{"id":3678,"date":"2021-04-25T20:46:08","date_gmt":"2021-04-25T20:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/?p=3678"},"modified":"2021-05-12T19:36:12","modified_gmt":"2021-05-12T19:36:12","slug":"cottonwood-canyon-state-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/2021\/04\/25\/cottonwood-canyon-state-park\/","title":{"rendered":"Cottonwood Canyon State Park"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Saturday, April 3, 2021<\/p>\n<p>Today we visited Cottonwood Canyon State Park, which neither of us have visited before. Our first hike of the day was the Pinnacles Trail, which follows an old ranch road downstream along the John Day River. <!--more--><\/p>\n<p>A quick note about this hike. We had heard that the trail was closed at some point because of eagle nesting. We saw not a single sign about this anywhere. Later I wrote to the park staff and they replied that yes the closure was in effect and that there should have been signs. You can read more about the eagle closure <a href=\"https:\/\/cottonwoodcanyon.wordpress.com\/2019\/04\/08\/seasonal-trail-closures-in-place-to-protect-golden-eagle-nesting\/\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>We parked along the road to the campground and started hiking the trail that ran parallel to the road. Wildflowers greeted us right away:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51162342496_71841ea536_c.jpg\" alt=\"Pinnacles Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51162341661_288650db34_c.jpg\" alt=\"Pinnacles Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51163451910_36aefa3da6_c.jpg\" alt=\"Pinnacles Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>It was pleasant out, with no wind, although it was completely overcast and stayed that way all day. We could hear canyon wrens, red wing blackbirds, and meadowlarks:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51162586938_79899b9dec_c.jpg\" alt=\"Pinnacles Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We hiked 0.3 miles to the end of the campground, we discovered there was a proper Pinnacles Trailhead with parking. Well, now we know for next time.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51163675793_73914221c7_c.jpg\" alt=\"Pinnacles Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We continued down the Pinnacles Trail:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51162339991_a1d683a35a_c.jpg\" alt=\"Pinnacles Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>And soon passed an info kiosk:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51162585648_b1f512728f_c.jpg\" alt=\"Pinnacles Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Looking upriver:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51162585448_ddace6392f_c.jpg\" alt=\"Pinnacles Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Looking downriver:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51163412651_a03ba23138_c.jpg\" alt=\"Pinnacles Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" \/><\/p>\n<p>More wildflowers:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51161679297_093c4bb66c_c.jpg\" alt=\"Pinnacles Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51164199589_55b0530d9d_c.jpg\" alt=\"Pinnacles Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51163411336_04ac136fb7_c.jpg\" alt=\"Pinnacles Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51164212094_e3a8b57c5a_c.jpg\" alt=\"Pinnacles Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51164211744_c531674cb6_c.jpg\" alt=\"Pinnacles Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51163428891_a9f5ee82e1_c.jpg\" alt=\"Pinnacles Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Saw some of these fuzzy caterpillars:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51163416991_b1257d578b_c.jpg\" alt=\"Pinnacles Trail\" width=\"533\" height=\"800\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Continuing:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51162340246_aa9b65a395_c.jpg\" alt=\"Pinnacles Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51164201659_55d8531164_c.jpg\" alt=\"Pinnacles Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51163660443_43120e7e73_c.jpg\" alt=\"Pinnacles Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We reached a junction with the Upper Walnut Trail and took it:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51162752817_40984c3fc5_c.jpg\" alt=\"Pinnacles Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This trail parallels the old ranch road we had been walking on:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51162752527_e0d4bea2c3_c.jpg\" alt=\"Pinnacles Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51164521055_d1865a9ccf_c.jpg\" alt=\"Pinnacles Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Showy phlox:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51164209214_1e4ec6e55c_c.jpg\" alt=\"Pinnacles Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51164529160_11d63fd39f_c.jpg\" alt=\"Pinnacles Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Nice bench for admiring the view:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51163422776_9306dbd96c_c.jpg\" alt=\"Pinnacles Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51164208414_6bc008692d_c.jpg\" alt=\"Pinnacles Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We reached an open gate:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51163670303_7a2c4bb9a6_c.jpg\" alt=\"Pinnacles Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Not long after the gate we stopped at a river bend with a view across the river to the Pinnacles. We stopped for a snack and made this our turnaround point:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51163428571_62ce0766ff_c.jpg\" alt=\"Pinnacles Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51163676648_ec580e05d7_c.jpg\" alt=\"Pinnacles Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51163431091_e748542a7b_c.jpg\" alt=\"Pinnacles Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We spotted a belted kingfisher on a branch:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51162758617_881d3b7e7b_c.jpg\" alt=\"Pinnacles Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We hadn&#8217;t seen anyone else all morning but three backpackers passed us heading back to their car. Dogs are required to be on-leash in the park, but theirs was running around off-leash.<\/p>\n<p>After our break we headed back:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51162767537_f1fe2da66b_c.jpg\" alt=\"Pinnacles Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51162766457_b48e72dd05_c.jpg\" alt=\"Pinnacles Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Big old tree:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51163434396_4722a41718_c.jpg\" alt=\"Pinnacles Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Next up was the Hard Stone Trail, which was an old ranch road going upstream (unlike the Pinnacles Trail, which had gone downstream):<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51164222944_591cb1b653_c.jpg\" alt=\"Hard Stone Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Right by the trailhead are these stone ruins. In his hiking book, William Sullivan calls this a &#8220;century-old stone house&#8221; and says it &#8220;dates to the days when Irish shepherds had the time to pile rocks while watching their flocks&#8221;:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51163439056_e569235b63_c.jpg\" alt=\"Hard Stone Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We passed through a very similar landscape to the earlier Pinnacles hike:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51163682768_7b0b0acbf5_c.jpg\" alt=\"Hard Stone Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51164545935_bc4639b312_c.jpg\" alt=\"Hard Stone Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We saw this cave high up on the cliff on the other side of the river:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51162776897_3fbda2bb42_c.jpg\" alt=\"Hard Stone Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51164544925_9775739d99_c.jpg\" alt=\"Hard Stone Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51164224514_3b61fb641d_c.jpg\" alt=\"Hard Stone Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We reached what looked like an old stone corral:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51164547595_f46fe4cda1_c.jpg\" alt=\"Hard Stone Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51163685493_0679e57ee5_c.jpg\" alt=\"Hard Stone Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>A riverside bench for enjoying the view:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51163441051_f831a328f0_c.jpg\" alt=\"Hard Stone Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This butterfly was kind enough to hold still for a photo:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51163443096_16f71716ce_c.jpg\" alt=\"Hard Stone Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Saw saw wildflowers:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51164234599_fe264f5829_c.jpg\" alt=\"Hard Stone Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51163690548_2775f684dd_c.jpg\" alt=\"Hard Stone Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51162783772_ffce82effd_c.jpg\" alt=\"Hard Stone Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>After 45 minutes and 1.6 miles we reached our turnaround point at a sharp bend in the road and river where there&#8217;s an eddy:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51163445831_e080039bc9_c.jpg\" alt=\"Hard Stone Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51164230664_6ee735591d_c.jpg\" alt=\"Hard Stone Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>There is an old broken gate here:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51163692823_ae826d0a6e_c.jpg\" alt=\"Hard Stone Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>At some point the river got high enough to deposit debris on the road here:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51164233754_a29140e261_c.jpg\" alt=\"Hard Stone Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>After a break we turned and headed back:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51163447186_348cca3b40_c.jpg\" alt=\"Hard Stone Trail\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Our last stop of the day was driving 10.8 miles to the end of Starvation Lane where there is some kind of primitive boat put-in. This is part of the state park, even though you have to drive a long way around to reach this spot:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51162791097_797267a8c2_c.jpg\" alt=\"Starvation Lane\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51164559260_e44a3bf0d2_c.jpg\" alt=\"Starvation Lane\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51164238754_de9fa64626_c.jpg\" alt=\"Starvation Lane\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p>A gated gravel road heads upstream from here. We didn&#8217;t have a signal but later looked up <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oregonhikers.org\/field_guide\/Starvation_Bend_Loop_Hike\">the info<\/a> for hiking that stretch.:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51164238139_d19837e6d1_c.jpg\" alt=\"Starvation Lane\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51164557850_3c9742efd2_c.jpg\" alt=\"Starvation Lane\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Looking down at road&#8217;s end from above:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51164557665_d63de6de5b_c.jpg\" alt=\"Starvation Lane\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p>There was a spot on the slope above the road a mile or two before road&#8217;s end where there were a whole bunch of shooting stars blooming:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51163696558_f328835caa_c.jpg\" alt=\"Shooting stars\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>On the drive home we spotted a male and female turkeys along Highway 197. Fun way to end the day!:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51164247629_1a5c004dfb_c.jpg\" alt=\"Wild turkeys\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Gaia stats for the Pinnacles Trail: 6.2 miles, 120&#8242; elevation gain<br \/>\nFor the Hard Stone Trail: 3.2 miles, 40&#8242; elevation gain<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Saturday, April 3, 2021 Today we visited Cottonwood Canyon State Park, which neither of us have visited before. Our first<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/2021\/04\/25\/cottonwood-canyon-state-park\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Cottonwood Canyon State Park<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3705,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[236,159],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3678"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3678"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3678\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3706,"href":"https:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3678\/revisions\/3706"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}