Marys Creek

Hikes: D, O.
Total Distance, D: 7 miles.
Difficulty: Levels I, II.
Season: February 25-May 15.
USGS Map: Buster Butte.
BLM 100K Map: Sheep Creek.
Dirt Road Miles: 5 gravel, 1/4 poor dirt.
PLSS Location: Section 5, T13S R6E.

Introduction: Marys and Sheep Creeks are two of the least known tributaries to the Bruneau River. The creeks and their adjacent plateau lands are part of the Bruneau River Wilderness Study Area. Both offer excellent hiking. This walk is especially appealing because of its virtually year-round access. Just five gravel road miles off ID-51, it offers a fine break from the long drive to Elko.
  The hike follows the rim of Marys Creek, with excellent views into the canyon starting 1 1/2 miles in. It then descends the Tindall Trail to the confluence of Marys and Sheep Creeks. Marys Creek Canyon, a rugged route that offers one of the desert's great challenges, is avoided. (The author has heard horror stories of a hiking group which descended lemming-like into the canyon and had a very tough time.)

The Hike: The very first part of the hike gives you an option. You can make a very gentle climb from the trailhead to what quickly becomes the rim of Marys Creek canyon. Or, you can take a tougher hike down the creek to the big rockslide, and then climb out. Either way, as you begin take note of how quickly the canyon walls steepen.
  To see the slide, walk as far down Marys Creek as you can, moving around junipers and across grassy bars, and leaving the cow zone very quickly. After a mile you come to a field of enormous boulders which blocks the way. Perhaps a quick wade (swim?) would get you around them and on down the canyon for a truly wild walk.
  Now that you've seen the rockfall, turn back upstream and watch the slopes to the right. You'll eventually be able to pick out a reasonable (for you) slope to climb out of the canyon, where you can join the rim route.
  At times a faint trail moves along the rim, at times it parallels it 50 feet away. The best hiking stays close to the edge, both for the constantly changing views down Marys Creek and for the superior vegetation near and just under the rim. About the only checkpoint along the rim is the way the USGS map shows meeting the rim near 5028, about 3 miles in. From there you quickly arrive at the main way's end, which is the start of the Tindall Trail (W3).
  That is a surprisingly good route that starts in a grassy draw, stays on the draw's right side, and then takes you down to the confluence of Marys and Sheep Creeks (D). There is a level bench down there, but it is grazed. If the cows aren't around, it would make a decent overnight campsite.
  The author didn't follow the rim on his return. Instead, he took the main way (marked Jeep Trail on the USGS map). Hill 5161 offers the usual stunning Owyhee Plateau scenery. From there, you can cut left down to the trailhead.

Extensions: From the confluence of Marys and Sheep Creeks, you can explore the rugged canyons up or down Sheep or up Marys. If you stay on the west rim above Sheep Creek, you can also continue 3 1/2 miles north to Bighorn Country. This is a stunningly scenic basin where Louse Creek enters Sheep Creek.

Access: Drive to the Desert Road, 1/2 mile south of Grasmere on ID-51, and turn left (W1). Five miles from the highway you come to Marys Creek. Turn left on a road (W2) through the cow zone, and park after 1/4 mile. This is the author's favorite site for a developed campground in Owyhee County. All that has to be done, in addition to putting in picnic tables, outhouses, and fencing, is to truck in 80 loads of topsoil and 10 tons of grass seed to repair the grazing damage. (When you visit, see if the rancher continues to put salt blocks right next to the creek.)