Wild Horses can’t tear me Away!
7/2/2016
Today we had the most amazing day. I had been reading about a scenic byway to the top of Steens Mountain located about 60 miles from Burns. There were also articles about bands of wild horses near the same location on Bureau of Land Management lands. After checking our maps and then checking again we decided to drive to the top of 9500+ foot Steens Mountain. The scenic route was a total of 56 miles around all on gravel roads. We also had hopes of catching a glimpse of the wild horses. Now I want to assure you reader that these are not just any wild horse but the Kiger Horse, the line that is most closely related to the Spanish Horses brought to our country by the Conquistadors. The BLM carefully manages the Kiger to maintain the beauty of the breed.
Our drive to Steens lead us past Malheur National Wildlife Refuge then on to Frenchglen were we turned onto the Steens Mountain Road. The road lead steadily upward across meadows of dry grass, mixed junipers, and sagebrush, past lava rock strewn fields to alpine meadows of short grasses, dwarf trees and wildflowers at the top.
Despite being July 2, there were many snow fields still present, some close enough to jump into. With the change in plant life, there was also a drop in temperature from the mid-80s to the mid-60s. The view from the top was truly awesome! Looking west down across the gorge down to the plains below took my breath away.
The eastern side of the mountain is a sheer cliff dropping down to the Alvort Desert over 9000 feet below.
The 27-mile descent was steeper with deep drop-offs on the driver’s side, Tom kept the truck in a low gear most the journey down. We made frequent photography stops as each twist and turn of the road offered a new angle or view.
Steens is the largest fault-block mountain in North America, thrust up over 20 million years ago. The Steens Mountain Wilderness covers over 170,000 acres of land and is administered by the Bureau of Land Management.
Nearing the lower elevations I spied a watering hole in the distance with a group of animals. Were they? Could they? Yes, they were a wild horse band! We could not believe how lucky we were. Tom when off the road on to a narrow track for a closer look. The band was about 30 horse, mostly adults with a few foals. The standard for the Keger Mustang is Dun coloration but there were several pintos, brown or black with white markings, present. Many of the horse were frolicking, tussling each other, nipping and rolling in the mud. Soon a second band arrived led by a beautiful black and white pinto. They only paused to drink then trailed up the hill away from the pond. We watched and photographed the mustangs until this band also followed their leader up the hill at a gallop.
If you would like to read more about these incredible horses check these pages:
http://www.blm.gov/or/districts/burns/wildhorse/kiger.php
https://returntofreedom.org/horses/spirit/
As we have traveled over the past weeks the comment has often been ‘that was unbelievable" but today it was! The views and the horses were so beautiful, astonishing, awe-inspiring that I cannot imagine what the next weeks will hold.
July 3rd, 2016