Thursday, January 31, 2019

Peak 3081 / Deer Butte / Pinnacle Point Hike

I've been working a few nights recently so I took a Wednesday morning off and climbed some peaks.  We've had really mild winter weather and the conditions were too perfect to pass up.  The objectives were Peak 3081, Deer Butte, and Pinnacle Point along the Owyhee River outside of Adrian, OR (the home of the Adrian Antelopes).

I got to the base of Peak 3081 around 8:30am and the temperature was a brisk 18℉.  Getting there required fording the Owyhee River in the XTerra which was fun to do, and a first since I bought the vehicle.  At the base of the peak is the Malheur Siphon, part of a canal system from the Owyhee Reservoir to the Ontario, OR, area.  Peak 3081 was a very enjoyable hike over open terrain.  I even spotted a few pronghorn from a distance.

After returning to my vehicle I parked at Snively Hot Springs (about a mile away) and did the combo hike of Deer Butte and Pinnacle Point.  Deer Butte has a cliffy face which made for some fun hiking over boulders with a few class 3 moves.  Amongst the rocks were a number of chukars, which are always a nice surprise.  The summit is flat and underwhelming but it did have good views of the surrounding country.  Pinnacle Point was an easy hike from Deer Butte.  It was the least remarkable summit but did allow for spotting more pronghorn moving across the open flats.

Once the sun came out the temperature warmed up to the upper 30s.  It was a beautiful mild winter day and way better than a morning at work!

Peak 3081 / Deer Butte / Pinnacle Point Hike Photos
Peak 3081 GPS Track
Deer Butte / Pinnacle Point GPS Track

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