Rattlin' Along the Deschutes River Trail

We were walking along the old railroad grade trail and Kathy screamed, "Step back!"  Both of us heard the rattle at the same time.  This little feller was about 5 feet away from David when we stopped:

But we get ahead of ourselves.  We wanted to do an interesting hike hear Maryhill and we found the Deschutes River Trail, which extends from where the Deschutes River flows into the Columbia near Biggs Junction.  Hikers are offered three choices:  the Railroad Grade Trail, which follows an abandoned railroad grade high above the river (more on that later); the Blackberry Trail, following the Deschutes River along its shore, lined with blackberry bushes; and the Middle, or Riverview, Trail, which meanders back and forth between the other two.

Any of the trails are scenic, but we decided to head upriver on the Blackberry Trail in order to be close to the river.  Here is a view of the Deschutes looking back north toward the Columbia:

From our trailhead in the Deschutes Recreation Area, we walked across a field, and followed a sandy track that passes under powerlines with white alders leaning over the Deschutes on the right. Sagebrush bushes dominate the slope to the left and a few almond trees bloom above. After a mile or so, we passed a pumphouse and a cable pylon for what still looks like an active tram across the Deschutes: 

This was the junction with the Riverview Trail, which leads up to the left. We kept straight along the river, passing a large, shaded,lichen-covered boulder with a bench to rest. On the way, we encountered this little lizard, who was on his favorite moss-covered rock enjoying the sun:

Then we hit a short boardwalk and emerged from the trees. We passed an outhouse, and hiked up the rim of volcanic boulders to a viewpoint over Rattlesnake Rapids. Pungent desert parsley was still blooming here.   On the way, Kathy found some volcanic boulder buddies to chat with:

In some areas, we spotted the largest puffy seed balls we have ever seen on grasses or wildflowers:

Here we got a good look at Rattlesnake Rapids:

A little further on, we got another view upstream on the Deschutes:

We chose to stop and have lunch under one of the trees on the sandy beach on the near shore of the river in the photo above.  From there, we reconnoitered a path up to the higher railroad grade trail and decided to follow that back toward our trailhead.  A variety of wildflowers were blooming.  These were some of the cutest:

About a mile from our trailhead, we spotted what looked like a steep waterfall, tumbling down the bouldery lava face:

We decided to take a side hike up the Ferry Springs Trail to get a closer look at the waterfall.  Perhaps a half mile up the trail, we finally came to a viewpoint where we discovered, to our disappointment, that what had looked like a waterfall was, in fact, the mineral-bleached bed of a seasonal drainage.  Perhaps when snowmelt is at its peak, this is a dramatic waterfall; but, late in the season, it is now just a tumble of bleached grey volcanic boulders marking the path of the waterfall that was:

Somewhat disappointed, but still thrilled with the views we had, we decided to descend and finish our return along the Blackberry Trail that traces the riverbank.  We were happy we did, because Kathy spotted a great blue heron systematically fishing the shallow tail of an island in the middle of the river:

We decided that this wasn't a bad hike, as far as wildlife went.  David finally got his rattlesnake - although at the near-cost of a rattlesnake bite.  We saw lizards, smelled Russian olive and honeysuckle, enjoyed wildflowers, and explored the Deschutes River for a future fishing trip that probably won't happen.  Never mind.  We just enjoyed the afternoon, a fitting cap to our short stay in Maryhill, before we head north on US 97 toward Leavenworth, Washington.