Wednesday, June 24, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
15
Steins Pillar: drive a little for a big treat
By craig f. eisenbeis
Correspondent
I had heard of Steins Pillar
before but had never visited
it until a friend suggested
that we do just that and hike
the four-mile round trip. So,
off we went and discovered
that Steins Pillar is 57 miles
from Sisters in the Ochoco
National Forest.
Our first surprise was how
lush the area was. It was also
relatively cool on a very hot
day. We had both traveled
the area east of Prineville
many times and thought of
the area as being much hot-
ter and drier. However, the
valley through which Mill
Creek flows on its way to
the Ochoco Reservoir is very
green and scenic. When we
reached the trailhead, we
were surprised to see abun-
dant Douglas fir trees mixed
in with the ponderosa pine.
Farther along, we even found
tamarack (western larch)
trees in a moist area of north-
ern exposure.
Another surprise on this
early June visit to the area
was the abundance of wild-
flowers — and the variety,
in particular. We counted
more than two-dozen differ-
ent species of wildflowers
along this unusual two-mile
trail, and that included one
of the largest concentrations
of Indian paintbrush that I’ve
ever seen. There were numer-
ous butterflies, including a
tiger swallowtail that played
chicken with us in the middle
of the trail.
The trail has a multitude
of unpredictable ups and
downs. According to one
source, I read that the verti-
cal drop going to the pillar
was 680 feet. Exactly where
that occurred, I’m not exactly
sure because the whole trail
was up and down. I sup-
pose most of that elevation
loss occurs between the final
viewpoints and the base of
the pillar.
Steins Pillar, itself, is not
visible during most of the
hike; and it kind of jumps
out at you from an excellent
viewpoint as you near your
destination. If you would
like a sneak peak of the pil-
lar before setting out on your
hike, there is a good view-
point about two miles farther
up Mill Creek Road beyond
the trailhead turnoff.
As we approached the pil-
lar, we noticed some other
large rock formations which
some have mistaken for the
pillar. However, if you are
not sure, then I guarantee that
what you are looking at is not
the pillar. The pillar is unmis-
takable and quite impressive.
From the aspect facing the
hillside, it measures approxi-
mately 350 feet in height,
and is much taller if mea-
sured from the outside edge.
It is somewhat reminiscent of
Monkey Face at Smith Rock
State Park.
Steins Pillar is comprised
of volcanic welded tuff
that was laid down during
an eruption of the Wildcat
Mountain Caldera 40 million
years ago. Welded tuff is a
rock that is sort of sedimen-
tary and sort of igneous. Tuff
results from layering of tre-
mendous quantities of volca-
nic ash. In the case of welded
tuff, the pyroclastic ash is
still so hot that it bonds, or
“welds” itself, to adjacent
particles, creating relatively
solid rock rather than loose
deposits.
Over the millennia, softer
deposits around the pillar
have eroded away, leaving
the monolith we see today.
Although portions of the
exterior of the pillar may
appear solid, because of the
nature of this rock, it is not
very stable. Consequently,
it is subject to crumbling,
which makes rock climbing
here rather difficult. As a
result, the pillar was not suc-
cessfully climbed until 1950.
The pillar is named for
Major Enoch Steen, U.S.
Army, who explored eastern
Oregon in pursuit of Snake
(Northern Paiute) Indians just
before the Civil War. Steen
camped on Mill Creek, near
the pillar, on June 3, 1860. As
was often the case, his name
was misspelled; and, by the
time the error was noted, the
misspelling was permanently
recorded in history.
Steens Mountain in south-
east Oregon is also named
for the major, but bears the
correct spelling, even though
that feature was also fre-
quently misspelled as Stein.
Several other prominent
landmarks in New Mexico
are also named for him, with
both spellings still in use.
photo by Craig F. eisenbeis
the tip of Steins Pillar is seen from a viewpoint where the access trail
skirts another rock formation.
The hike to Steins Pillar
should probably be classed
as moderate because of the
ups and downs and some
steep stretches, particularly
those leading to the base of
the pillar. The trail, however,
is generally in good condition
and is well marked — except
at its origin. We saw no trail-
head marker of any kind,
although the well-worn path
is easily spotted.
To reach Steins Pillar,
head east from Sisters
on Highway 126 toward
Redmond. Follow the signs
to Prineville and continue
east on Highway 26. From
the U.S. Forest Service
offices at the east edge of
Prineville, continue another
7.6 miles. With the Ochoco
Reservoir on your right, turn
left onto Mill Creek Road
(which turns to gravel at
about 5.1 miles but is suitable
for passenger cars) for 6.7
miles. Turn right onto Forest
Road 500 for two miles of
winding, uphill gravel road.
Road signs clearly mark the
route up until this point. A
turnaround parking area is on
the left but was not marked at
the time of our visit; accord-
ingly, there were also no
signs requiring parking fees.
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