Elevation Change: 898 feet
Distance: 3.2 mile loop, 4 miles if you also do the Island In Time which goes into the basin
Difficulty: "Get me off this f***king mountain!"
Apologies to William Sullivan. He's not really a lying liar. We just have VERY different definitions of what constitutes an "easy" hike. It's not just him either, All Trails rates this trail "easy" too.
Who is William Sullivan? He's a superhiker. He is "the author of eighteen books about Oregon hiking history, adventure, and mystery." This is the book of his that I own:
It's a fantastic resource for more advanced hikers. It's probably a good resource for less advanced hikers, it just so happens we have a lot of steep mountains around here. There are so many hikes I'd love to do up in the Wallowa's but know they aren't going to be possible for me given my brace and balance issues. It's a bummer.
Anyways, he ranks Blue Basin as an easy hike. This hike was the most challenging hike I've ever done. Going up it was steep which is physically challenging but I just took A LOT of breathing and scenery breaks. I mean, the scenery is amazing out there. It makes me feel like what another planet might look like. Going down the hill was awful. The trail is loose gravel and sand/dirt so I slipped a lot. As I've said before, my biggest trouble is going downhill because of a gimpy foot that doesn't always land right where I need it too, the angle of my foot is hindered by my brace, and my balance/depth perception is awful. After about the 8th time slipping and falling, my legs were just shaking, I was so angry, frustrated, and just ready to be done. At one point I know there were tears. It was bad.
But please, try it. It really is an amazing trail, the scenery is like nothing else, it's phenomenal. It's been almost 2 years since I've done this hike and I don't regret doing it, it was worth the frustration and anger to say I "conquered" it. It definitely tested my abilities.
Sullivan says, "If you're pressed for time, head to the right (after the trailhead) to the Island in Time Trail, which ambles up 0.6 miles up a green creekbed to trail's end in an eerie badlands canyon of volcanic ash."
This Island in Time trail is SUPER user friendly, you can see the bridges and it's a nice wide trail. We didn't go all the way in, you can see the storm that was approaching.
Sullivan continues, "If you have more time, start by keeping left on the Blue Basin Overlook Trail. This 3.2 mile loop path climbs, steeply at times, around the scenic canyon's rim. Then it descends in 21 switchbacks."
Going up:
starting out
Looking back, maybe halfway to the top. You can see that it's not a super wide path.
Also looking back. This super steep part had this "bridge". It definitely helped with footing on the gravel-y path.
At the top! I wish the true, vivid colors of the landscape could be picked up by camera.
Overlooking the basin
One of the few pics I got on the harrowing way down, it's looking down at the Island in Time trail that goes into the basin.
Directions:
Blue Basin Overlook Trail is out in the middle of nowhere--which is awesome. Go on Highway 26 83 miles east of Prineville or 38 miles west of John Day to Picture Gorge canyon (super cool!) and turn north on Highway 19. A couple miles up there's the John Day Fossil Beds Visitor Center, highly recommended. A couple more miles north of the visitor center, turn right on the Blue Basin trailhead.
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