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Wednesday, May 10, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Early season hiking in the Badlands
By Craig F. Eisenbeis
Correspondent
With all the snow we’ve
had this past winter, it looks
likely that the mountain
trails are still several weeks
away from opening up. So,
the Badlands Wilderness
east of Bend is a great place
to get out and do some free-
range roaming. The Oregon
Badlands Wilderness is a
fairly recent addition to our
nation’s wilderness areas
and was officially estab-
lished in 2009 by President
Barack Obama.
For this hike, we selected
a 7.7-mile loop begin-
ning at the Badlands Rock
Trailhead. As it turned out,
we unintentionally ended
up with a slightly different
result — but more on that
later.
I generally consider the
Badlands to be an all-year
hiking destination, but that
wasn’t exactly true this past
winter. Actually, we origi-
nally planned this hike in
November, but were snowed
out.
We have plenty of juniper
desert closer to Sisters, so I
haven’t really made a point
of visiting the Badlands in
recent years. In fact, the
last time I was out there,
the Badlands had not been
declared wilderness; and
I was with Forest Service
Geologist, the late Larry
Chitwood, for whom one of
the Badlands trails is now
named.
From the trailhead, we
headed due north and soon
encountered a trail junc-
tion with the Homestead
Trail (on the left), on which
we planned to return.
Continuing north, the terrain
was flat and unremarkable.
Of course, “flat” was quite
welcome since this was an
early season hiking tune-
up! The trail is very obvious
and well worn, with a sandy
base.
An interesting phenome-
non noted along the way was
a tendency for many of the
most successful juniper trees
to grow atop rock piles and
outcroppings. Obviously,
the microclimatic conditions
among the rocks, and the
junipers’ ability to send roots
down into tiny rock crevices,
combine to ensure the trees’
success.
At the three-mile mark,
we came to the trail junction
at “Badlands Rock” itself.
The spot is marked only by
a trail sign that indicates
that the Badlands Rock Trail
continues north. However,
our plan was to take the
unlabeled Castle Trail west
to begin the looping portion
of our hike toward Flatiron
Rock. This trail is clearly
marked on maps, even
though there are no trail
signs.
On this trail section we
began to notice significant
portions of trailside soils
covered with a potpourri of
plant life called cryptogamic
crust. This layer of biotic
matter is composed of a
veritable casserole of living
species that include lichens,
algae, fungi, mosses, and
cyanobacteria that all share
the habitat and are collec-
tively called cryptogamic
crust.
This type of biotic layer
is common throughout the
Columbia Basin and func-
tions as a soil builder and
stabilizer. The spongy layer
helps protect soil from ero-
sion, absorbs moisture, and
provides nitrogen and other
nutrients for plant growth.
When this cryptogamic
crust is disturbed, the soil
becomes more susceptible
to erosion; and pieces bro-
ken away from the crust are
unlikely to reattach. Minor
disturbances to the crust
may regenerate in five to
seven years. Major damage
to the crust, however may
take more than a century to
recover.
After what turned out to
be less than a mile on the
Castle Trail, we found our-
selves at another huge rock
outcropping. Since there
were no other other land-
marks showing on the BLM
maps, we assumed that it
must be Flatiron Rock. That
assumption was incorrect.
Later, when it became
apparent that this uncharted
rocky landmark we encoun-
tered had sent us off course,
I wondered if the unknown
elaborate rock structure was
actually the “castle” on the
Castle Trail. I subsequently
contacted two separate BLM
officials who professed
no knowledge of any rock
“castle” on the Castle Trail.
Further research indicated,
however, that they were
quite wrong.
According to the web-
site of OregonHikers.org,
we had, in fact, found “The
Castle,” which we explored
extensively — including
“The Labyrinth,” where we
stopped for a leisurely lunch.
The Labyrinth is a large and
quite magnificent maze of
rock formations filled with
cracks, crevices, monoliths,
tiny caves, and a myriad of
other fascinating rock for-
mations. Sweeping vistas
of Central Oregon and the
mountains are visible from
the upper buttresses of The
Castle.
None of this is visible
from trail level, and The
Castle appears rather nonde-
script from below. Therefore,
it is necessary to ascend up
into The Castle in order to
experience this unique fea-
ture. It is a rather delightful
surprise to climb up and,
incongruously, find yourself
in the bottom of what can
only be described as what
appears to be a canyon!
After climbing upward, it
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PHOTO BY CRAIG F. EISENBEIS
Badlands Rock is seen here at the junction of the Castle Trail.
is almost disorienting to find
yourself surrounded by rock
walls towering many feet
above you. All the more sur-
prising is to find all this in
the midst of what otherwise
seems to be a rather ordinary
landscape. It is certainly one
of the premier highlights of
the Badlands and should not
be missed.
Because of the carto-
graphic confusion, we never
reached Flatiron Rock on
this outing. Instead, we fol-
lowed what turned out to be
a user trail that headed in the
right direction (south-south-
east); and, eventually, we
were simply rerouted back
to the Badlands Rock Trail,
by which we had entered the
area.
In order to successfully
complete our intended loop
past Flatiron Rock, the hiker
must actually continue west
and pass to the north of The
Castle. Appropriate trail
signage — and recogni-
tion of The Castle on BLM
maps — would make this an
easier, and less confusing,
adventure.
Of course, the upside to
all of this is that we now
have a ready-made new plan
to hike the area and explore
it from the other side of the
loop to further confirm what
we discovered and connect
our own new imaginary dots
on the landscape. There are
several other significant
trails through the Badlands,
so the hiker has many
options to choose from.
Equestrians are also wel-
come on these trails. Since
this is a dedicated wilder-
ness, however, mechanized
vehicles are prohibited.
To reach the Badlands
Rock Trailhead, simply
take Highway 20 for about
18 miles east of Bend. The
trailhead is on the left and
is marked by a BLM sign.
Cross a metal cattle guard
and proceed north for one
mile on a paved road to the
BLM trailhead on the left.
Note that the correct turn-
off from Highway 20 is
about two miles beyond the
Flatiron Trailhead turnoff.