Elkhorn Scenic Byway in Eastern Oregon

The Elkhorn Scenic Drive out of Baker City through Sumpter, Granite and over the pass on NF road 73 is a good outing when visiting Baker City.

June 19, 2007.

We are staying at Mountain View Travel Park in Baker City. $24.79 FHU, shade and a nice enough RV-Park. It must be a former KOA since they charge extra for everything, $2 extra for wifi, $2 extra for larger sites, you get the picture.

Blue Springs Summit on National Forest Road 73

National Forest road 73 takes us over several passes the first one, Blue Springs Summit, was almost 6,000 feet in elevation.

Granite, Oregon

Albert Tabor struck gold just below the present town of Granite on the 4th of July 1862. Tabor named his claim the Independence since the strike was made on Independence Day. The town that sprang up around the strike was also called Independence. However, the name was changed to Granite in 1876 when they applied for a post office and found there was already an Independence, Oregon. Granite was a center of mining activity for over 80 years. Today activity has ceased with nothing remaining but the town and a wealth of history.

Granite, Oregon

A special group of people populate Granite, Oregon. Eccentric may be the appropriate term. Joyce snapped this picture from a post situated in the middle of Granite.

Granite, Oregon

This residents wood supply is running low but this is June 19 so he probably has enough for the next month or so.

Granite, Oregon

The sign outside this church indicates there is a service scheduled Sunday. The church outhouse is out back. By the way this church is on main street in the middle of Granite.

Elkhorn Scenic Byway in Oregon

So you do not forget we are following the Elkhorn Scenic Byway out of Baker City, Oregon.

We found ourselves visiting the small community of Granite. This might look like a grave marker but if you examine it closely it is just a marker commemorating the discovery of gold nearby.

Lodgepole pine is a pioneer species dependent on disturbance to regenerate and rejuvenate the stand. Fire, wind, insects, and disease are natural disturbance agents that open up the mature lodgepole pine stand; allowing the prolific seed-producing pine cones to release abundant seeds.

New stands grow dense, starving for light until the next disturbance renews the stand. We saw this phenomena in Yellowstone where the Great Yellowstone Fire was the was the disturbance that regenerated the new stand of lodgepole pines that we now see throughout Yellowstone.

In the 1970s a mountain pine beetle epidemic swept through the Elkhorn Mountains killing thousands of mature lodgepole pine trees. Tree mortality resulting from this epidemic was variable. In some areas, tree mortality was as high as 90%.

Lodgepole pine

This stand of lodgepole pines resulted from the mountain pine beetle epidemic that killed 90% of the mature lodgepole pines in the 1970s.

Joyce caught this deer as he made a run for the lodgepole pine forest.

Mountain pine beetle devistation

It appears that the mountain pine beetle is still at work in the Elkhorn Mountains.

I don't know if it was beetles or fire but one or the other has killed around 99% of the trees on this mountain top.

Snow in the Elkhorns

To give you an idea of our elevation we are seeing snow and this is June 19.

Snow in the Elkhorns

This pass has just recently opened for the summer season. Sawdust is still visible where trees have been removed from the highway that fell during the winter.

This mountain top appears to have been affected by mountain pine beetle.

Elkhorn Smmit

This is Elkhorn Summit where we were seeing the snow.

Elkhorn Mountains

While descending Elkhorn Mountain these beautiful snow capped mountains were framed by the roadcut.

Elkhorn Mountains

Gunsignt Mountain reflecting on Anthony Lake

Gunsight Mountain reflecting on Anthony Lake that is located on Elkhorn Mountain.

We have no idea what these flowers were but Joyce thought they were pretty. I tend to agree.

Gunsignt Mountain reflecting on Anthony Lake

Another picture of Anthony Lake.

Gunsignt Mountain and Anthony Lake

And one last photo of Anthony Lake with Gunsight Mountain in the background.

As we descended the grade on Elkhorn Maintain we followed several pickup trucks like this heavily loaded with firewood. I think they were scavenging trees that fell across the highway during the winter. We saw sawdust along the route where those trees had been removed from the roadway.

All of these truck were easing down this steep grade in 1st gear.

Baker Valley from Elkhorn Mountain

About halfway down from the summit of Elkhorn Mountain we started seeing glimpses of Baker Valley in the distance.

View of Elkhorn Mountains from Baker Valley

Once in the valley Joyce took this picture of where we had just come from.

Baker Valley, Oregon

This farmer is mowing a large field of alfalfa.

After the close of the Sioux and Piute Indian wars ranchers of Wyoming and Montana, discouraged in their attempts to fatten Texas longhorns turned to Oregon for their cattle. During the spring cattlemen and their cowboys arrived daily from the Rocky Mountain area to purchase herds which had been assembled around Baker from remote parts of the state. The herds were sometimes six months in making the 1,200 mile drive and required an outfit of 40 cowboys with a remuda of several hundred Oregon cow ponies which were also superior to the eastern breed. It is estimated that as many as 1,000,000 head of cattle were trailed overland annually during the more favorable years between 1875 and 1884.

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Until next time remember how good life is.

Mike & Joyce Hendrix