Remarks:
If you’re looking for that once-in-a-lifetime chance at a remote rural getaway, this is it! Our 306-acre ranch is located ten miles east of Halfway, Oregon, and within the boundaries of the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area. We’re bordered all around by private timber/grazing land and US Forest Service land, none of it open to development under current law; there are no other residential properties within several miles of ours. Our property is bisected by nearly two miles of North Pine Creek, and is zoned EFU and Timber/Grazing. Aside from North Pine, three streams cross the property and numerous springs dot the landscape.
Centered on the site of an 1890’s orchardist’s homestead, the property features hundreds of fruit trees—some towering old originals and many, many volunteers—producing cherries, pears, apples, and plums from early summer through mid-fall. Raspberries, blackberries, elderberries, and numerous other berry varieties flourish in the area. Gardening is abundant, with good soil, ample water, and a long growing season.
Wildlife to be seen regularly on this property—the front deck, with its view of the opposing canyon wall, is one of the all-time great places to relax and watch for critters—include turkey, deer, elk, raccoons, quail, grouse, bald eagles, Canada geese, ducks, cranes, herons, quail, grouse, pheasant, and countless other varieties of birds. Less common but still sighted now and then are bears, cougars, wolves, and coyotes. (Only the raccoons have ever proven to be a nuisance.) This property qualifies for Oregon Landowner Preference hunting tags for all large game.
The property is bisected by Forest Road 39, otherwise known as the Wallowa Mountain Loop Road—in warm months, the shortest route between Halfway and Joseph, Oregon. The road is closed during the winter months, which for us means plowing ourselves an access lane 1.4 miles to Highway 82; other than our single access lane, 39 becomes a designated snowmobile route from the midline of our property to the Recreation Area’s winter sports lodge at Salt Creek Summit, on the Wallowa County side of the mountains, about 40 miles away
. This property is off-grid, but we enjoy all the bells and whistles of modern living. Our 1000-watt solar array, with 8,000 watt inverter, 1300 amp-hour battery bank, and 15 KW diesel backup generator power a modern household with satellite television (we discontinued the DirecTV service, but it’s still available), high-speed DSL internet service, and landline phones. (Sorry, but at this point, our deep canyon country is still not friendly to cell phones.)
North Pine Creek enjoys four distinct and extended seasons. Over the past ten years, winters have been mild—we’ve had two “open” winters, without lasting snow—and summers have flirted only briefly with the low 90’s. While our elevation at the house is only about 2400 feet above sea level, the 6:00 PM sunset in summer provides a reliable downslope breeze and early relief from the highs of midday; outdoor work or play in the evening, though, is still brightly lit by reflected light from the opposing canyon wall.
We’ve run this place as a horse ranch, with ample grazing for our small herd of purebred Arabian and Andalusian horses; the need to have our own irrigated hayfields is our motivation for looking elsewhere as we enter our 60’s. What the property could be, however, is limited only by the imagination. A family could simply live here and enjoy the daily communion with nature—especially a family that derived most of its income from working online. It would make a superb site for a snowmobiling, trail-riding, or hunting and fishing lodge, remote and accessible at the same time, and with direct access to National Forest land; a survivalist’s dream for those who think 2012 might be the end of the road; an organic fruit and vegetable paradise. | 
