PNW - Eagle Cap Wilderness Trip

“Where: Eagle Cap Wilderness in the Wallow Mountains of NE Oregon.

When: 4 - 6 May, 2001

Trail Options: Depending on snow conditions at the trailhead, we are considering two options.

1. East Fork Lostine River to Mirror Lake. (7.5 miles)

2. West Fork Wallow River to Glacier Lake Basin (9 - 12 miles depending on where we decide to camp).

Both trails are a single day hike to the destinations. Depending on snow conditions or personal preference, either hike offers numerous options for a next day day hike.

What to Expect: Although the snow pack is way below normal this year, we still anticipate having to camp on snow at either one of the destinations mentioned above. The weather should be entering the normal summer pattern so we could expect some rain but just as likely it will be sunny. Normal backpacking precautions, as always, will apply.

This planning post may be a bit early but we want to give everyone a chance to make time off and travel plans. If you're interested leave a post and join the party. If you know now, that you can make it, let it be known and we'll start an e-mail list for planning and detailed questions. My e-mail is cdevoe@teleport.com. So far it is Cork and myself who have done the initial planning and will be glad to answer any questions.

Here are some additional links for Eagle Cap Wilderness

Eagle Cap Wilderness

Cork's Web Page
”

“Great pics on Cork;'s web page. Especially liked the one of mirror lake. I love the colors and format of this page, something I will keep in mind for some projects of my own. Sorry I don;'t live in the PNW but did visit there in 1999 and thought it was great. Saw Crater Lake, Mt. St. Helen's, Mt. Rainier, Hoh Rain Forest and Rialto Beach...oh, loved Cape Flattery, too. It's an awesome area to live in. Thanks for all the pics!”

“Hey utah, just because you don't live here doesn't mean you can't come along. Heck, known of us live very close to that remote corner of the state.

We've even made arrangements with the OIA (Oregon Immigrations Authority) to allow for extra visitor permits. We even have enough for some East Coasters who might want to go on a "real" hike. ;)”

“Dates look open for me. Yipee!!! Thanks China Chas”

“Hey Freedom, it'd be great to have you along. How would you get up here? Thinking of flying? It's about a 5 hour drive from Portland to the trailhead. That would make for a REALLY long drive for you.

As time gets closer, we can decide on how to coordinate transportation. I could pick up a couple folks up at the airport afternoon Thursday and we could leave from there straight to the trailhead.”

“Hi Chas!

Is this hike within the capabilities of a tired old newbie like me? :) I SHOULD be out of session then and actually be able to come along for the whole thing . . . (Don't know what the shaker did to the schedule though.)

Tekky”

“Hey Tekky, the difficulty will be determined more by the snow conditions than the trail itself. The elevation gain to Glacier Lake is 3500' over 11.6 miles. The Lostine River trail gains 2000' over its 7.5 miles.

So, just walking along the trail would be a breeze. Of course you might not want to lug the Fosters in on this one. ;) We may run into snow at the higher elevations and that will make the going a bit tougher. We'll have to see how things turn out as the date gets closer.”

“Chas is right, Tekky. Fosters would be entirely inappropriate for this trip. On Cinco de Mayo only Mexican libations are allowed. Better bring the "worm"!”

“Hey Alpine, you in on this?”

“That sounds great, I may be able to get the time off work, if you don't mind someone nobody knows. I will be losing my computer soon so I will need to get on another for details. It is beautiful there and I would like to meet some of you all. I will keep you informed.”

“Lobo, email me at cdevoe@aol.com and I'll send ya my phone number. That way if you find yourself tech challenged, you can always get an update.

And sure strangers are allowed. Among this group, strangness is a virtue. ;)”

“Or you can e-mail me at kjwildfire@aol.com”

“Am I in on this? Well, I've got to admit the idea is growing on me. The truth is, I don't usually like to miss too many opportunities for a hike in the Wallowas. It's one of my favorite destinations. Although I've never been there so early in the season, it sure sounds like fun.

So, put me on the list and I'll see what I can do about clearing out those dates. I can't really nail it down just yet, but please keep me in the loop. Thanks!”

“Hey Lobo,

At some point in the past, every one of of was "someone nobody knows"! That's the fun of joining in on these trips - meeting new people. Please do join us! The initial hike into the camp site shouldn't be too tough, it's what we decide to tackle once we're there that could get a little hairy depending on snow levels.

Freedom, thanks for the compliments on the web page. I'm very new at this, and it still needs work, but just haven't had the time...”

“ROFL! OK . . . I'll leave the Foster's behind and see if Jose wants to join us. *<;o)

I should be able to get that weekend off - barring some future calamity - since it falls outside the regular session. Look forward to seeing you all again, and meeting people new to me. :)”

“I'm working on the time off, I only get one weekend off a month and work an unusual schedual. Looking forward to it if I get the chance.”

“Have we got room for one more? LadyKel (Kelly) wants to join us on this little jaunt. I can pick her up at the airport in Portland on the way. Will be Kel's first backpacking trip - but she can use my small pack and I'll load her light (She can carry the lime! LOL!)”

“There's certainly room for more. I would have a couple of reservations. Has Kelly been hiking before? I'm not sure I would take someone on either of these trails for a first time backpack. There is a good chance we will be walking and camping on snow as we get into the higher elevations.

But hey, you know her the best. If you think she will be up for it, bring her along.”

“Don't know if my .02 is worth much, but I thought I'd chime in with a personal anecdote.

A few years ago I put together a trip into the Wallowas with my cousin, and a couple of his newbie friends. It turned out to be kind of a long weekend, as these guys faded fast. Despite being in decent shape, the elevation (7200') and the nine mile hike did 'em in. After we finally got to our destination, they spent most of the weekend talking about how they were dreading the hike out. When the weather got iffy, the whimpering got worse.

Now, what was my point... I guess I'd have to agree that this can be a rugged area for your first hike. But I also recognize that it's not fair to generalize. So, if she's up for it, and knows what she's getting into, it might be a great initiation for her. Your call.”

“ChinaChas, Alpine -

Thanks for your assessment and advice! This would be her very first backpacking trip, so I think I will defer to your knowledge and experience with this area, and advise Kelly to sit this one out. I really want her first hike to be a positive experience for her. I was a bit concerned just about the length of the first leg of the hike to begin with.

Question: Is this a permit area? (Is there a limit to the size of the party, in other words?) There may be a chance that I will still be tied down at work at that time, and I don't want to hold onto a spot that someone else could use and then have to bail on y'all at the last minute.

Thanks for the good advice! :)”

“What Tekky say's, I don't want to hold a spot if another can go. I don't think you need a party pass for the Wallowas though, it should be a wilderness pass. Hope to let you know soon, I am getting assigned to another shift so it will be touch and go on days off for awhile.”

“Lobo -

Looks like you are right - just checked the website - doesn't mention anything about a limit on the number in the party.”

“I called the ranger station in Enterprise today. Snow conditions are as bad as everywhere else in the Northwest. The person I talked to said if things stay as they are, we should have no problem making the Two Pan trailhead in May. In fact, the volunteer trail maintenance crew has the guard station reserved for the last week of April. Right now snow is patchy at 4000' solid at around 5000'. She estimates that by May, it might be clear to 6000'. The wild card is the weather. Although they haven't had much snow and don't expect a lot more, the temperature has stayed pretty cool. So, the snow that's there is not melting yet. She does, however, agree that even with considerable melt, we'll most likely be in snow at Mirror Lake and definitely in the Glacier Lake basin.

I'll check back in another month and see how things are progressing.”

“Because of heavy use, the group permit is required for the Lakes Basin area, the rest of the Eagle Cap Wilderness is typical back-country Oregon hiking with no permits required. If we camp just outside (about .5 mile from the actual trail up Eagle Cap) the permits are not a problem. However, the nice lake-view campsites are in the lakes basin area (of course). I think we should consider getting a permit and camping in the bonafide lakes basin area where we can admire Eagle Cap from our campsite.”

“Good call Cork. I'm sure that the time of year we are going in will present no problems with obtaining a permit. That and the idea of having to camp on a wee bit o snow will probably keep our group number low. ;)

I'll call the Ranger Station this week and see if they are ready to issue anything yet.”

“Thanks ChinaChas for checking on the trip permits. At least with my new down bag I don't have to worry about the temps at night! Anybody on Chat going to be able to make it out here? I haven't been on-line much lately so have been out of the loop. Didn't Brair Rabbit mention it as a possibility?

Where are ya you wascally Wabbit??”

“Okay, a bit of an update. Snow is not melting quite as fast as we had hoped. In fact, the area got a significant amount of new stuff over the last week.

I'm calling the RS tomorrow to get an idea of where the snow level is sitting.

We may have to consider pushing this trip out a bit. Although we could, I don't find it all that enjoyable to post hole through the spring thaw for 10 miles.

We'll make a call sometime this coming week. In the mean time, if anyone has any alternate desitinations, let 'em fly!”

“I'd have to agree that a posthole adventure doesn't sound too appealing. How about heading south somewhere instead?

CC, you mentioned the South Warner Wilderness in another thread. Are you already heading there later in May, or would that be a possible alternate destination for this trip? It's not an area I know anything about, but it sounds intriguing.

For what it's worth... If current snow conditions persist, my vote would be to save Eagle Cap for a later date.”

“Yeah, it looks like the thing to do now is move the date back. Although there is much less snow then normal, last week's storms and unseasonably cool temperatures are maintaining the snow pack. Right now you can't even make the trailhead at Two Pan which means a post-holing, 8 mile adventure. I'd rather wait. So, let's make it "official." We'll shoot for late June. Any inputs on dates?”

“Alpine, I definitely want to go somewhere else. We'd have to check on the Warner Wilderness but could end up with the same conditions. I'm not real familiar with the area either but it is up there in elevation.”

“You guys have a great place to hike. I want to go on one of the Oregon trips one summer.

Cork your website looks really top notch. I want to see your photos of the Wind River Range when you get them done.”

“I know what! Charlie you can lead a trip into the Drift Creek Wilderness.
Snow shouldn?t be a problem and you can show us where you almost died. [From the sound of your trip report you didn?t see much anyways.]”

“CC, if you guys decide to do the trip in late June/early July, let me know! I'll be bringing my kids to their dad's place in Vancouver BC at the end of June & would gladly join you guys on the trip(if you'll have me, that is!). Keep me posted, please! :o)”

“Okay Folks, here's the deal,

Instead of the Wallows I think we've decided to hit the Marble Mountains in Northern California. It looks like we will leave Thursday night (5/3/01) after work and Michael's ball game. I called down to the Klamath NF and it looks like the Marbles will be open enough to hike without snow shoes. They said to expect patches of snow above 5000' with solid snow above 6000''. That is as of today. The weather is predicted to get warm (70's) over the next couple of weeks so on the south facing slopes they expect rapid melting.

So, that's where we are going. We'll be heading out of Lovers Camp to the Marble Valley. From there, depending on snow conditions, we'll play it by ear. Maybe a day hike south on the PCT for Saturday or pull up stakes and make an attempt to do the Red Rock Valley Loop.

Anyone's welcome to join, but I'm not going to get into a lot of planning or such. If anyone's interested, speak up and we'll work out a meeting time & location either at the trailhead or at the Marble Valley.”

“I wish I could join you CC, but foot surgery on 5/2 will get in the way. I will be very curious about snow levels, please let us know after the trip... Happy Hiking!”

“CC
Count me in.”

“I'll be there too”