Hiking the hills in Lakeview

Lakeview, Oregon is a small town (~2,500 residents) in the south, central part of the state. It sits at a mile in elevation and is high desert. From the hills in Lakeview, you can see Goose Lake straddling the border of Oregon and California.

Every decade, high school students repaint the letter 'L' in the hill-side near town. The hike to the 'L' is steep and fairly rocky but short (~ 0.5-1 mile each way). It is a great opportunity to spot deer and wildflowers (in the spring).

This year, our hikes in the hills were unique in the view of the shockingly low water level of Goose Lake (in March). Everywhere we went, people in the area had something to say about the drought. It will be a tough year for cattle as well as the native animals and migrating birds.

Crack In the Ground

Crack in the Ground is a geological site in Christmas Valley, Oregon.  It is a two-mile long rock-lined crack in the ground (up to 70 feet deep and 10 feet wide).  It is possible to hike in the bottom of a short section of the crack with limited bouldering.

We walked in the bottom of the crack and returned by walking on the top. The canyon itself s interesting – the walls on one side of the crack are smooth and weathered with rounded surfaces. The other side has sharp edges and rock planes. The Wikipedia site on this location indicates that Crack in the Ground is a volcanic fissure. It is believed to be fairly new – only ~1,000 years old.

The most interesting part about the location was the top-side return hike. First, it would be possible to be on horse-back in this area and fall right into either the main crack or one of the tributaries.  There is no real indication that at crack exists as you make a perpendicular approach.

We also observed a large nest sitting on the top of one of the larger rock surfaces in the crack with three tan eggs. It might have been an owl’s nest that had been abandoned. Cliff swallows were also present.

This is an easy hike and the overall visit could last from 1 – 2 hours. We were pretty hungry and headed into Paisley for a late lunch.