COFL PNW Tour: Painted Hills, Priest Hole, Burnt Ranch & The John Day River

[CarsOfFortLangley]

This was probably the best day offroading and scenery wise.

I started off by stopping in Redmond, OR and exploring some more caves. After crawling into the first one alone, I crawled back out and drove to a nearby outdoors store to buy a bit more gear. I then returned with some more light, and a tiny bit of protective gear.

The entrance was narrow, forcing me to crawl on my knees and at times my stomach. Inside, without any Oppos to accompany me, I was struck by how totally alone I was and how quiet the cave was. I explored for a while, it was very cool.

I then hit the road, stopping in Crook County for a beer. I joined a table of older gentlemen in camo. The conversation was... different from what I'm used to, but they did buy me a beer and chatted with me about my travel plans.

From Crook County, I headed towards the Painted Hills. The area was simply breathtaking and had some good off-roading in the surrounding area.

From the Painted Hills, it was a short, but fun drive offroad to Priest Hole Rec site on the John Day River. The site was quite flooded, so I ended up staying on a mountain overlooking the rec site. This was, hands down, the best spot I've ever stayed at. The beauty and serenity I experienced here was unmatched.

The next morning, I did some route planning, deciding to attempt to offroad from my position to near Fossil, OR far North of me.

I set out towards The Burnt Ranch before making a turn down Muddy Creek Road in Domogalla Canyon.

This part of my journey was simply transcendent. After a very deep water crossing (door level) and then getting stuck and thinking I was going to die in the desert, I managed to get going again.

It wasn't much of a road. It could have been 1922 instead of 2022 and you'd not have seen a difference. I'm not proud of it, but I did listen to the Fallout New Vegas soundtrack as I pushed through the canyon it was a great match for the scenery.

It was clear nobody goes down here as at times I struggled to see where the road was or went.

This journey took quite a while, eating up most of the day and the Jeep ended up with an undercarriage covered in mud and with dirty water all over the hood, seats and interior. Great day.

I stopped at the John Day fossil beds and saw some fossilized trees and such before continuing into the town of Fossil itself to refill my cooler with ice, buy beer and supplies.

I then prepped for a long drive to Eastern, WA. That'll be the next post.

[facw]

@CarsOfFortLangley

[CarsOfFortLangley]

@facw that was also on the playlist haha. I wished I had my big iron, because it would have fit the vibe

[davesaddiction]

@CarsOfFortLangley

Fantastic.

Very glad you didn't die.

[CarsOfFortLangley]

@davesaddiction As soon as my jeep suddenly stopped I was like, uh oh. Nobody knows where I am

[davesaddiction]

@CarsOfFortLangley

If you don't already have one, owning/renting one of those emergency satellite communicators/beacons would probably be a good move any time you're going solo.

[CarsOfFortLangley]

@davesaddiction yeah, it was something I'd looked at for this trip, but I didn't pull the trigger due to cost. I should have though, I didn't have reception for most of my journey other than the on highway portions.

You can also rent them for $10 a day from an Overland shop here. Should have done that.

[ClassicDatsunDebate]

@facw Ya beat me.

[ClassicDatsunDebate]

@CarsOfFortLangley What a great trip!

[RamblinRover]

@CarsOfFortLangley I've not been to the Painted Hills, but I've been to the Painted Desert.
....it's been 20 years, though.

[beefchips]

@CarsOfFortLangley damn that’s like all the places I love lol

Fossil has a kick ass bluegrass festival every 4th of July weekend. And the John day is where I dropped my first acid (sigh, memories…!)

[Wrong Wheel Drive]

@CarsOfFortLangley My favorite place to camp has rocks like that!

And the stars are pretty neat there too.

[CarsOfFortLangley]

@Wrong-Wheel-Drive that looks legit!!

[Wrong Wheel Drive]

@CarsOfFortLangley said in COFL PNW Tour: Painted Hills, Priest Hole, Burnt Ranch & The John Day River:

@Wrong-Wheel-Drive that looks legit!!

Here's an exact location for your knowledge:

https://goo.gl/maps/wyDxqHqDTc8DME5J6

36°36'15.8"N 118°07'04.0"W

Fun fact, this is within 100 miles of both the lowest and highest points in the continental US

[CarsOfFortLangley]

@Wrong-Wheel-Drive I hope I can make it that far south one day!

[Wrong Wheel Drive]

@CarsOfFortLangley said in COFL PNW Tour: Painted Hills, Priest Hole, Burnt Ranch & The John Day River:

@Wrong-Wheel-Drive I hope I can make it that far south one day!

When gas is $3 per gallon again, it's going to feel like driving is free!