Wallowas 2016
by Mike Thompson, 7/1/2016
Last year I showed Craig McKibben some pictures of my hike up Chief Joseph Mountain in the Wallowas, mentioned to him another area there that I wanted to backpack into, and asked if he might consider joining me. I highly recommend this strategy if you've got a place in the mountains you want to go to, but aren't sure if you're up to getting there on your own. If you can persuade Craig to come along he'll do all the hard route-finding and lead all the hard climbing, and all you'll need to do is try your best to keep up. I have successfully employed this strategy on a couple occasions now, and once again it resulted in a successful trip into some really spectacular country!
The Wallowas are a mountain range where you wouldn't expect one: way over in the northeast corner of Oregon, past Pendelton, and just this side of Hell's Canyon. The five tallest peaks in Oregon are volcanoes in the Cascades, but most of the next dozen highest peaks are all in the Wallowas. The range characterized by long ridge lines above 9,000 feet and a mixed geological history that has resulted in a interesting mixture of granite, basalt, and sedimentary rock including limestone.
We left Craig's house in Seattle at 6:00 AM on Monday and began the long drive, over Snoqualmie Pass, through the Yakima Valley, over the Columbia River at the Umatilla Bridge, and then southeast through Pendelton and La Grande before following Highway 82 through the little towns of Elgin, Enterprise, and Joseph to our first night's campsite at Wallowa Lake.
Tuesday morning we had breakfast in Joseph before shouldering our backpacks at the trailhead at about 10:00 AM and heading up the West Fork of the Wallowa River on Trail 1820. About two hours along we crossed the river on a footbridge onto Trail 1803, where we began climbing in earnest up the steep valley of Adams Creek toward Ice Lake. It's a gorgeous little valley with numerous waterfalls along the way.
We reached the top of the valley and got our first look at Ice Lake and the surrounding peaks about 4:00 PM. WOW! What a gorgeous spot! The lake was still half covered with ice. Above the lake to the west were the tops of Matterhorn Mountain and Sacagawea Peak, to the north the Hurwal Divide, and to the south a ridge still mostly covered in snow. Altogether it was quite breathtaking. We set up camp, fixed dinner, and soaked up the scenery while the sun went down.
Wednesday morning we rose, cooked a breakfast of oatmeal and coffee, tucked a few essentials into our day packs, and headed up Matterhorn Mountain. First we swung around the east end of Ice Lake. Then we proceeded left, then right up a broad, snow-filled gully around the back of a basalt cliff band. Continuing up and west from the top of the cliff band, the basalt gave way to the glacier-polished granite that forms the top of the ridge.
We reached the summit ridge at 1:30 PM, where we were wowed once again by a 360 degree view of the Wallowas. We meandered another half mile or so along the summit ridge to its highest point at 9,826 feet.
From the summit ridge, looking to the east, we could see Ice Lake below us. In the distance were the Seven Devils, on the far side of Hell's Canyon.
We had planned to climb Sacagawea Peak on Thursday, but when we awoke we found our legs pretty tired from the previous two days effort, and they strongly suggested that we reconsider. So instead we decided to hike back to the car Thursday and then spend some extra time exploring the Columbia River Gorge on the drive back. We packed up all the gear and took one last look at Ice Lake before starting down the trail.
On Friday we spent a couple hours at a really nice visitor's center at the west end of The Dalles, learning a bit about the geology and history of the Gorge. We also stopped at Multnomah Falls and hiked to the top of the upper falls, which was as much work as my legs were interested in doing that day. Then we finished the drive home to Seattle to conclude the trip.
And finally, a shout out to Connor the Space Alien, who accompanied Craig and I on the trip. Connor kept us company on the trail and bravely defended our tent against chipmunks, marmots, and other wild critters while Craig and I were away climbing. Here are some happy snaps of Conner: (1) with me at the trailhead, (2) in the rear pocket of my backpack, and (3) sunning on a drift log near the outlet of Ice Lake.
