Maxwell Lake – 08/21/2024

Continuing on our quest to hike at least part of all 100 featured hikes in William L. Sullivan’s “100 Hikes Eastern Oregon” 1st edition (2022) we followed up our hike to Chimney Lake (post) by returning to Lostine River Road for the second day and parking at the Maxwell Lake Trailhead.

Today’s hike was approximately 2.5-miles shorter than the hike to Chimney Lake but gained the same 2420′ of elevation.
Like the previous days hike we crossed Lostine River Road from the trailhead and then crossed the Lostine River on a bridge.

The trail passes through the Shady Campground.

Lostine River

On the far side the bride the trail entered the Eagle Cap Wilderness.

Our plan for this hike was to split up to make the climb at our own pace and then I would wait for Heather at the lake, or until 11am in the event that she decided not to go the entire way. After entering the wilderness the trail initially climbed at a steady pace via 7 long switchbacks.
Unnamed creek crossing.

Thimbleberry

One of the switchbacks.

Climbing into the sunlight.

Possibly a Cassin’s vireo.

Another switchback.

Fireweed

Monkshood

Twisted stalk

Eagle Cap (post)

Looking down from the trail.

Paintbrush

Chipmunk

Shortly after the seventh switchback the trail turned uphill and began a very steep 0.8-mile climb to a pass.
The trail turning uphill ahead to start the steep climb.

Given this was our fifth day in a row of hiking, and fourth significant one, this steep section was a killer. My legs were burning as I made my way up to the pass.

Meadow along a brief section of reasonably graded trail.

Nuttal’s linanthus

The pass in view.

Twin Peaks to the left over the shoulder of the ridge.

From the pass it was 0.2-miles down to Maxwell Lake.
The trail down to Maxwell Lake.

Ground squirrel on alert.

Maxwell Lake

The lake was gorgeous. I explored the shoreline for a moment before climbing up a granite outcrop with a great view of the lake and the trail coming down from the pass. I figured that Heather might be able to see me when she arrived and/or I’d notice her on her way down.

Aster along the outlet creek.

Gentians

Island in Maxwell Lake.

The view from the granite outcrop.

Looking back at the pass from the outcrop.

Last of the snow at Maxwell Lake.

I relaxed for about an hour at this beautiful lake before I spotted Heather coming down from the pass. It was chilly enough that I wound up eventually pulling out my wind jacket which was a wonderful change from our last couple of trips to the Wallowas. She made her way to the outcrop and joined me there. After she’d had a chance to rest we did a little more exploring and followed a use trail to nearby Jackson Lake.
Trail along Maxwell Lake.

Trail to Jackson Lake.

Jackson Lake

False hellebore

Pika raising a warning call. Interestingly the pikas in the Wallowas make a sound that we don’t recall hearing from pikas in other areas. It was almost as if they had their own regional dialect.

After checking out Jackson Lake we started back.
Passing back over the granite outcrop.

Maxwell Lake’s outlet creek.

Trout in the outlet stream.

One last look at Maxwell Lake.

The view from the pass on the way back.

Heading down the steep section.

Aside from the lookout staffer at Summit Point and a couple of backpackers on the far side of Chimney Lake we hadn’t seen anyone else on the Wallowa trails until heading back down to the Maxwell Lake Trailhead. The first person we passed was coming up the steep section. She obviously spent quite a bit of time hiking in the area and was showing no signs of struggling with the steepness of the climb. We stopped and chatted for a bit and we told her about our featured hike quest. When we mentioned that the last hike on our list was Hidden Lake and we were planning on doing it as an overnight backpack she relayed some very helpful information regarding possible campsites. We thanked her and continued downhill running into a couple a little further down that were finding the climb as challenging as we had. We passed several more hikers on the way down, some with backpacking gear and some with fishing rods. We were glad to have had the lake to ourselves while we were there.
The afternoon lighting on the ridge across the Lostine River really brought out the colors.

Eagle Cap way up the valley.

Heather counted at least seven significant drops on a creek cascading down the far hillside.

Fritillary

Canada jay

Police car moth

Back at the bridge over the Lostine River.

Lostine River

The Maxwell Lake Trailhead in the afternoon.

My GPS read 8.6-miles for the hike to Maxwell and Jackson Lakes with a little over 2400′ of elevation gain.

We returned to Enterprise and after cleaning up headed out for an early dinner at La Laguna. The food was good, and their hand made Lagunita’s Salsa Loco had a nice kick to it. We took a slice of blackberry cheesecake to go which was also quite tasty. The next day would be our last hike for this trip and would put us at 99/100 featured hikes from Sullivan’s Eastern Oregon book and 499/500 for all five of the regions he covers. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Maxwell Lake