This mesa is very similar to the one East of the cabins that we explored the day before.  The plant life is similar and the ground is covered in the same basalt rock chunks and pale brown soil.  This one however is covered in longitudinal grooves that include there own slightly different ecosystems.  In the small valleys that these grooves form there are huge sage brushes and game trails winding through the relatively dense vegetation.  There are cattle hoof prints made when the soil was muddy, they are deep and offer shelter for spiders to build there webs in.  I feel exposed here and yearn for the safe secluded feeling I get in the valley.  Although the view is absolutely gorgeous I feel somewhat out of place as I see cars roaring down the highway.

Small shrubs and grasses

The vegetation consists of small shrubs, usually no more than 12″ tall, and grasses. There are two primary types of shrubs visible; one with a reddish brown hue and the other a greenish tan. The grass is mostly dry, and tan in color.

Birds

Several birds can be heard, generally with short calls. They may be nesting along the cliff face, or perhaps in clumps of shrubs and trees that are visible at a distance.  Our view also overlooks a marshy stream feature that provides habitat for many animals.

Soil

The soil seems fine and powdery, with a reddish brown hue. There are many small rocks, 1/8″ – 1/2″, as well as larger pebbles and stones. Larger rocks are more sporadic in their placement.

Channels

Looking south, the plateau extends as far as I can see. Nearby, there are channels eroded from the bedrock. These channels range from 6′-20′ deep, and 15′-50′ wide. Larger convergences are not directly visible, but were encountered on our hike to this location.

Large Features

To our northwest, and around to the southwest, is a large distant ridge. The ridge shows signs of massive shearing, and many streams are left hanging as waterfalls.

Deep Lake is visible to the southeast, as well as the pothole and channels that we visited on the first day.

Looking northeast across the valley, I see the rock slope trail that took us to the top of the mesa, on our way to the outcropping (dubbed ‘La Mesa’). The base camp is also visible, as is Umatilla rock and the saddle.

To the south is generally smooth, slightly channeled terrain. There are occasional jutting rock formations. These formations seem to be less than 50′ tall.

Channel

The channel is approximately 10′ deep. Large stones, 6″ – 2′, cover the noddom and sides. There are piles of these stones.

Several types of shrubs grow in the channel, including sage. Most of the shrubs range between 1′ and 5′ tall. They are generally not tall enough to be visible from a distance, as they are shorter than the edges of the channel. Several dead shrubs have left twisting limbs and branches.

Spillover

The rock face seems to have been eroded away in sections where the channel meanders close to the edge of the plateau. This has left gaps in some places where water could cascade to the valley floor below. One nearby opening appears to be 30′ to 50′ across.

Hoof prints

On the level ground, near the channel, we notice hoof pronts from grazing cattle. Some of the prints are sunken 2″ – 4″ into the ground, indicating that there may have been a decent amount of moisture in the soil at some time.

Lichens and moss

Many of the nearby stones are spotted with various colors of moss. The colors are primarily amber, green, and occasionally dapples of red.

Wind

The wind feels to be rolling in from west northwest. It is generally still or faint.

Sky

The sky is overcast, and the air seems to be increasing in humidity. To the northwest, there are a few patches of blue sky along the horizon.

Clouds to the west

To the west, clouds seem to be lined up along the large land mass, and may spill over. These gathered clouds, however, do not seem to threaten our location, as the general motion of the sky is slow and southward. The clouds would seemingly flank our camp.

• The mesa was covered in small to medium size basalt rocks and lots of small shrubs, the same species that existed in the valley minus the sage brush.
• There was lots of dry moss waiting to be reconstituted
• There was some red lichen that I had not encountered anywhere else
• Although it looked like a hard place to survive, so exposed to the elements, we found some small droppings scattered throughout the area, possibly from a rodent
• Underneath the rocks there is pale brown soil, very fine almost like dust
• One has an amazing view from up here, Umatilla rock, Dry Falls Lake, Green Lake, Red Alkaline lake and the potholes can all be viewed from up here
• There are several different bird calls, I can identify a crow, swallows and possibly the call of an eagle or hawk.
• The sides of the cliff are somewhat stable, aside from the top layer of basalt rocks waiting to join there brothers on the valley floor

Several bird sounds and movements

Bird calls emenate from the walls of the small canyon near which I sit. I notice the flutter of wings as birds fly along the rock face opposite where I am sitting.

Little to no Soil

Between the rocks, there seems only to be a gradient of smaller pebbles. Very little organic matter has rooted among the rocks on this plateau, aside from occasional grasses and shrubs such as sage.

Cars, planes, and several gunshots

The sounds of civilization are apparent at this location, and include the drone of distant cars, occasional semi-truck deceleration, a few large air planes, and several distant gunshots. The roadway is visible, but distant, across the main valley.

Umatilla Campground

From our vantage point, we can see Umatilla rock and the cabins where we are based. Roughly to the north are alkaline lake and a recreational lake (Dry Falls Lake). Boats and kayaks are visible on the recreational lake.

Bird Perches

Perching places are visible around the rock faces, indicated by white layers of droppings. I wonder how many generations of birds have used these same perching rocks and nesting crevasses.

Dry Falls

From where I sit, a large expanse of Dry Falls is visible. I am particularly nearby a large channel in the face of the rocks. I am struck by the immense volume of water that would flow through this channel. The falls are vast, and I ponder the possibility of nearly 300 feet of water submerging this landscape during the superflood.

• There is very little visible soil
• ranging from pebble size to two feet wide
• vegetation is very sparse here as opposed to the walk up here
• vegetation becomes sparse about 100 feet from the edge
• to the north east is alkali lake
• to the north is green lake
• camp is south south-west from here

This is the gallery of pictures from the Southern Mesa

It feels as if nothing has changed for centuries except for the trash, which looks fairly new.  We have found remnants of wildlife, but none living. The animals have forsaken this plateau. Nothing has changed, and how could it?  This landscape looks too vast for the hands of man to reform it.

However, gradually we have begun.  I can picture a time when nothing could be heard here except the swallows, the wind and your own breath.  A plane flies overhead, and all of these sounds are overpowered.  Like the flute in a marching band – their voices lost.  When we experience chaotic noises, our own voices get lost in the mix.  Our society has grown too loud, and is becoming discomforted by silence.

People have become so alienated from true silence that when in company of others, we feel a constant need to converse.  With silence, for many people, comes anxiety.  How do we reverse this trend on a societal scale?  Individual meditation and journeys into nature can solve the problem, but only for those who are self-motivated and aware of the loudness.

The silence on top of the mesa is like an exquisite piece of glass.  It is shattered routinely by the cries of birds, the whispering wind and the occasional car traveling down the highway.  There is an odd combination of sights up here.  On one hand it feels very remote and wild.  Basalt rocks, small desert shrubs and patches of lichen that almost astonish a person with their loud and noticeable colors cover the plateau.   The only signs of life are a few small rodent droppings and sounds of birds.  I feel insignificant and small standing on the edge, with a sense of uneasiness that comes with the fact that life is impermanent, it could all be over with one false step.

On the other hand if I look west and listen carefully I am reminded of societies great reach.  I can perceive telephone and electrical poles stretching as far as the eye can see.  I can hear the cars roaring down the highway, a never-ending black snake slithering through the hills.  Even in the midst of all the majestic beauty that one can see from the top of La Mesa our civilization stubbornly refuses to be ignored.

Sunrise view of La Mesa

Carrot Spoons – Base Camp – Dry Falls Lake – Red Alkaline Lake

On the way back, we explored a huge channel, which turned out not to be a shortcut. It was great anyway!

Carrot spoons, in search of a shortcut, explore a giant channel.

Their track is meandering, and appears to fall off the edge of the mesa.

Image shows the elevation of our path.

We also stopped to admire the watering hole, a.k.a. the cattle cooler.

All of the Carrot Spoons made it safely to base camp that evening.

This is the pothole that our group went to on the first full day of being at Dry Falls. We stumbled upon it after climbing a treacherous and rocky path up to the plateau.