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| Odell Butte and Glass Butte, OR | | -
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| | Odell Butte and Glass Butte, OR | | | |
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Odell Butte and Glass Butte, OR
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| Hiking | 2.03 Miles |
782 AEG |
| | Hiking | 2.03 Miles | | | |
| 782 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no linked trail guides |
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| no partners | | These are 2 separate hikes, with each going to an Oregon peak.
Odell Butte
(1.67 miles with 588 feet of AEG)
Odell Butte (elevation of 7,032 feet and prominence of 2,192 feet) is south of Bend. There is a well graded gravel road that goes to a locked gate about 3/4 mile from the summit; most any vehicle can make the drive to the gate.
I parked at the gate and hiked on the road up to the summit, which has a fire lookout on it. Odell Butte has been used as a fire lookout since as early as 1907. It was used as an emergency lookout until a tower was built in 1932. The current lookout structure is a 30 foot treated wood tower with a cab and catwalk. It was built in 1961 and continues in service to this day.
The lookout was manned when I was there and the guy working there was kind enough to let me go up in the tower. There were some nice views to the west of snow-capped mountains in the Cascades, including Mount Thielsen, the "lightning rod of the Cascades". The highpoint of Odell Butte is atop a rock outcropping next to the lookout structure. The best way to get to the highpoint is to go about half-way up the lookout stairs, step over the hand railing to get on the rock outcropping, and then make a short class 2+ move to the top of the outcropping, where the benchmark disk resides.
Here is an interesting anecdote about Odell Butte:
December 1930: "Last summer the Odell Butte Emergency Lookout, Jack Benson, was confronted with a very unpleasant situation. Pack rats were attempting to carry off bodily both him and his camp. After many nights of ferocious battling and loss of sleep, he decided something must be done to rid the mountain of these unwelcome visitors. He tried many hand-fashioned traps, but the rats ignored them completely. When about to give up in despair, a tin can gave him a new idea. He took a can and cut the bottom crosswise, dividing it into quarters. These sharp-pointed quarters he pushed in, leaving an opening just large enough for the head of a rat. The principle of the trap was that a rat, upon sticking its head through the opening, would be securely held by the sharp points.
Jack fixed one can, baited it, and then went to bed, hoping the trap would work. During the night he was awakened by the sound of a tin can being thumped on rocks. Investigation proved a rat was in his trap. Right then and there, Jack added six more traps to his list, baited them, and returned to bed in much better spirits. The next morning seven rats were found running around with tin can bells. It was not long until Jack could sleep peacefully all night. C.H. Overbay" (Six Twenty-Six)
Glass Butte
(0.36 miles with 194 feet of AEG)
After hiking up to Odell Butte, I set off for Twin Falls, Idaho for another hiking adventure the next day. As I was driving on Highway 20 through the high desert plains of central Oregon, in between Bend and Burns, I noticed what appeared to be a prominent peak with some antennae on top of it.
Naturally, I pulled off the road to do some quick research to see what the peak was. It turned out to be Glass Butte (elevation of 6,380 feet and prominence of 1,620 feet). I discovered that there was a driveable road to the top so I got some directions and made my way up there. This is on BLM land, so there were no access issues. I drove almost to the top, but the road got really steep just below the summit, so I parked and made a short hike out of it. It was easy to get to the highpoint, and I saw the benchmark and one reference mark. There were no trees up there so the views were expansive. On the drive I passed by Little Glass Butte (elevation of 6,160 feet and prominence of 1,220 feet); unfortunately, I did not have time to make my way to the summit of Little Glass Butte.
When I got back home I discovered that these two buttes have some of the largest and most diverse deposits of obsidian in the world. Rockhounds come from all over to find gem quality obsidian which apparently is laying around everywhere on these two buttes, and there are many different colors of obsidian: mahogany, red, flame, midnight lace, jet black, pumpkin, brown, rainbow, gold sheen, silver sheen, green, lizard skin, snowflake, and more. Unfortunately I did not know about the obsidian (although the name of the buttes provided a clue), so I did not pay attention to what might be laying on the ground. If I am ever back in the area I'll have to head up to the summit of Little Glass Butte, and this time I'll be on the lookout for some colorful obsidian! |
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| Civilization is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there |
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