, but I was in the mood to walk, so I parked the car and started walking:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53005035657_0881544386_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This actually turned out to be a very pleasant road walk with lots of wildflowers:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53005804604_3c8c309c9f_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53005620026_c747526c69_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53005054802_f5b51325f1_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53008051379_3e5b4682eb_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"600\" height=\"800\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53008051544_4fd7764b1a_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"600\" height=\"800\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53008051134_a9e24d0c26_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"600\" height=\"800\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53006115093_9d7f581e42_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"533\" height=\"800\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53005042482_91c9167894_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53006022555_1edeb964ef_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53005638911_18304e501a_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53006126343_56cee12fd5_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53005804584_c237987235_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"533\" height=\"800\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Just before the trailhead is a rutted mud puddle that I would not have wanted to drive through:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53008268155_e6fd6d064b_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53008268100_c0d233d897_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s no sign here, but this is the trailhead parking area:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53008277150_292a868dfc_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Just around the corner from that parking area is a gate:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53008267450_474fd8446a_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The old road continues beyond the gate with more views and more wildflowers:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53005679821_01ae03aeb0_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53005679626_cdac0d4834_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53008367003_166eff1b04_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"600\" height=\"800\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53005980329_932f0b3bbd_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53005285262_81fbe6ca85_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"533\" height=\"800\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53008282045_2fd8b6a3c3_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Soon I reached an old road junction. My route lay straight ahead:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53008064039_170e278e1f_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53007895876_b8d16b4843_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p>More wildflowers:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53005285172_0c0d0c3fb5_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53006358173_2e5b435387_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53006358298_c26cb854e5_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53005868341_13de23c062_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53005283687_119d63773e_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53006035654_97331149dc_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53006035389_8d976a1587_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"533\" height=\"800\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I was glad this wasn&#8217;t a hot day, because this is very exposed with no shade:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53006034414_2935b1b597_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This is open rangeland, unfortunately, and there is plenty of evidence of cows here, including cowpies:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53007895751_fba7271482_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"600\" height=\"800\" \/><\/p>\n<p>And well-trampled cow paths:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53008380143_6424a6c3be_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"600\" height=\"800\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The views into the Imnaha were great:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53006355013_47137041f7_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53005281592_53f9f6f9ee_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53006295885_21b596666d_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53007231219_87cbdf56af_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53008061379_d6e68b1a75_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"600\" height=\"800\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53008379198_787199f9f0_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53007062161_99f46e0083_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53007893886_9a661de678_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53008379748_330fd81b3d_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53007301512_bd145740b9_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Having gotten my fill of wildflowers and views I turned around here:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53008062249_30a4e28dee_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Heading back:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53007893361_853fde1d02_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Back at the old road junction I decided to right right and explored down that way for a bit:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53008281250_683d6b90b1_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p>An old road forks to the left and the Cemetery Ridge Trail follows another old road, forking uphill to the right:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53007300217_78bd47ea23_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I took the left fork and followed it for a bit:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53007893436_5332700b02_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53008276930_bd4a147c04_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53007893046_3c4e8d01d8_c.jpg\" alt=\"Eureka Wagon Road Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Then I turned around and headed back to the car. This turned out to be a lovely stroll with lots of wildflowers. Hopefully next time I can go further!<\/p>\n<p>Gaia stats: 4.8 miles, 400&#8242; elevation loss (gain on the way back)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wednesday, June 21, 2023 During my visit to northeast Oregon I hiked part of the Eureka Wagon Road hike.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4756,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[170,193,210],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4750"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4750"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4750\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4762,"href":"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4750\/revisions\/4762"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}