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Falcon's Feast LbNA #17734

Owner:Funhog
Plant date:Aug 27, 2005
Location:
City:Terrebonne
County:Jefferson
State:Oregon
Boxes:1
Found by: Heron-A-Foot
Last found:May 21, 2008
Status:FF
Last edited:Mar 13, 2016


The first time I did this hike, I saw a prairie falcon perched on top of the rocky spire that you will see about halfway to the letterbox. The little fellow in the letterbox is surely hiding from this fearsome predator! Besides the letterbox, your rewards on this hike will be amazing views of the Cascades from Mount Adams to Mount Scott, an eagle’s-eye view of Smith Rock and wildflowers in the spring.


Be prepared for a five mile desert hike on a very well-maintained trail with little elevation gain. There is no water along the way, so bring plenty. I love this trail because it’s so good that you can truly enjoy the spectacular scenery without worrying about watching your feet all the time. The downside is that the the last mile and a half of the road to the trailhead is seasonal, open April through September. You can still walk in during the other months but the hike will be about two miles longer. If you do come in the winter months, take the walking trail to the right of the locked gate. It’s shorter than walking the road. When you reach the corral of dead trees, go left. Keep the barbed wire on your right until you meet the dirt road. Go left about 100 yards to the parking spot described below.

To the trailhead: From Highway 97 in Terrebonne, go east following signs to Smith Rock State Park. Continue about four miles past the park on First Street, which becomes NE Wilcox Ave, to the junction with Lone Pine Road. Take a left here, going about five miles to a sign on the left for Skull Hollow Campground and the Gray Butte Trailhead. Go left here on a gravel road, passing the campground. In about a mile you will cross a cattle guard. Just past this point you will see another cattle guard on the left. Turn left here and follow dirt road #5720 up past a pair of rock cribs on either side of the road, to a four way intersection. Park off the road here. The trail crosses the road about thirty feet beyond this intersection. Go left on the trail, your back to Gray Butte, the peak with the towers.

To the letterbox: You will meet three jeep roads along your way. At each of these, continue straight ahead to the narrow footpath. Don’t be tempted by steep uphill paths; keep on the trail. At the third and widest road, spot the large rocky outcropping at 245 degrees magnetic. Continue on the trail to the solitary, slender neighbor on the western side of this monolith. From the neighbor take a dozen steps at 350 degrees and then four more at 265 degrees. Look beneath a flat rock.