## With a beautiful day upcoming it was time to get out for a hike. This was the last nice day before snow and a downturn in the temperature was forecast. I chose to try out the Sand Ridge Trail in the Deschutes Canyon-Steelhead Falls Wilderness Study Area. I had heard about the magnificent views the trail afforded of the Cascade Mountain Range here in Central Oregon but was a little surprised by the rock spires I would find on this trail. So follow along and let's begin the visual tour!
Not far from the trailhead You are met by this spectacular view of the Cascades. There was a bit of a haze in the air from prescribed burns. While these can be a pain while trying to enjoy the outdoors, they are quite useful in mitigating larger unwanted wild fires.
A closer look at Broken Top and The Three Sisters.
Near the edge of the canyon the first spire comes into view along with the Deschutes River down below.
A closer look. If you zoom in near the top you might be able to see what looks like climbing rope?
My view to the left and the next destination on the trail.
Another Cascade Peak, Mt Jefferson in the distance.
A look back at the first spire with Three Fingered Jack peaking over the foot hills.
Time to head down toward the next spires.
A look up the Deschutes River Canyon.
Some more of the spires.
If you zoom in and look closely at the right shaded area near the top it looks like there may be an eagle's nest. Also the lone balancing boulder in that area is kind of interesting.
A strange circular feature in the rocks. Carved long ago by river water?
Hope you enjoyed this visual tour! Please feel free to make comments or ask me any questions about this post.
Photos taken by me, @oldmans, with a Nikon D3300 and some Lightroom post processing.
Please visit Pinmapple to see the locations of some of my other posts.
Oregon, United States
