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Joseph Canyon seen from highway but experienced by few (video) | Or... hitp://blog oregonlive.com/terryrichard//print.htmt OregonLive.com Everything Oregon Joseph Canyon seen from highway but experienced by few (video) Published: Saturday, July 14, 2012, 10:43 AM isp Terry Richard, The Oregonian § By Wildlife sightings come fast and furious in northeast Oregon during a drive north of Enterprise into the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest. A few miles out of town, on a county road along Beaver Creek, mule deer seem to be everywhere. No use counting, there are too many. The deer graze in belly-high grasses of open prairie, then leap a fence and vanish into Richard/The Oregonian View full size Terry ponderosa pine tree islands. The remains of a log cabin sit at the bottom of Joseph Canyon, across from where Swamp Creek enters. This wildlife show comes en route to Joseph Canyon, once a travel corridor used by the Nez Perce when tribal members moved between summer and winter homes in Wallowa County. The goal of my visit is to hike down into the canyon, while imagining what the tribe experienced twice a year long ago. Elk begin appearing near thicker stands of trees at the forest boundary. Solitary cows arch their necks and hold their heads regally as though they are wearing a crown. A coyote darts across the road, not trusting that there is no rifle in this vehicle, At Chesnimnus Creek, which joins two others to form Joseph Creek, a steel-belted kingfisher flies over the flowing water. Next comes a killdeer, then a Northern flicker. A flock of wild turkeys, complete with strutting tom, tops the bird sightings. After the seven-hour drive from Portland, I reach Coyote campground and settle in for the adventure that awaits the next day. 1 of3 7/26/2012 4:31 PM Joseph Canyon seen from highway but experienced by few (video) | Or... hitp://blog.oregonlive.com/terryrichard//printhtml it and Joseph __.., 97n is one of Oregon's mysterious places. Call the national forest office in Joseph to ask about you're likely to get a pause on the other end of the phone. The information specialist needs time to ponder who on the staff has been down there in the last five years. Trails in the canyon show on the latest Wallowa Valley Ranger District map, but would they really be there? Would they be in hiking shape? Can they even be found? After seeing Joseph Canyon several times from the highway, I decided to hike down into it. The Joseph Canyon Viewpoint is on Oregon 3, about 30 miles north of Enterprise. The roadside pullout, complete with restroom, is one of four Oregon sites in the Nez Perce National Historical Park. Joseph Canyon in northeast Oregon The highway view from the west shows a deep A hike into Joseph Canyon, from the east rim. Most people see the canyon, 2,200 feet down. Hiking from that side at the roadside viewpoint 30 miles north of 5 7 ei 5 canyon from the west, it is very steep, there is Entaniiee. ° wempant3? ene is problematic because no pretense of a trail and private land intervenes. Two miles across the way, the canyon's east side looks less steep. Maps show a trail with a Forest Service number, so there could be a route to the canyon bottom on public land open for exploration. That's where I head, hoping to see 8.6 miles of canyon bottom listed as "wild," the most stringent listing in the federal river-protection program. The management plan for Joseph Canyon was published in 1993, and today's Forest Service staff doesn't need to go there often. The Nez Perce don't go there much anymore, either, not since the tribe was ordered by the U.S. Army to leave Oregon in 1877. In recent years, the tribe has been purchasing land in northern Wallowa County and now owns more than 15,000 acres. Tribal land is used as wildlife habitat, similar to how the Forest Service manages land in Joseph Canyon. (See the story posted a minute before this one about public access to tribal land.) A road built years ago to harvest timber on Table Mountain leads to the east rim of Joseph Canyon. The setting is beautiful in early summer, with grass still green, abundant wildflowers in bloom and stately ponderosa pines offering shade as breezes whisper through their needles. No one else is around and the absence of human noise is stark. | — | More | But where is the trail? | Continuing | coverage of | traveling in the | After a day spent exploring the rim, there is no sign ofa human path into the canyon. lands of the Nez | Perce. | If indeed a trail ever existed, it has long been reclaimed by nature. The trail likely dates to the most current government topographic map, published in 1967 from research nearly a half-century old. 2 of3 7/26/2012 4:31 PM Joseph Canyon seen from highway but experienced by few (video) | Or... http://blog.oregonlive.conv/terryrichard//print.html Without a trail, the best option for reaching the bottom is to hike grassy slopes down a ridge. This is easier than expected, taking two hours down and 3 1/2 hours back up. Time is brief at the bottom, where a decrepit log cabin sits across from Swamp Creek's meeting with Joseph Creek. Hiking along the creek would have necessitated bushwhacking, since trails on maps doesn't appear to exist there, either. During the drive out, another wildlife sighting topped the others. A large adult cougar leaped offa 10-foot-high road bank, landed in the road 15 feet in front of the car, took another bound and disappeared into the forest. It happened so quickly I didn't have time to drive off the road in surprise. --Terry Richard Follow @trichardpax © 2012 OregonLive.com. All rights reserved. 3 of3 7/26/2012 4:31 PM.