As fall turns to winter and we must face the inevitable onslaught of moisture, I cringe at the thought of not being able to get outside “hiking” as much. One thought is to head east, once you hit the high arid desert of central Oregon I believe the rain should subside; granted you may have to deal with colder temperatures and possibly snow.  The optimist in me believes that there must be some pockets where it is not bone chilling cold and/or raining/snowing. This is how I discovered Maupin.

 

Discovering Maupin

This hope is what took me to Maupin, Oregon recently on a hiking adventure.  To my delight, I found a stretch of very lightly traveled road that parallels the Deschutes River.  It did not come without some consternation.  I did a 100 mile bike ride around Maupin 10+ years ago and had this paved road in my mind from that former experience.  I had failed to remember the cattle crossing grates that I had very easily walked my bike across previously.  So, the “work around” involved parking in between cattle crossing grates that were about 2.5 miles apart.  With an out and back I was able to get just over 5 miles of hiking in.  This road was the most tranquil setting for a hike that I have experienced yet.  The constant sound of the flowing water was very soothing; combined with about as flat of a grade as you will find made the hike pretty grand effort wise.  I actually felt like I was going slightly downhill the entire time.

 

My Route

To get to Maupin from Portland, I took Highway 26 to Mt. Hood, then continued on 216/197. This is likely the most direct and scenic route. Once in Maupin, I pushed along a road labeled “BLM Access Road” on Google Maps. The first cattle grate on the route is located at coordinates 45.166399, -121.088219. I recommend parking on the southwest side of the grate for easier access. After the hike, I was definitely in a caloric deficit. To fix that, I drove north on 197 to The Dalles, then took I-84 to Hood River. There, I refueled with some well-earned beer and pizza before heading back to Portland. I hope to return to this area when winter sets in and the rain hits Portland. How about you—where do you go for adventure and exercise during the rainy season?