Metolius River

For those of us who live our daily lives in the lowlands of the Tualatin Valley in western Oregon, getting out of Dodge usually means heading to the coast or getting up to the mountains.  These destinations are close by and make for an easy road trip for the most part. About 18 months ago I read an article about the Metolius River and Camp Sherman up in central Oregon. This area was described as great destination for nature lovers and fly fishermen. And even though we have lived in Oregon for more than 30 years, we had not been to the Metolius River until last week. On our short five day trip, we found it to be a fascinating place and it did live up to the "hype."

Typical view along upper Metolius - taken on an evening walk.

In the late 1800's, farmers living in Sherman county needed a place to escape the hot dry weather of eastern Oregon summers. They ended up making a seasonal encampment along the Metolius at what is now Camp Sherman. Over the years it has become more of a summer camp for those who favor the low key approach to relaxing in the forest: No golf courses or big water parks, just thousands of acres of ponderosa pines and the cool Metolius river. There are several campgrounds as well as many cabin rental locations in the area. We stayed in a remodeled cabin along the river that had some comfy recliners as well as a modern kitchen - now that's a great escape!

The river is a mere 29 miles long, ending up in Lake Billy Chinook; and it's also an official Wild and Scenic river. Once you visit here, you realize why. The shallow river originates from a hole in the ground, oddly called "Head of the Metolius." Here, crystal-clear, cool, 48 degree water flows out at a constant 55,000 gallons a minute. As the river heads downstream, another two dozen springs feed into it, increasing the flow to about 600,000 gallons per minute. The upper 11 miles of the river is designated as a catch and release area for trout. Fishermen must use barbless, fly lures only on this section.


Much of the river has hiking trails on either side, right along the water. This is great for us hiker, nature lover types as well as those fly fishermen. We did see several of them in action as we hiked portions of the trail. And just to calibrate the dedication of these folks, the back end of the Camp Sherman store has a display of hundreds of fly lures you can choose from for your day on the river! In fact, about one third of the whole store, which is about the size of a three car garage, is dovoted to fishing gear!

Springs pour into the river along the way

Deeper, faster flow at Wizard Falls

As we hiked and biked around the area, we did not spot a wealth of wildflowers during this time. The summers are normally very dry up here and most of the flowers come out in late spring. Nevertheless, we did log a few interesting finds. Here's a roundup of those hardy survivors!

Great Hedge Nettle (Stachys chamisonis var. cooleyae)

This colorful stuff was growing just about everywhere along the river, as well as on logs and the small islands in the river.

Western Jacob's Ladder (Polemonium occidentale)

Another moisture loving plant showing its stuff along the river. Saw just a few of these near our cabin.

Eaton's Aster (Symphyotrichum eatonii)

These daisy-looking relatives were found in clumps along the riverbanks, where there was enough sun and moisture to make their growth viable.

Giant Mountain Aster (Canadanthus aster)

More of a true aster, we found very few of these still in bloom along the riverside trails. The skinny rays have and almost fan-like quality.

Pacific Water Parsley (Oenanthe sarmentosa)

This is one plant I would expect to see growing near the river. It seemed to favor old logs and the lush island and outcroppings in the river. 

Canada Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis)

You'll find this familiar face just about anywhere you go in the mountains in late summer. Mostly in meadows and disturbed areas.

Velvet Lupine (Lupinus leucophyllus)

This lovely lupine is my surprising new find of the journey. I ran into it while riding my bike up to Suttle lake. They were about spent but noticed these in a shady spot right along the trail. They are listed as "uncommon" in the guide and can have white or lavender flowers. The leaves do have a velvety quality, so the name is appropriate.

     

Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel (Callospermophilus lateralis)

Ok, it's not a wildflower, but we did see lots of them - and they do have the cute factor advantage! This guy was hanging out at the Head of the Metolius.

Links:

More photos of our visit.

Tree Signs

Deschutes Land Trust

Camp Sherman Information