Journey
Blue Mountain Eagle
7
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
HIKE
Continued from Page 6
Hikers should stick to the trail, and if a
fossil is found, they can take a picture of it
and show a ranger. Taking fossils or rocks is
prohibited.
Another route at the trailhead, the Blue
Basin Overlook, is a 3.25-mile loop with a
spectacular vista. It is considered a moderate
to strenuous hike with a 600-foot elevation
gain and loss.
Directions: Travel west on Highway 26
from Dayville 6.9 miles to the Highway 19
junction in Picture Gorge. Turn right at the
junction. The Thomas Condon Paleontol-
ogy Center and Cant Ranch is 2.1 miles
north. Approximately 3 miles farther, clearly
marked with a brown metal sign, is the Blue
Basin Trailhead, which includes paved park-
ing, a picnic area and restrooms, but no water.
Traveling a short distance farther north is
the breathtaking Cathedral Rock and, shortly
after, the Foree Area’s Flood of Fire and Sto-
ry in Stone trails.
The Flood of Fire (0.4 miles round trip)
has a gravel trail with a viewpoint overlook-
ing the John Day River Valley and a colorful
rock formation similar to Cathedral Rock.
The Story in Stone (0.3 miles round trip)
trail, which is partially paved, skirts above
a small basin of blue-green claystone. Like
the Blue Basin, the formation contains fos-
sils of animals that lived in there 25 million
to 30 million years ago.
A hiker looks at information about
the types of fossils that have been
discovered at the Blue Basin Area.
The end of the trail at the Blue Basin
Island in Time hike.
John Day Fossil Beds Park Ranger
Marissa Humphreys is ready to give hiking
tours of the Blue Basin Area.
Eagle photos/Angel Carpenter
Hikers enjoy the sights of the Blue Basin Trail in the John Day Fossil Beds Sheep Rock
Unit.
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