Steens Mountain

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 23:59:59 -800

The Steens Mountains are a line of mountains heaved skywards by a thrust fault
running northeasterly through southeastern Oregon. The west side of the
mountain is fairly tame, rising 5,700 feet over the course of 15-20 miles. The
eastern side, however, drops the same height in perhaps a quarter of a mile,
providing awesome views of the sky, the Alvord desert, and pretty much anything
one could want to see in any direction. Steens Mountain Loop is a forty-mile
long gravel road that goes up one ridge of the backside of the mountain and down
the other, but more about that later. The north loop is relatively straight and
boring; one can drive quite fast over the rocks.