With dozens of fires already burning across Oregon another round of thunderstorms were forecasted for Wednesday afternoon/evening. We’d decided on the hike to Bonny Lakes which Sullivan had a 7.8-mile option, an 11.8-mile option, and a 16.3-mile loop. Once again we opted for the shortest option to avoid the heat and storms and to try and to keep the strain on my left leg as low as possible while still finishing one of the featured hike’s options.
After driving the very rocky Forest Road 100 we parked at the Tenderfoot Trailhead and set off on the Tenderfoot Wagon Road which quickly entered the Eagle Cap Wilderness.
We managed to get started about ten minutes before 6am.
The trail brought us to a ford of Big Sheep Creek. We could have forded across, but then we noticed an old log bridge downstream. We backtracked up the trail and found a spur trail leading to the birdge.
Bugbane and paintbrush
A 2022 wildfire burned the first 3-miles of the trail and left the old footbridge damaged. A steep scramble trail led down to it.
Big Sheep Creek
After crossing on the damaged bridge we rejoined the Wagon Road and began climbing through fields of wildflowers.
Paintbrush and lupine
Wildfire smoke filling the valley behind us.
The trail leveled out and continued to climb gradually arriving at a junction just before the North Fork Big Sheep Creek at the 1.1-mile mark.
Phacelia
Butterfly on buckwheat.
Some of the trees survived the fire.
White mariposa lilies in a meadow along the trail.
Junction with the Wing Ridge Trail.
North Fork Big Sheep Creek
Lewis Monkeyflower along the creek.
The trail crossed the creek and continued the gradual climb past more wildflowers and several more streams for 1.2-miles to another junction. Portions of this section of trail burned fairly intensely damaging the soil and leaving little vegetation, but other areas were covered in colorful flowers.
Canada milk-vetch
Grass-of-parnassus
Bog orchid
Checker-mallow
Bee heading for some monkshood.
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Me in some fireweed.
Getting eyed by a western tanager.
When fires burn too hot they damage the soil which makes it difficult for all plants to obtain the necessary nutrients to grow.
A few plants had been able to take hold.
A healthy patch of paintbrush.
Middle Fork Big Sheep Creek
Monkeyflower
Brook saxifrage
Another severely burned section.
The Bonny Lakes Trail forking to the right off of the Tenderfoot Wagon Road Trail.
We turned onto the Bonny Lakes Trail which continued through the fire scar for approximately another half mile before reaching unburned forest.
Wildflowers along the Bonny Lakes Trail.
The wildflowers were profuse along this stretch of trail.
American sawwort
Police car moths
Larkspur and fleabane
The trail recrossed the Middle Fork Big Sheep Creek.
Orange agoseris
After recrossing the Middle Fork Big Sheep Creek the trail followed along it as it climbed toward the Bonny Lakes.
Taper tip onions
White mariposa lilies
The trail came to a rock outcrop a half mile before reaching the lakes where it suddenly steepened. As I approached the rocks I heard an animal sound an alarm. A moment later I spotted a pika.
False hellebore
Checker-mallow
Penstemon on the outcrop.
Mountain larkspur
Pika!
Gathering plants for the Winter store.
On the steep climb.
Mountain heather
After the steep section the trail relented a bit and soon rejoined the creek on the final climb to Lower Bonny Lake.
Ground squirrel
The creek was below between the ridges here.
Stonecrop
As we were passing above a marshy area along the creek filled with swamp onions Heather spotted a monarch butterfly.
Swamp onions
Wallowa paintbrush
Aneroid Mountain and Lower Bonny Lake.
Aneroid Mountain to the right and an unnamed peak on the left.
The lake was beautiful. We followed the trail around the east side of the lake crossing a connecting creek between the two lakes.
Shrubby cinquefoil
Cutleaf anemone seed heads.
Possibly a sandwort.
We followed the trail up a knoll to get a view of Upper Bonny Lake, then left the trail to climb to the top of the rocks to get a view down to the meadows behind the lower lake.
Upper Bonny Lake
Lower Bonny Lake
Aneroid Mountain from the knoll.
After exploring the knoll we headed back down to the lower lake to admire the view once more before starting back.
Spotted sandpiper
Elephants head
White mariposa lily and buckwheat
Jacob’s ladder
Checker-mallow and white mariposa lilies along the trail.
Scouler’s woolly-weed
Gentians
Goldenrod and yarrow
Nuttal’s linanthus
North Fork Big Sheep Creek
The McCully Creek Trail is shown on maps as joining the Tenderfoot Wagon Road Trail just to the west of the North Fork Big Sheep Creek crossing but neither of us noticed any sign of its existence. That trail theoretically climbs to Big Sheep Basin then over a pass to McCully Creek where we’d hiked the previous day (post). After taking a short break at the creek crossing we hiked the 1.1-miles down to the damaged bridge and then back to the trailhead.
The haze from the morning had improved now that the Sun had moved on from the east.
Looking down at the un-damaged bridge over a side stream.
Yellow columbine
Big Sheep Creek.
This hike came to 9-miles with a little under 1500′ of elevation gain due to us wandering around a bit at the lake and a couple of other times along the trail.
We drove back to our room in Enterprise and ordered pick-up from Thai Enterprise which Heather picked up shortly before a strong thunderstorm passed through. A little before 5pm we heard the first boom then the wind really picked up. Emergency vehicles were racing through town and debris was flying all over for about 15-20 minutes. The winds calmed down, but the thunder continued off and on for several more hours. We were watching fire reports closely and a new start, the Camelback Fire, was reported at 4:43pm near Highway 82 which was our route home on Friday. Interstate 84 was already closed along with several other highways due to various fires so we were starting to wonder if we would be able to get home. Fortunately the Oregon Department of Forestry was able to jump on this start quickly had managed to have it contained shortly before 10pm. We were also uncertain as to if we would be able to do our planned hike to Minam Lake the next day or if new fires would be ending our vacation early. If that were the case at least we’d gotten to see the wonderful wildflowers and Bonny Lakes which was our favorite hike of the trip thus far. Happy Trails!
Flickr: Bonny Lakes
wanderingyuncks 