Once when I was a fisherman I came here with like minded friends thinking this must be a "Glory Hole" for trout. Wrong. Several tough hikes down to the river produced only suckerfish. The camping spot at the top of the rim however is spectacular and it’s become one of our all time favorites. You won't find "Camp Krummholz" on any map. It's a nickname we gave it. Krummholz is German for "crooked wood"; you'll understand the nickname when you see the place. To reach it you will need a high-clearance vehicle at a minimum, with 4-wheel drive being highly recommended.
This can be either a simple “drive-by” cache, or for the more adventurous it can be an excellent base camp from which to hunt the nearby "Hole of Inaccessibility" bonus cache as well as several other fine caches located in this general area. Should you decide to camp here please keep in mind that there are no services of any kind: NO WATER, no toilets, no picnic tables, no shelter, nothing. Also, you are completely at the mercy of Mother Nature, including wind storms, lightning, hail, blazing heat in summer or freezing cold and snow in spring and fall. Plus there's rattlesnakes, ticks, horseflies, and well, you name it. Your cell phone may not work here and Madras is nearly an hour's drive away. It's not a good place for young kids or dogs and it's not for the faint of heart, but if you're planning to go to Burning Man this year and want to hone your extreme camping skills, I can't think of a better place.
Rarely have I seen other people here, but on one trip I saw more wildlife in this area in two days than I have EVER seen in a single camping trip: deer, snakes, lizards, coyote, scorpions, wild turkey, eagles, hawks plus lots of other bird species. Once we were treated to what I believe was an emerging brood of cicadas. Perched in the junipers by the thousands they filled the air with a very strange sound.
In the logbook you'll find the coordinates for the "Hole of Inaccessibility" bonus cache. It involves a steep 700 foot hike down to the river in beautiful area few people ever see.
The best road map of the area is the Deschutes National Forest map. See my map below for the best route in from Lake Billy Chinook. You’ll encounter a cattle gate with a US Forest Service sign on it at the place called “Geneva (Site)” on the map. This is just as you turn onto the last 3 mile leg of your journey. The gate is usually open but if not be sure to close it behind you. At the end of this main road is an excellent camping spot we call "Middle Camp". From Middle Camp there is a jeep trail which leads south along the canyon rim to another possible camping spot “South Camp” and then on to the cache. Shortly before you reach Middle Camp there’s a jeep trail we call "North Road" which leads off to "North Camp", which is another great spot. Here’s another map that shows the area in detail including some important waypoints for the bonus cache.
Middle Camp can be reached by most any vehicle with good ground clearance and the cache is a short walk from there. The jeep trails that lead north and south however definitely require 4 wheel drive. For camping an excellent rig would be a pickup with a camper, but I’ve been here many times with a Subaru wagon and a tent and been a happy camper. The weather will play a huge roll in your experience. On the drive out after placing the caches we encountered a downed tree across the road that had been knocked over by a windstorm the previous night. We had no saw with us but were lucky enough to be able to 4-wheel around it. Take along a set of FRS radios or CB's if you have them. The campgrounds at Lake Billy Chinook aren't terribly far as the crow flies and neither is HWY 97. You may be able to reach someone by radio if need be.
The original contents of the cache include:
Zag (TB), Bugz Eye magnifier, an old compass, mini garlic press, nice mirror beads my wife made and a deck of World Map playing cards. The best goodies are of course in the bonus cache!
Come to this place well prepared and you will thoroughly enjoy your adventure. It may become one of your favorite places too!