Christmastree Springs.
Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2011 3:57 pmYesterday I took my bike up to Christmas Tree springs.
http://www.blackturtle.us/DV_SITES/SOUTHARGUS/map.html
I had to walk the bike most of the way up but it was fun coming down till I almost scared a guy off his horse. When I put on the breaks and tried to stop the skidding only scared him more. Sorry dude! Whoever you were.
Actually all there was, was a tree and some grass and a little water coming out of the ground. The tunnel it talks about is a little square of cement barely big enough for a person to squeeze inside. I didn't go inside it but I peeked inside and all there was, was some wet sand.
The pipe that was supposed to have water coming out of it was all rusty and dry. But there was a little water dribbling out of the ground below it.
The only tree there was the cottonwood tree it mentioned and some suckers growing out of it. The whole area was fenced off with barbed wire. I could have easily crawled past but all there was, was the tree, some weeds and some grass. I wonder where it got it's Christmas Tree name from. If there was a Christmas tree there at one time. Somebody must have chopped it down a long time ago.
When you get to the base it is barricaded off. Not that anyone could drive up it anyway. You will probably need a four wheel drive if you are going to drive there. It's probably a few hundred yards up a steep hill from where the road ends. The whole thing is probably about three miles from the Trails restaurant. You can see the tree from way off in the distance, (it looks like a small green dot,) from the horse corrals and there is a small mountain you have to go around just out of town that obstructs it's view. Going up I took the foot trails which led in the opposite direction as the road. It looked more direct but I had to do a lot of doubling back.
Seems like a long way to go just to see a tree and a little trickle of water. Especially coming from someone who is used to the Columbia river and the ocean.
http://www.blackturtle.us/DV_SITES/SOUTHARGUS/map.html
The main site of interest in Wilson Canyon is probably Christmas Tree Springs. The springs consists of a pipe from which water constantly trickles into a small pool. A cottonwood tree grows next to this pool. The BLM recently blocked vehicular access to the spring and so you have to walk a couple of hundred feet now to reach it. A tunnel is located right next to the springs. To reach Wilson Canyon drive to the corrals in Pioneer Point and follow the dirt road that extends beyond the corrals. (To get to the corrals turn west at the Trails Restaurant and drive to the top of Cedar Street. Take the final right near the top onto 3rd Street, which takes you north a couple hundred yards to the corrals.)
I had to walk the bike most of the way up but it was fun coming down till I almost scared a guy off his horse. When I put on the breaks and tried to stop the skidding only scared him more. Sorry dude! Whoever you were.
Actually all there was, was a tree and some grass and a little water coming out of the ground. The tunnel it talks about is a little square of cement barely big enough for a person to squeeze inside. I didn't go inside it but I peeked inside and all there was, was some wet sand.
The pipe that was supposed to have water coming out of it was all rusty and dry. But there was a little water dribbling out of the ground below it.
The only tree there was the cottonwood tree it mentioned and some suckers growing out of it. The whole area was fenced off with barbed wire. I could have easily crawled past but all there was, was the tree, some weeds and some grass. I wonder where it got it's Christmas Tree name from. If there was a Christmas tree there at one time. Somebody must have chopped it down a long time ago.
When you get to the base it is barricaded off. Not that anyone could drive up it anyway. You will probably need a four wheel drive if you are going to drive there. It's probably a few hundred yards up a steep hill from where the road ends. The whole thing is probably about three miles from the Trails restaurant. You can see the tree from way off in the distance, (it looks like a small green dot,) from the horse corrals and there is a small mountain you have to go around just out of town that obstructs it's view. Going up I took the foot trails which led in the opposite direction as the road. It looked more direct but I had to do a lot of doubling back.
Seems like a long way to go just to see a tree and a little trickle of water. Especially coming from someone who is used to the Columbia river and the ocean.
