Day 1: Wallowa Lake Trailhead to Ice Lake
After a good night sleep and a great cowboy breakfast in Joseph, we drove to the trailhead on a wonderful and already warm day. We noticed a lot of cars parked in the area but not many backpackers so we couldn’t predict what we would find. We started our hike on a dusty trail that soon made a turn and gave us a view of the west fork of the Wallowa River which we would follow for most of the day. From that turn, we continued uneventfully thru dense forest with limited peak views in the distance. At around noon, we finally reached a meadow that gave us a better view of the canyon and the trail sign indicating our turn to Ice Lake. Looking at the map, we knew we had to cross the river so we followed the trail to a small campsite to find a fast moving river and no bridge. Just up from where the bridge was supposed to be, we found the reason for no bridge. A Big tree had taken it down but luckily created a big pile of logs that we could use to cross. Right after that, we found our first interesting view. The forest opened up to a small meadow with Craig Mountain right up ahead that also gave us an idea of the climb ahead of us
After the meadow, we got back in the forest and quickly started gaining elevation thru a series of switchbacks that eventually would lead us to Adam Creek. At that point we could still see the creek but the views behind us were outstanding as we could see the valley we just hiked thru. We continued on more switchbacks, this time under the inclement sun up to a second point where we did get a full view of the creek all the way up to the saddle. We knew this creek was the outlet of Ice Lake but what we were not expecting was to find a lot of waterfalls.
As we traversed and continued climbing, we passed by a spectacular waterfall were we took a mental note to come back later in the evening. On top of this waterfall, we found a big meadow with a new view of the range but no clear idea where we were going. We made numerous guesses as to where the lake would be and all were wrong. After traversing the meadow on the high side, we got back to the creek and more switchbacks, each offering a new perspective of Adam Creek and the Valley behind us. By then we knew that getting to the lake would be one of those surprise moments were you make a turn and voila! There it is. And certainly it was. We noticed that the trail forked to either side of the lake and opted for the left as it looked to be the trail to potential campsites. Right after crossing the outlet, we found a perfect site with room for our tents and my hammock. Being a bit early, Mark and I decided to hike back down to the waterfall to explore a bit more and take a couple of pictures. The sun had already moved bellow the ridgeline which shadowed the whole Adam Creek Valley while still illuminating the ridge on the other side of the Wallowa River valley. Before getting to the waterfall we wanted to go to, we took a short detour to an upper waterfall we had heard before. The fall was as beautiful as the other one as it had a small drop off at the top and then was showering down the rocks.
From that view, we found a faint trail that followed the creek down that eventually took us down to the main waterfall. We explored in the area for a while and took several pictures before heading back up to camp. As if the waterfall spectacle was not enough, as we were hiking up, the moon appeared over the ridgeline while there was still a streak of sun shining thru. We made it to camp with that image and ready for food and a well deserved night sleep.
Day 2: Matterhorn Climb
After the long hike with heavy packs to Ice Lake, we had decided to climb the Matterhorn and explore around on our second day. We started shortly after breakfast walking around Ice Lake to a small meadow and a trail going uphill on the other side. From there we could already see it was going to be a great day. On one side we had hills covered with wildflowers and red rocks, on the other, sporadic trees and up above, granite peaks. As we were going up, it was difficult to concentrate in one scenery as all were equally beautiful. We were also able to see behind us the whole lake and how it dropped to the valley right behind where our campsite was. Once we had gain sufficient elevation and were above tree line, the mountains became far more interesting. Some of the peaks were massive granite blocks while others were simple big rock piles. The combination of both gave the whole terrain some really interesting colors that ranged from white to dark red and brown. It was hard to imagine how all that held together.
After climbing some more on the loose rock, we finally made it to the transition line to granite. I’ve seen granite before but like this that seemed to have flowed from somewhere or had been in liquid form. The side of the mountain had multiple shades that gave us the idea that all this mountain range was, at some point, under water. It still took us a while longer to get to a saddle between the Matterhorn and an adjacent peak. From this vantage point, we could see a steep drop off all the way down to the Hurricane Creek Valley on one side, and the valley behind us with its glaciated pools. From there, we climbed around until we reached the summit. From there, we could see the Hurricane Divide and all the peaks behind it as well as the Hurwal Divide. To the south the views we a bit less expansive as the ridgeline from the Matterhorn curves to that side with very tall and thin rock wall that looked more like a sail. Being almost noon, we decided to take our shoes off and have lunch up there. We noticed that, from the Matterhorn, we could follow the ridge along the Hurwal Divide or go to Sacajawea Peak, the tallest point in the area. Not knowing if there was a way to get there, we opted for just following the trail and decide later. Looking at the map, we noted that the peak where the ridge divided in two had no name so we opted for “Fred”.
Once we got there, we took a bit of time to admire the views and then decided not to continue on to Sacajawea or the Hurwal Divide. From our point of view both trails looked pretty exposed and maybe more dangerous than what they really were. For our return, we had first to go back to the Saddle between Fred and The Matterhorn, climb a bit and then get back on the trail which we did. On our way up, we did notice a huge plateau directly east of the summit. On our hike up, we followed a path on the north side but once we got back down there, we opted for a backcountry route around the lake on the south side. That ended up being a bit more difficult and interesting than expected. Most of the way we navigated thru granite rocks trying to find our way without falling of a cliff. On two occasions we had to backtrack a bit as we couldn’t find a way down but finally, towards the end of the day, we made it to the lake on the south side. From there, we thought going around the lake was going to be the easy part but it turned out to be a lot longer than expected. From the point we got down, we were not able to see that lake actually turned almost around us. In the end, we finally made it before sundown and in time for dinner.
Day 3: Ice Lake to Douglas Lake
The Plan was to go as far as we could during the day so we could have time to climb Eagle Cap later on. That meant not staying at Horseshoe Lake, one of the most scenic lakes in the area but continue, possibly to Image Lake. With that in mind, we woke up early and by 8:30 we were already on the trail. The first part was easy and known as we were on the steep descend from Ice Lake all the way to the Wallowa River. Since we knew the scenery, we took a bit of time to see the variety of wildflowers. Once we got back down, we crossed the river again and made a short stop at the campsite we found on our way up. From that point, we continued towards Six Mile Meadow. This section of the trail gently climbs thru the forest with limited views of the ridges on both sides. That gave us the opportunity to cover the distance quickly until we got to the meadow where we had two options. The trail we were not taking is a shortcut that cuts the best part of this loop, so we turned right towards the Lake Basin. The first thing we encountered was that the trail was inundated. We followed the little stream for a while until we got out of the running water and ended up next to the river. At first we couldn’t see where to cross and being early in the afternoon, we opted for stopping for lunch and then investigate if we needed to jump, swim or find a log to cross. As we were having lunch, another couple arrived and indicated that there were a couple of logs not to far downstream that we could use to cross safely. After lunch and getting our feet wet in the river, we hiked to the logs, crossed and then crossed again two more times to actually get to the other side of the river and back on the trail. As we climbed towards the lake basin, we got some nice views of the mountains far ahead that we eventually would get to. Not long after that, we finally made our way to Horseshoe Lake where we found some incredible scenery. We kind of regretted not having more time to stay there the night and continue on to Mirror Lake the following day, but we wanted to save time to climb Eagle Cap.
As we were circling the north shore of the lake, we stopped to talk to a group that was staying the night there. Our plan was to continue to Crescent Lake but they mentioned that Douglas Lake was a lot prettier. Looking at the map, we noticed that you can go either way so we decided to wait until we got closer and to make a call then. Once we left Horseshoe Lake, the trail got a bit confusing. We found a couple of un-marked forks where we had to go with our best judgment. That eventually took us to another lake tucked in the trees. Since we had not seen the fork to Crescent Lake, we assumed for a while that we were looking at a small pond that shows in the map that, if it was the case, meant that we had passed Crescent already. That didn’t make a lot of sense so we continued on and finally got to a bigger lake. Since it was getting late, we decided to look for a campsite, set up and then, during dinner, take a look at the map and try to figure out where we were. After a bit of debate, we finally figured we were at Douglas Lake and that we had missed the fork to Crescent Lake. The Lake we had seen earlier was Lee Lake. That meant we had made it to our intended destination and that the following day would be a short hike to Mirror Lake.
DAY 4: Douglas Lake to Mirror Lake and Eagle Cap climb
One of the great things about doing a multi-day backpacking trip is that your days usually start with great views. Waking up in front of Douglas Lake was fantastic and gave us the energy to tackle the day
After a nice breakfast and breaking up camp, we continued our way towards Mirror Lake. At first, the trail continued circling Douglas Lake but then veered of from it and we started climbing. It didn’t take long to come up to the next lake, actually a little lakelet that is connected to Moccasin Lake. As we walked on the north shore of the lake, we started to get our first glimpses towards Eagle Cap. Towards the end, we came to the Mirror Lake fork between Moccasin Lake and Sunshine Lake. We noticed that to continue on day 5, we were coming back to this point and taking the trail between the lakes which including jumping from rock to rock. From there, a short climb brought us to Mirror Lake. We hiked for a while around the shore looking for a possible campsite which proved to be a bit more difficult than expected. On one side, there was a lot of people camping in the area and on another, several campsites where closed for restoration. After a while we finally found a good campsite that was a bit away from the lake but still had great views. After setting up camp, we had a light lunch and planned for the afternoon. Brian was having a bit of foot pain so he decided he was not going to climb Eagle Cap with us so after getting our gear ready, Mark and I took off towards the summit.
The first part of the hike took us around the end of Mirror Lake thru a meadow and then to Upper Lake. In sections the trail was a bit difficult to follow as a stream runs thru it from Upper Lake to Mirror Lake. We found Upper Lake to be almost a pond with very nice features. His lake is pretty much melted snow that falls from the mountain behind it. All that water creates a bit of a current that flows thru the lake to the outlet that continues on the small creek we had just passed. Since a lot of rocks in the area have a lot of Iron content, parts of the lake had kind of a red hue while there was a clear blue “river” flowing in the middle of the lake. It was probably one of the most interesting lakes I’ve seen. Unfortunately, pictures didn’t do it justice. We quickly learned that you could not stay there for long and admire the lake, in a matter of seconds; we were literally eaten by bugs so we started moving quickly out of there and climbing towards Horton Pass. As we gained elevation, incredible views started to open up in all directions. Behind us, we could see the entire Lostine River valley where you can see how it was formed by ancient glaciers, to the northeast; we could see the Matterhorn from the other side. From this perspective you could see that it was a single gigantic granite rock with an incredible steep cliff and in from of us, our destination, Eagle Cap. Higher up, after passing Horton Pass, we added lakes and more valleys to our views. Bellow us Moccasin Lake actually started looking like a shoe and the Hurricane Creek valley started opening up towards the north.
After Horton Pass, views changed completely. We were now on the other side of the ridge enjoying a view that was new to us. Looking at a map, we noted that we were looking at the East Fork of the Eagle Creek. From our point of view, this valley looked greener that the valley we came from which is probably due to the elevation difference and also because this new valley has a lot more sun exposure. Then, we circled back towards the ridge, did a couple of long switchbacks and just when Glacier Peak started showing its peak, we reached the summit. We were not expecting a welcoming committee, but as soon as we put our packs down, two chipmunks came to greet us and hope we would let some food fall on the ground. Needless to say, the views from up there were just outstanding and even better than what we got on the way up. The only added bonus was been able to see Glacier Lake below us (which we could pass on day 5) and the ridgeline towards the southeast. Here are some pictures to describe the views
Glacier Lake
The Matterhorn on the left, Moccasin Lake below and the Wallowa River Valley towards the desert
Our host at the summit
After enjoying the views for a while and waving our hands in the hopes that Brian would see us from the campsite, we hiked our way down the same way we used to climb. After dinner, I took another stroll around the lake to get the different sunset views before calling it a night.
Day 5: Mirror Lake to Frazier Lake
Day 5 was the first of two long days with plenty of elevation gain. We woke up to another splendid blue sky day and where on the trail as early as we could. The first part of the hike was basically retracing our steps back to Moccasin Lake which gave us the same views we saw the previous day, this time, without having to turn around every five minutes. In almost no time, we made it to the fork and turned right towards Glacier Pass which we knew was going to be a hard hike. The uphill came right after a very green and inviting meadow and contrary to what we were expecting, the trail was actually pretty straight with almost no switchbacks. Sooner than expected, we were up in Glacier Pass looking down at Glacier Lake and the Valley of West Fork of the Wallowa River. To our backs, we could see Eagle Cap and Glacier Peak. The scenery was a bit different from what we had seen from the summit of Eagle Cap but the other thing we noticed is that this area had more snow and looked more wintery. We took a short break at Glacier Pass enjoying the views as we knew the climbing was over and from there on, it was going to be all downhill
The hike down to the lake was pretty interesting as we lost the trail a couple of times due to big patches of snow. We finally made it to the north shore of the lake where it flows towards a small waterfall marking the beginning of the river. From that point of view, we could see almost our entire route down the valley towards Frazier Lake. As we started going down, we began to see the most amazing flower display that included Indian paintbrush in a lot of other colors I hadn’t seen before, Elephant Heads, Columbines (or something that looks like a columbine but is yellow) and many others that I don’t even know their names. About half way down, the trail got pretty wet as water was flowing from the side hills down to the river. What surprised us though was the smell of wild onions, they were everywhere. We picked up some and ate while hiking and I saved a bunch that I would use later for dinner. After that, the trail got a bit longer than expected or the day got hotter making it feel like longer. Finally we made it to Frazier Lake that had some interesting features. First was the connection to Little Frazier Lake, a much smaller lake towards the hill but the other was a rock field that looked like someone started throwing rock all the way for the mountain.
After walking around for a while, we finally found a nice campsite on the east shore of the lake. After setting up camp, Brian and I went for a walk around to take pictures but where soon scared away but very hungry mosquitoes. On the way back to camp, we stopped at a sandy area on the shore of the lake and decided to jump in. Being a shallow lake, the water was not too cold so we were able to stay in for a while before heading back to camp and dinner. Right after sunset, temperature started dropping quite fast and a little breeze from the valley started to blow. I can certainly say this night was the coldest of the whole trip even though we were not at the highest point.
Day 6: Frazier Lake to Aneroid Lake
The early morning at Frazier Lake was by far the most spectacular I’ve seen in a long time. Over night the wind died down and we woke up to a quiet, cold and very still morning. The lake was so still that it was a perfect mirror reflecting the illuminated ridge on the other side. It was fascinating to look at an upside down world for a while
After a very cold breakfast we finally left just when the sun finally started hitting our campsite. Unfortunately, because of the angle of the valley we were on, we remained in the shadows for half of the morning. We followed the river and river bed further down finding even more flowers and beautiful scenery and eventually lost the trail. After a bit of map reading we finally figured out that we needed to be on the other side of the river and that we had missed a log to cross. We backtracked a bit, found our way and were back on track to a fork were we would make the call to weather take a shortcut or do the hard climb to Polaris Pass and Tenderfoot pass on our way to Aneroid Lake. As we started ascending on the ridge, we saw the sun line getting closer and closer and illuminate the entire valley towards Glacier Peak. It was quite the scene. Shortly after we finally got the sun on our backs, we got to the fork and decided to take a break, adjust layers and tackle the climb towards Polaris Pass. Almost as soon as we started, we started navigating thru immense wildflower fields were the trail was almost invisible. The variety, colors and abundance was quite surprising considering the weather and elevation.
Then came the switchbacks. I actually can’t recall a trail that has more switchbacks than this one. It certainly makes the climb a lot more gradual and easier to tackle but it also makes it very long. As we gained elevation, or views depended on whether we were making a turn on one side or the other of the switchbacks. On one side we had a view of a bare, rocky slope with amazing colors. On the other, we had a creek valley with trees and flowers. Going from one to the other, was just a flower garden. Finally, as we were getting closer to the pass we left the taller trees and shrubs but not the flowers, even when we were about to get to the top, portions of the slope where covered in Lupine. From there, we could notice a faint straight line to the pass as it went on loose rock that we still can’t understand how could they stay in place. We finally made into the pass and realized we were not exactly were we needed to be. The trail was easy to identify so we backtracked on the ridge for a bit to a point where we stopped for lunch before continuing.
From the ridge we finally got a view to the other side. Originally we thought it would be an extension of the scenery we were leaving behind but we were both surprised and maybe a bit disappointed. All the ridges and mountains on the other side are much lower in elevation so there was no snow and no alpine scenery. The whole area looked like big meadows and drier land. After lunch, we continued on more switchbacks descending to the valley on the other side and traversing towards Tenderfoot path. We had heard from another hiker that there was considerable snow on this route making it difficult but as we traversed, we got the impression he was talking about a complete different trail. This trail, still covered in lupine was more arid than the other side. In fact, we could not see any signs of a creek or water source which, by then started to worry us a bit since it was getting hot and we were quite low on the precious liquid. For quite a while we traversed an endless grass field until we got to the fork with the Imnaha River trail. From there, our last high point of the trip, tenderfoot pass was visible which also reminded us that we were on our way out. Without resting much, we started our way to the pass trying to keep as cool as we could
As soon as we got there, we got a sense of relief. The hard work was over and from there on, it was all downhill to Aneroid Lake. On the way down we soon got back in the shade which was a big relief but not enough considering we had ran out of water. Further down we finally reached a creek were we stopped to drink and filter water for the rest of the day. We were so thirsty that we didn’t even care about the fierce mosquitoes. While doing that, I took the time to take a couple of pictures that I consider to be among the best of the whole picture set
From there, it took us about an hour to get to Aneroid Lake which we reached when the sun was already below the ridgeline. After walking for a while, we finally found a nice campsite next to the lake, set up camp, started a fire and had dinner. Before going to bed, we went to the lake shore to see the stars for a while and saw more than a couple of shooting stars. We were not sure then but that night was the peak of the Perseid Meteor shower so we had a bit of a spectacle.
Day 7: Aneroid Lake to Wallowa Lake Trailhead
This was our last day of the trip with a short hike back to the car. We started at around 9 when the sun had just appeared on the eastern ridge. For quite a while, we walked thru green meadows with small creeks running thru it. It was a different scenery as what we had seen in the previous days as we were at a much lower elevation and parts of this area are actually private land. Behind us we were leaving magnificent mountains and beautiful sceneries. Towards the corner of the meadow, we got back to the river, crossed a footbridge and started a quick descend. At first it was just a traverse on the side of the mountain as we circled the last peak. On that section we found a lot of dead trees. We were not able to figure out why, but it looked like they were attacked by some sort of plague. Certainly it was not inviting and nothing comparable to anything we had seen during the loop. I do recall talking with Brian and Mark that most books recommend doing this loop in the reverse direction as we did. I think if we had done it that way, the first day would have been really disappointing. As we were coming down, and getting closer to the trailhead, we started passing day hikers and horses going up to the lakes for the day. The trail got hotter, the scenery disappeared and Wallowas Lake appeared in front of us. A couple of switchback and we were out and back at the parking lot ready for a 5 hour drive home. I can only say it was a great place to discover and certainly a place I will visit again.
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