Fields Peak: A New Summit Close to Home
On Saturday, July 13th 2024, Katie and I woke up to a 4AM alarm and headed out to a trailhead just 29 miles from home that we’d never been to before. It’s a less popular portion of the Malheur forest for visitors but definitely a popular region for locals, especially in hunting season. Unfortunately, finding the trailhead was an adventure on its own, as mapped pins on google take you decidedly down the wrong gnarly road. After the initial stress of finding the trailhead, we had a tough time closing the cattle gate behind us due to the tension in the barbed wire. But after a bit of grunting and a two-person effort to close the gate, we turned to the steep two track road that makes up the trail and started climbing.
We’d initially planned to be hiking before sunrise, but having to stop for gas and the additional difficulty finding the trailhead meant we saw the colors of sunrise in the car and began our hike shortly afterward. The temperature at the start of our hike was a warm 55 degrees. I say warm because 55 degrees is warm for 5,500 feet before 6AM.
Katie and I were constantly surprised by the views on this hike and maybe more surprised that this isn’t a more popular trail in the forest. Wildflowers line the road for nearly the entire hike, and the rolling foothills southwest of the Aldrich range were clothed in the soft light from the morning sun as we continued ever upward.
The trail was relentlessly steep, rarely ever level, and almost never downhill. We took many rest breaks for water and snacks.
This hike is definitely best done in the morning in the summer, as you’ll find good shade on the west slope of the mountain. When you clear the trees and move along the most exposed portion of the trail, you’ll still be in the shadow of the summit block if you’re early enough.
Trailside views are nearly constant through this hike. The scenes above are from the west face, just below the summit, looking north and northwest. Wildfire smoke moved into our area on Tuesday, July ninth, but the haze this morning was significantly better to what it became later in the afternoon.
The final two tenths of a mile course eastward along the north face and then southwest for the final pitch up to the summit.
I still can’t get over the beauty of this place and how unpopular or unhiked it is or seems to be.
The final stretch to the summit, as seen from the air.
By the time we reached the summit, my watch read that we’d hiked up 1,799 ft and only descended 6ft along the 2.3 mile climb. At 7,342ft the summit is the tallest peak in the Aldrich range. Not bad for a Saturday morning!
The summit shows remnants of an old fire lookout. Haze from a rapidly growing fire to the southeast of the peak (to the right of the image above) masks the layers of the Aldrich and Strawberry Mountains in the background.
We started hiking down at about 8:45AM, and the sun was just starting to clear the summit, warming the trail significantly. The hike down was notably warmer, and we were glad to be going downhill rather than up as the temperatures started to rise.
I didn’t take nearly as many photos on the hike down, focusing more on getting back to the car as the temperatures were forecasted with potential to set records. If the hike up was an aerobic challenge, the hike down was a muscular one. Fatigue set in with the constant need to control my bodyweight down the 1,800’ back to the car. We made it back to the car in just over an hour (it took an hour and a half to climb) with an end temperature around 77 degrees. Feeling accomplished, we headed to the Dayville Cafe with tired pups for a delicious breakfast.
Hope you’ve enjoyed this visual journal. Thanks for being here.
Until next time,