Copper Creek Falls – wanderingyuncks

Eagle Lake (Eagle Cap Wilderness) – 08/14/2023

After spending the night in Baker City (post) we set off early for the Main Eagle Trailhead. Our goal for this trip was to check off three more of Sullivan’s featured hikes (post) Tombstone Lake, Eagle Lake, and Bear Lake.

When I was originally planning this backpacking route I had envisioned a grand loop with detours to several of the lakes. The loop option went out the window after reviewing the USFS interactive map. The Fake Creek Trail which we would have used to go between the West Eagle and Main Eagle Trails had been decommissioned and was no longer being maintained which was not something we wanted to attempt on a 5-day backpacking trip. There were also several other sections of the would be loop that hadn’t been maintained for a number of years. After considering a few different options we had settled on spending two night at Eagle Creek Meadows then hiking out and driving to the West Eagle Meadows Trailhead and spending two nights along the West Eagle Trail.

We arrived at the trailhead a little before 6:30am.

It was already over 50-degrees as we set off on the trail which quickly crossed Boulder Creek.
The trail briefly followed an old roadbed.

Log bridge over Boulder Creek.

The trail climbed gradually crossing Eagle Creek on a larger bridge near the three-quarter mile mark.

The trail continued its gradual climb through the forest entering the Eagle Cap Wilderness at the 1.75-mile mark.

Sierra larkspur

Paintbrush lined trail

We were in the shade for most of the morning.

Entering the Eagle Cap Wilderness.

At the 2.2-mile mark the trail passed a small unnamed waterfall on Eagle Creek.
We had to leave the trail to get a view of the falls which we could hear from the trail.

As we continued on the trail passed through increasingly large meadows full of views and wildflowers.

Buckwheat and nettle-leaf giant hyssop

At the 2.7-mile mark the trail again crossed Eagle Creek, this time on a damaged footbridge.

Three miles in we crossed Copper Creek. We could hear the roar of Copper Creek Falls further up the creek.

Part of the falls were visible from the trail.

A tenth of a mile beyond the crossing of Copper Creek we detoured uphill to visit the falls.
Copper Creek Falls

We took a break at the falls amid a number of wildflowers.
Penstemon

Fringed grass of parnassus and some fading arnica.

Flowers below the falls.

After our break we returned to the trail and continued on. A quarter mile later we arrived at a junction with the Bench Trail. The current version of our plan included hiking up the Bench Trail to Arrow Lake the next day but as we passed the junction and saw the condition of the lowest portion and “Trail Not Maintained” sign we began to question that plan.
The Bench Trail is ahead on the left of the Main Eagle Trail.

We continued another 1.4-miles to another trail junction above Eagle Creek Meadow.
View up the valley.

Looking back at the hillside the Bench Trail climbs to Heart and Arrow Lakes.

Looking across the valley.

There was quite a bit of western snakeroot along the trail.

Scarlet gilia

Hummingbird Mountain

Granite hillside and peaks above the trail.

Trail signs at the Lookingglass Lake/Main Eagle Trail junction.

At the junction we forked right onto the Lookingglass Lake Trail and followed it downhill into Eagle Creek Meadow. At the far side of the meadow we located an established campsite not far from Eagle Creek.

Needle Point on the left from Eagle Creek Meadow.

Hummingbird Mountain from the campsite.

Eagle Creek near camp.

Lewis monkeyflower

After setting up camp and another short break we set off for Eagle Lake by returning to the Main Eagle Trail and continuing uphill.

Columbian ground squirrel

Pearly everlasting and Scouler’s St. John’s wort.

White mariposa lilies

Orange agoseris

Beetle on a white mariposa lily

Hillside along the trail.

Butterfly (Boisduval’s blue?) on pearly everlasting.

Monkshood

Heading toward Needle Point.

As the trail neared Needle Point it made a series of switchbacks to a junction with the Eagle Lake Trail.
One of the switchbacks.

This junction was just under 2-miles from the Lookingglass Lake Trail junction.

The Main Eagle Trail forked left toward Cache Lake. We went right on the Eagle Lake Trail following it another mile uphill to Eagle Lake.

Wildflowers along the trail.

Looking back down the valley.

Hawk

Fireweed along the trail.

Shrubby cinquefoil and paintbrush

Wildfire smoke creating a slight haze of the valley.

Granite near Eagle Lake.

Eagle Lake

Eagle Creek flowing below the dam at Eagle Lake.

We were hoping to find a nice shaded spot at the lake to take an extended break but trees were scarce and so was the shade. The lake however was beautiful.

Paintbrush

We did manage to find a couple of trees that cast enough shadow to provide a little relief from the heat as long as we occasionally moved our seats to follow the shade. Another pair of hikers arrived while we were resting. They were hoping to bushwack to the far end of the lake and catch the Perseid meteor shower that night.

We wound up staying at the lake for roughly three and a half hours. During that time Heather decided that she would not be attempting the hike to Arrow Lake the next day and would only be going up to Bear Lake with me in the morning. Bear Lake was just 1.5 miles from (and 1000′ above) our campsite. I was still planning to attempt the hike to Arrow Lake after visiting Bear Lake, but I was starting to seriously doubt that I’d actually make it up to that lake.
While sitting in the shade we spotted a herd of elk on the hillside across the valley.

Blurry photos due to the distance but it was fun to watch them.

We had brought our dinner with us and after eating that and replenishing our water supply we headed back down to camp. It was a little after 5pm when we started back and it was still uncomfortably warm. Fortunately the Sun was low enough that part of the return was in shadows which provided some relief.

Golden-mantled ground squirrel

Shade!

American saw-wort

Fawns

Our campsite in the trees from the Main Eagle Trail.

As we neared the junction with the Lookingglass Lake Trail we spotted a few tents around a rather large campfire at the south end of the meadow. While technically not banned at that moment in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest it seemed a completely unnecessary risk to have a campfire given the high fire danger combined with the unusually warm temperatures.

We turned in for night having hiked a total of 11.4 miles an gaining a total of 2700′ of elevation. It had been a challenging but beautiful start to our trip. Happy Trails!

The red track is Bear Lake from the next day.

Flickr: Eagle Lake

Lewis River and Curly Creek Falls

After our vacation in Gold Beach, OR we began our next hike 300 miles away along the Lewis River in Washington’s Gifford-Pinchot National Forest. The Lewis River Trail is one of those very popular trails that we had not yet been to. We hoped an early start would help avoid the bulk of the Memorial Day Weekend crowds. We parked at the Lower Falls Recreation Area just a short distance from the first of the days waterfalls.
Trail sign at the Lower Falls Recreation Area

We walked down to a platform overlooking the Lower Falls. This was another waterfall that was much larger in person than it had looked in pictures.
Lower Falls viewing platform

Lower Lewis River Falls

We then headed down to river level to see what the falls looked like from that angle.
Lower Lewis River Falls

Lower Lewis River Falls

After getting the view from below we climbed back past the first platform and headed NE along the Lewis River Trail. A second viewpoint looked down from above the falls.
Lower Lewis River Falls

A couple of wooden staircases led down to little beaches along the river.
Stairs to the bank of the Lewis River

Lewis River

We followed the trail between the river and the Lewis River Campground then deeper into the forest toward the Middle and Upper Falls.
Trail sign along the Lewis River Trail

As we were crossing a footbridge Heather noticed something along the side creek. She said she almost mistook it for a statue because of how still it was standing but then the doe began heading back up the creek.
Deer along a small creek

Doe

As she retreated we noticed more movement in the underbrush. A pair of wobbly young fawns had been with the doe.
Fawns

After snapping a couple of quick pictures we continued on so mom could get back to her fawns.

A section of trail was closed near Middle Falls but a detour was in place using the Middle Falls Parking Area.
Trail reroute due to slides

We had been planning on taking this route anyway since it passed another waterfall along Copper Creek.
Copper Creek Falls

When we were back on the Lewis River Trail we followed a sign for Middle Falls.

Middle Lewis River Falls

In addition to the waterfalls the Lewis River had some beautiful colored water due to the presence of rock shelves which created some deep green pools.

Lewis River

Before continuing on to Upper Falls we headed for the bridge over Copper Creek. The trail closure was posted at the bridge but below the bridge was a scenic water slide.
Slide on Copper Creek

Continuing on the Lewis River Trail we passed some large cliffs covered in green lichen.
Lichen covered rocks along the Lewis River Trail

Lewis River Trail

Another section of cliffs were of particular interest. Several trees were perched along the cliff edge with exposed roots high in the air. The rock showed clear signs of having been worn by the river which seemed to indicate that the roots of these trees had once been under the river bank, but as the river eroded the banks and deepened it’s canyon, the roots were left exposed. Given how far above the current river these trees were, we wondered how old they were.
Tree roots showing where the Lewis River once was.

Tree roots showing where the Lewis River once was.

The Upper Falls was another impressive, thundering waterfall.
Upper Lewis River Falls

Upper Lewis River Falls

We made our way out onto a gravel bar for a better view and found a few flowers as well as some elk sign.
Tall bluebells

Upper Lewis River Falls

The trail then climbed up to an upper viewpoint via a wide arc around some rock outcroppings.
Upper Lewis River Falls

Upper Lewis River Falls

Continuing on we passed a spectacular green pool before reaching Taitnapum Falls.
Lewis River

Taitnapum Falls

We turned around after reaching the end of the Lewis River Trail and NF Road 90. The Quartz Creek Trail continued on the far side but for us it was time to head back and get to our second hike.

We had seen a handful of people on our way out along the trail and wound up having each of the falls to ourselves, but on the way back it was a steady stream of people. The Recreation Area parking lot was packed as we left making us glad we had started with this hike. We drove back towards Cougar, WA on forest road 90 turning right on road 9039 at a sign for the Curly Creek Trailhead. We parked in a gravel lot just before reaching a bridge across the Lewis River. The trail was on the far side of the bridge so we crossed on foot and headed downstream to the West. A platform along the trail offered views across the Lewis River to the unique Curly Creek Falls with its pair of rock arches.

Curly Creek Falls

Just a short distance further was another viewpoint. This time for Miller Falls.

Miller Falls

One of the reasons we had not done these hikes before was due to the length of the drive vs. the amount of hike time. At 3 hours one way the 9-10 miles would cause us to spend more time in the car than on the trail. Our solution was to visit the Bolt Camp Shelter after Curly Creek and Miller Falls. To do this we returned along the trail to the road 9039 bridge, crossing the road and continuing on the Lewis River Trail.

Lewis River Trail

This portion of the Lewis River Trail was along a calmer section of the river offering plenty of access to the river.

Lewis River

We stopped for a short rest along the river at the Bolt Camp Shelter before returning to the trailhead.
Bolt Camp sign

Bolt Camp Shelter along the Lewis River

When it was all said and done we’d spent 6 hours and 42 minutes on the trail which meant we hadn’t violated our rule of not spending more time driving than hiking. It was easy to see why this area is so popular, but even with all the people we had still found some solitude along the trails and at every waterfall we’d visited. We couldn’t have asked for more. Happy Trails!

Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/albums/72157668708267141