Photographing Owyhee Country
A trip report by David Cobb
The spectacular Owyhee country connects the borders of Oregon and Idaho along the Owyhee River and its myriad canyons. This is an area I’ve explored over the years while hiking a number of side canyons and rims, but never explored seriously with my camera until last year. This spring I returned with fellow Photo Cascadia member Sean Bagshaw and revisited some of last year’s finds while exploring new areas as well.
Beginning at Leslie Gulch, we arrived before sunset and explored our options for photographing. Given the clear blue skies we agreed that shooting down was better than the alternative, so we began to climb. The balsamroot was in bloom and supplied great foregrounds for my images of the distant spires. Not a bad way to start a trip.
At dawn we began another round of shooting; Sean heading for a spire I named “The Crown,” while I hiked up a side canyon to explore. The spires of the side canyon were magnificent, but the lack of good light directed my interest to the ground and the variety of flora. The desert paintbrush was near peak and made a nice bouquet next to a red stone.
Meeting up for breakfast, Sean and I then headed up a narrow canyon I wanted to explore last year—but thought better of at the time for safety reasons. As we climbed, the side canyon grew narrower over a few small cliffs until we eventually reached an impassable (without gear) 30-foot downspout, and I was amazed at the 10:30am golden backlight that emanated from the canyon narrows.
I didn’t want to leave, but we had a lot of country to cover so we bumped along the heavily rutted road to 3 Forks along the Owyhee River where we began a mile hike to the canyon rim to travel the overlooks. Aside from a few billion wood ticks and the occasional rattlesnake, the rim was beautiful and dramatic.
Dawn brought us to the Pillars of Rome along the banks of the Owyhee River and the soft glancing light lit the cliffs beautifully.
The Owyhee country is huge, under photographed, and the possibilities are limitless. I think of it as the Painted Hills and Smith Rocks of Oregon on steroids. I’ll be back next year, and I’m already thinking of a photography rafting trip and a backpacking trip to some more remote canyons for future exploration.
Location: Mosier, Oregon
Website: www.dmcobbphoto.com
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As a long-distance hiker, I have sharpened my photographic perspective over the years on the Pacific Crest Trail, the Continental Divide, the Canadian Divide and most recently walking across Iceland. My goal is to capture the wonders I see in nature for the enjoyment of all those with an eye for the extraordinary.