Tag: enterprise

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

Tags eagle cap wilderness, enterprise, hiking, Jackson Lake, La Laguna, Lostine River, Maxwell Lake, Maxwell Lake Trail, Maxwell Lake Trailhead, Oregon, Pika, Wallowa Mountains, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, William L Sullivan

Hiking Oregon Trip report Wallowas

Chimney Lake – 08/20/2024

After spending the first three nights of our vacation in Baker City it was time to move our home base to the north side of the Wallowa Mountains. We had three more hikes planned beginning with Chimney Lake. We packed up and made the 2-hour drive to the Bowman-Francis Lake Trailhead.

This was another of Sullivan’s featured hikes (post). He gives two options for the hike, an out-and-back to Chimney Lake or continuing on a nearly 30-mile loop past several other lakes. We didn’t have time for a three-day backpacking trip now, so we set our eyes on the out-and-back day hike.

We followed signs for the Bowman Trail and Chimney Lake which took us across Lostine River Road to a bridge across the Lostine River.

On the far side of the river the trail began to climb. It was a steady but reasonably graded climb using a series of five switchbacks to gain just over 2000′ in a little under 4-miles to a junction with the Chimney-Wood Trail.

The trail entered the Eagle Cap Wilderness at the first switchback.

At the second switchback we came to Slide Falls on Bowman Creek.

Lewis monkeyflower

The views from the trail improved as we climbed above the falls.
Eagle Cap (post) in the distance.

Chipmunk

One of the switchbacks.

Western tanager

Pearly everlasting

Paintbrush

Baneberry

Pika

Bowman Creek

Grass of parnassus

The trail crossing Bowman Creek.

Arnica

Monkeyflower

Bees on American sawort.

Golden-mantled ground squirrel

Another pika.

Elderberry

The trail leveled off a little at the beginning of Brownie Basin where we stayed right at a fork.
The lefthand fork led to a campsite and meadows in the basin.

Gentians

Meadow in Brownie Basin.

The junction with the Chimney-Wood Trail.

We turned right at the junction and climbed another 0.7-miles to Lower Laverty Lake.

One of several pine siskins that were in these plants.

Aster

Fritillary

Lupine and aster

Butterfly on pearly everlasting

Another western tanager.

Gentians and St. Johnswort

Lower Laverty Lake

A patch of fireweed above the lake.

Hooded ladies’-tresses

American kestral

Lower Laverty Lake

After walking along the lakeshore for 0.2-miles the trail continued another 0.5-miles to Chimney Lake.

Twin Peaks across the Lostine River valley.

Eagle Cap at the far end of the valley.

Heading for Chimney Lake.

Chimney Lake

We continued a short distance around the lake to some granite boulders where we took a break to enjoy the scenery.

Gentians along the lakeshore.

The rocks ahead where we took our break.

Islands in Chimney Lake.

We shared our resting spot with numerous golden-mantled ground squirrels, pikas, and butterflies.
No matter how cute they are, please don’t feed the wildlife (Leave No Trace principle 6).

Sulphur butterfly

We heard more pikas than we saw. Here is the one, blurry, photo I managed to get.

Milbert’s tortoiseshell

Golden-mantle managing to feed itself.

After a nice long break we started back. With the Sun now overhead, the views across the Lostine River valley were clearer than they had been in the morning.

Twin Peaks

Aster

California tortoiseshell

Grouse

A comma, possible green comma.

Back at the bridge over the Lostine River.

Lostine River in the afternoon.

Our GPS put our hike at 11.3-miles with over 2400′ of elevation gain.

We finished just after 2:15pm which was perfect timing for us to make the 50-min drive to Enterprise and be at our motel for check-in at 3pm. This hike was amazing, but we’ve come to expect that from anything in the Wallowas. They never seem to disappoint. I had even spotted a fox hunting in a field on the drive in that morning. (Heather unfortunately missed it.) We settled into our room and prepared for another hike from Lostine River Road the next day. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Chimney Lake

Tags Bowman Creek, Bowman Trail, Bowman-Francis Lake Trailhead, Chimney Lake, Chimney-Wood Trail, eagle cap wilderness, enterprise, hiking, Laverty Lake, Lostine River, Oregon, slide falls, Wallowa Mountains, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest

Hiking Oregon Trip report Wallowas

Bonny Lakes – 07/24/2024

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.

<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

Tags Aneroid Mountain, Big Sheep Creek, Bonny Lakes, Bonny Lakes Trail, eagle cap wilderness, enterprise, hiking, McCully Creek Trail, Middle Fork Big Sheep Creek, North Fork Big Sheep Creek, Oregon, Tenderfoot Trailhead, Tenderfoot Wagon Road Trail, Wallow-Whitman National Forest. Main Eagle Trailhead, Wallowa Mountains, wildflowers, Wing Ridge Trail

Hells Canyon Hiking Oregon Trip report

Buckhorn Lookout – 06/15/2023

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date June 23, 2023
3 Comments on Buckhorn Lookout – 06/15/2023

We had spent Wednesday wading through poison ivy along the Imnaha River on our way to Eureka Bar (post). Thursday’s hike promised to involve a lot less poison ivy even though the trailhead was less than four miles as the crow flies from the Cow Creek Trailhead where we’d parked the day before. This was because we would be starting over 4000′ higher in elevation at Buckhorn Lookout.

Before we made it to the lookout we stopped to watch a small herd of elk cross the road and run up a hillside.

At least one bull in the herd.

We parked at the lookout and checked out the view there first then walked back along the road 0.2-miles and turned right on Forest Road 780 for another 1.2-miles to a gate.
Buckhorn Lookout

Hells Canyon

Tolmie’s onion

Pale paintbrush

Larkspur, lupine, and northern mules ears.

Prairie smoke a.k.a. old man’s whiskers

Purple sticky geranium

Paintbrush

Parsley, larkspur, large flower triteleia, and Tolmie’s onion

Phlox

We could have driven the 1.2-miles on FR 780 to the gate but the road was not in good shape and after driving to Eureka Bar the day before we weren’t interested in another rough road.

Mallow ninebark

Arnica

Large flower triteleia

Gate at the end of the road.

Marker for the Nez Perce – Nee-Mee-Poo National Historic Trail.

The trail followed an old roadbed downhill 7.6-miles to Eureka Bar, but our plan was to go just 3.6-miles to what Sullivan refers to as the “Eureka Viewpoint”. The entire route was lined with wildflowers. The mixture and types changed as we lost elevation, over 1780′ in all, to the viewpoint.

Columbian lewisia

Seven Devils in Idaho

Lupine, yarrow, buckwheat, and scarlet gilia

Scarlet gilia

Elkhorn clarkia a.k.a. ragged robin

Another impressive scarlet gilia.

Paintbrush, lupine, phacelia, thistle, and scarlet gilia

Penstemon

A phlox

Scabland penstemon

Threadleaf phacelia

Penstemon

Paintbrush

Lark sparrow

Cedar waxwing

Elkhorn clarkia

Wallflower

Skullcap

Nettle-leaf giant hyssop

Monkeyflower and some tiny white flowers near a seep.

Buckwheat

Mylitta crescent

Rough eyelashweed

Looking back up the trail.

At Spain Saddle the road switched to the opposite side of the ridge.

Bush penstemon

Another type of penstemon

White spiraea

Manyflower tonella

Owl’s clover

Six tenths of a mile from Spain Saddle we detoured left along a fence to a viewpoint.
The viewpoint on the far side of the fence.

Boat on the Snake River.

Salsify

We continued on from the first viewpoint and wound up having to yield the trail to a few cows that were being herded up the trail. After the cowgirl convinced them it was safe to pass by us we resumed our downhill hike.

Bindweed

Thistle with bugs.

Clouds moving in behind us.

Prickly pear cactus

The only poison ivy we saw all hike.

Eureka Viewpoint ahead to the left.

Hairy goldenaster

Fleabane

Eureka Viewpoint

Looking back

Looking down

Clustered broomrape

The most exciting part of Eureka Viewpoint wasn’t the view. It was finding some prickly pear cactus in bloom.

As for the view the three small portions of the Snake River was visible below.

A very small part of the river is visible to the left and more to right.

As we rested at the viewpoint we got to looking around and realized that there was a common nighthawk sleeping on a nearby fence post.

After a good break we began the long climb back to the lookout. The forecast had been for mostly sunny skies but it had grown increasingly hazy all day and there were now even more clouds converging overhead. It didn’t rain so the cloud cover was welcome as it kept the temperature from getting too high. The haze, which was smoke from wildfires was more problematic as it really hindered the views and by the time we’d reached the lookout we couldn’t see nearly as much as we had that morning.
Here come the clouds.

We spotted a rock arch on the way up that we’d missed earlier.

A closer look at the arch.

Common wood nymph

Spotted towhee

Northern flicker

The only time we noticed the Imnaha River from the trail.

Butterfly near the seep.

Mountain parnassian on yarrow.

A painted lady butterfly.

Chipping sparrow

We could actually smell a little smoke at times on the way back.

Tiny trumpet

Hound’s tongue and roses

Cassin’s finch

Western bluebird

Western tanager

Western wood peewee

Hairy Indian paintbrush

Hoary balsamroot

Mountain bluebird

The view in the afternoon from the lookout.

This wound up being our favorite hike of the trip despite the views not being as clear as we would have liked, and is one we would certainly revisit given the chance. We’re pretty sure we saw at least 50 different species of wildflowers and the views were good even with the smoke and clouds. Round trip was 10.8 miles with almost 1800′ of elevation gain, almost entirely on the way back.

After driving back to Enterprise we cleaned up and headed to Terminal Gravity Brewing for a nice dinner with a view of the Wallowa Mountains. The next morning we would be leaving Enterprise and heading for Pendleton via the long way around the Wallowas so we could make three stops along the Snake River. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Buckhorn Lookout

Tags Buckhorn Lookout, enterprise, Hells Canyon, Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, hiking, Nee-Mee-Poo National Historic Trail. Eureka Viewpoint, Nez Perce National Historic Trail, Oregon, Prickly Pear Cactus, Terminal Gravity Brewing, wildflowers

Hiking Oregon Trip report Wallowas

Iwetemlaykin State Heritage Site – 06/13/2023

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date June 21, 2023
No Comments on Iwetemlaykin State Heritage Site – 06/13/2023

After Monday’s round of afternoon/evening thunderstorms we wanted to make sure we weren’t out hiking during Tuesday’s forecasted storms. We had decided to play it safe and make Tuesday a light hiking day mixed with some sightseeing in Joseph, OR. We had hoped to start with breakfast from Sugar Time Bakery but it wound up being closed all week so we ate in the room and then drove to Joseph and parked at the Iwetemlaykin State Heritage Site.

A short series of trails here offer views of the Wallowa Mountains and sits adjacent to the National Park Service’s Old Chief Joseph Gravesite.

The trail set off uphill gaining views of the mountains.
Lupine along the trail.

Interpretive sign along the trail.

Second from the left is Dug Peak, the pointy peak is Sawtooth Peak, and the round peak to the right is Hurricane Point.

The trail descended from the hill and leveled out along some trees.

Yellow warbler

Brown-headed cowbirds

The trail split near Knight’s Pond where we turned left and crossed Silver Lake Ditch.

On the far side of the ditch we spotted a couple of bucks on the hillside.

The trail climbed again past a bench then descended to another parking area along Highway 351.

Hounds tongue

Death camas

Oregon sunshine

Bench with a view of Point Joseph behind.

Sunflowers yet to bloom.

Fiddleneck

Descending to the highway.

We followed a bike/pedestrian path along the highway for a tenth of a mile to the entrance to the Nez Perce National Historic Park Cemetery.

Old Chief Joseph’s gravesite. His original grave near Wallowa, OR had been looted twice before he was moved here in 1926.

Wallowa Lake beyond the gravesite of Martha and Frank David McCully.

After paying our respects we returned to the Iwetemlaykin Heritage Area and returned to the junction near Knight’s Pond where we turned left past a beautiful reflection.

A sightseeing robin.

Butterfly on the trail.

Western stoneseed

Before looping around the pond and returning to our car we detoured on a spur trail to Farmer’s Ditch at the South Main Street Entrance.

Farmer’s Ditch

View from the South Main Street Entrance.

Passing back by Knight’s Pond.

Some uplift action on the clouds from the trailhead.

This was a 2.5-mile hike with maybe 200′ of elevation gain. We saw lots of birds and three deer during our outing and had some wonderful mountain views.

It was just a little after 9am when we finished so we drove back into downtown Joseph and parked at a public lot. We figured most places wouldn’t be open until 10am but we thought we could walk around and see what was there and enjoy the numerous art pieces around town in the meantime. Little did we realize that many (most) stores and restaurants were closed on Tuesday’s including the Wallowa County Museum. The lack of open storefronts combined with a bunch of sidewalk construction taking place cut our sightseeing short. Instead we drove back to our room in Enterprise and relaxed for a few hours before heading back to Joseph in the afternoon for an early dinner at Embers Brew House which was open on Tuesdays. Not quite the way we’d imagined the day going but we made it work and felt refreshed ahead of what promised to be the most stressful drive/hike(s) of our trip on Wednesday. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Iwetemlaykin State Heritage Area

Tags Embers Brew House, enterprise, Farmer's Ditch, hiking, Iwetemlaykin State Heritage Area, Jospeh, Knight's Pond, Nez Perce National Historic Park, Old Chief Joseph's Gravesite, Oregon, Silver Lake Ditch, Wallowa Mountains, yellow warbler

Hiking Oregon Trip report Wallowas

Imnaha Falls – 06/12/2023

Our arrival in Enterprise coincided with the arrival of a couple of days with forecasted afternoon thunder storms. We did some rearraigning of the order of our hikes to avoid the storms and decided on Imnaha Falls as our Monday hike. We began at the Indian Crossing Trailhead located in the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area.
Indian Crossing Trailhead

Imnaha River at the trailhead.

There were quite a few wildflowers blooming at the trailhead.
Jessica’s stickseed

Hooked spur violet

Woodland star

Valerian

Arnica

We took the South Fork Imnaha Trail #1816 following pointers for Blue Hole and Twin Lakes.

Violets

We passed a pack station in the forest on our right.

Ballhead waterleaf

Lupine along the trail

Anemone

Western meadowrue

We passed a trail sign at junction with a spur trail joining from the pack station and soon after we entered the Eagle Cap Wilderness.

Paintbrush along the trail.

Larkspur, lupine, and Jessica’s stickseed

After three quarters of a mile we entered a previously burned forest where the views opened up some.

Chipmunk

A nice patch of lupine.

Snow patches high up on the ridge.

The Imnaha River below the trail.

One of many small unnamed stream crossings.

Large-flower triteleia

A ponderosa pine that survived the fire.

Robin

One of several types of penstemon along the trail.

We were just sure that there should be elk, deer, or a bear down along the river here.

There were quite a few of these millipedes in the trail.

In some cases the creeks had taken over the trail.

Cinquefoil

A brushy section of the trail.

Tall bluebells

Two-tailed tiger swallowtail

At the two-mile mark we came to a signed junction for Twin Lakes Trail and Blue Hole where we detoured left.

We followed this trail downhill for a tenth of a mile to an impassable ford of the Imnaha River just below the Blue Hole.

The river was running high still so we couldn’t get a view of Blue Hole from the ford. Instead we climbed the rocks which squeeze the river through a narrow gorge before it empties into Blue Hole.

Blue Hole, not exactly blue this time of year due to the amount of silty snowmelt water swelling the river.

Wildflowers above the gorge.

The Imnaha emerging from the gorge into Blue Hole.

After a nice break at Blue Hole we returned to the South Fork Imnaha Trail and continued further into the wilderness.
Arnica along the trail.

Coming up on a small stand of aspen.

A rockcress

Juba skipper

Roundleaf alumroot

Painted lady on Oregon sunshine.

Glacier carved rock outcrops provided some excellent views and good habitat for wildflowers.

Scabland penstemon

Paintbrush

Not a flower but very colorful.

Bush penstemon

Western tanager

Western blue clematis

Brown creeper on a tree trunk.

Left is Marble Mountain and to the right further back is Honeymoon Summit.

Larkspur along the trail.

Heartleaf springbeauty

Another flooded section of a the trail.

Western tiger swallowtails on chokecherry.

Dreamy duskywing

Threeleaf lewisia

We were too late for the Brown’s peony blooms.

Balsamroot and paintbrush

Three and a third miles beyond the Twin Lakes Trail junction we left the trail to see another gorge.

On the opposite side, with a series of drops, is Rock Creek flowing into the Imnaha.

The Imnaha River leaving the gorge.

Rock Creek cascading down through the forest.

After another short break we returned to the trail and continued another third of a mile where we left the trail again to find Imnaha Falls.

Another creek cascading down.

Marble Mountain

Twinberry honeysuckle

Marsh violet

Rock outcrop above Imnaha Falls

The 8′ Imnaha Falls was difficult to get a good view of. There was a large gap in the rocks that I eventually had to climb down into and out of to get to the edge of the rock outcrop above the river.
I tried going down river first to see if I could get a view back up to the falls, but the water level was into the brush along the riverbank.

The falls were just upriver from this bench with a couple of campsites.

The gap in the outcrop.

Imnaha Falls.

The falls were more of a rapids which might have been caused by the volume of water this time of year.

We took a final break on the rocks here and then headed back toward the trailhead. We kept a lookout for any flowers we’d missed on the first pass.
Utah honeysuckle

Bee on a dandelion

Nettle-leaf giant hyssop

Slender phlox

Silverleaf phacelia

Vetch

Diffuse-flower evening-primrose surrounded by blue-eyed Mary.

Osprey, the fishing here must have been good because we’d seen a bald eagle in this area in the morning.

Fairy slipper

Arriving back at the trailhead.

We saw three other people on the return to the trailhead. The first gentleman we encountered asked us how far it was to the lakes. He’d already passed the Twin Lakes Trail, not that he could have forded the river there, and the next closest lake was probably Fish Lake which was a good 7-8 miles away. We let him know that there weren’t any lakes nearby but that Imnaha Falls was a couple of miles further along the trail. He didn’t have much with him but he continued on after looking at the gathering clouds and saying he thought he had time to make it there. The next couple we passed after Blue Hole and they didn’t appear to be carrying any type of food, water, or gear. The number of unprepared and uninformed people we pass on trails really makes us wonder how there aren’t more rescues/deaths every year.

Our hike came in at 12.2 miles due to some extra exploring along the river with approximately 800′ of elevation gain.

We drove back to Enterprise, got cleaned up, and headed out for an early dinner. When we opened the motel room door we were greeted by a heavy rain shower. We had planned on eating at Terminal Gravity Brewing but when we got out of the car a lightning bolt immediately followed by thunder convinced us that outdoor dining was not a good idea at the moment. We decided to save Terminal Gravity for later in the week and instead got some tasty Pad Thai to go from Thai Enterprise and took it back to our room where we listened to the evening thunderstorms roll past.

Tuesday’s forecast was for more of the same with a slightly higher chance for showers so we’d planned to do a short hike in the morning followed by some time sightseeing in Joseph. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Imnaha Falls

Tags Blue Hole, eagle cap wilderness, enterprise, Gorge, Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, hiking, Imnaha Falls, Indian Crossing Trailhead, Oregon, Rock Creek, South Fork Imnaha River Trail, Twin Lakes Trail, wildflowers

Hiking Oregon Trip report Wallowas

Zumwalt Prairie Preserve

For our last day of hiking on our Memorial Day weekend trip to NE Oregon we planned on visiting Zumwalt Prairie. Managed by the Nature Conservancy there are four trails open to hikers totaling approximately 9.5 miles combined. We had originally planned on doing all four but for reasons to be explained later we wound up skipping the Canyon Vista Trail this trip.

We had had a mix of weather so far during the trip with a snow shower on Friday (post) and nearly 80 degree temperatures on Saturday (post). Sunday was again up in the air as the forecast called for a 50% chance of showers and possible thunder storms after 11am. We got our typically early morning start and made the 45 minute drive from Wallowa Lake to the the preserve.

As we left Wallow Lake we were surprised to see that the Wallowas were mostly cloud free so on the way to the hikes we decided to start with the viewpoint hikes first in hopes of getting some nice looks at both the Wallowas and the Seven Devils in Idaho. Based on the trailhead locations we thought we might start with the Canyon Vista Trail but as we turned onto Duckett Road and passed Duckett Barn and the information kiosk there we noted how rough and wet the dirt road was. The map of the preserve mentioned that between the turn off for the Harsin Butte Trail and the Canyon Vista Trailhead “high clearance /4wd vehicles are recommended….This road may be impassable at times during the winter or when wet”. We decided that there was no reason to risk getting stuck, especially since there seemed to be quite a bit of fog toward the area where the trail looked to be. When we reached the spur road for the Harsin Butte Trail we turned down it and started our day there.

Described as sort of a scramble route the Harsin Butte Trail gains just under 700′ in .8 miles to the summit viewpoint. Even before we started climbing though the views were good.
Looking toward the Seven Devils in Idaho

Findley Buttes (You can see some of the standing water on Duckett Road on the right hand side.)

From a distance and especially while driving it’s a bit difficult to notice all the flowers but once we got onto the trail we realized there were a whole lot of different flowers present.

Old man’s whiskers

Phlox with larkspur in the background

Cusick’s paintbrush

White-stem frasera

Paintbrush

A wild onion

Larkspur

Milk vetch

Chickweed

Woodland stars

An assortment of flowers

We were following a clear path and could see the continuation of the path going up the side of Harsin Butte so we were a little confused when we passed a couple of rock cairns about a quarter mile from the trailhead.
One of the carins and the trail going up Harsin Butte in the background.

We ignored the cairns and stayed on the clear path.

After another quarter mile of walking we realized that this was not the trail to the butte, it was heading around the west side of the butte to what looked like a corral instead. We backtracked to the cairns and followed them to find the continuation of the correct path.

It seemed the higher up we went the more flowers we were spotting.

One exciting find for us were the monument plants which we don’t get to see all that often.
Monument plant

Top of the monument plant

Shooting star

As we were climbing we noticed that the low clouds behind us seemed to be moving our way fairly quickly. I decided to try and double time it up to the summit in an attempt to avoid being over taken by clouds before getting to see the view. Apparently 3 days of hiking had taken more of a toll on me than I had realized and I was quickly sucking wind. The 5000′ elevation probably wasn’t helping me any and I regretted my decision every time I had to stop to try and catch my breath.
Here comes the clouds.

One of the times that I found myself gasping for air I noticed this rockcress.

The path led briefly into a stand of pines where game trails crisscrossed and elk sign abounded.

A few different flowers showed up in this area.
Bluebells

Yellow bell

Violets

Ball-head waterleaf

After a brief disappointment upon realizing there was a false summit I made it up to the actual summit with its solar powered antenna.

The cloud scare proved to be a false alarm, at least for the moment as they passed to the north of Harsin Butte between it an one of the Findley Buttes.

There were a few clouds over the Wallowas to the southwest but also some sun shining on the northern end.

IMG_8359_stitch

To the southeast the Seven Devils had a similar look.
IMG_8363_stitch

After a nice rest (I needed it) at the summit we headed back down. The clouds over the northern end of the Seven Devils lifted a little reveling a little more of the mountains.

By the time we were finished, with what turned into a 2.1 mile hike, our shoes were pretty well soaked from the dew on the grass but the flowers seemed to love it.

We didn’t see any elk but we did spot a Belding’s ground squirrel who had popped up to check us out.

We hopped back in the car and drove back to the Duckett Barn and parked at the information kiosk there.

Those clouds we’d been watching were starting to move overhead as we set off on Patti’s Trail, a short lollipop loop which began on the opposite side of Duckett Road from the kiosk.

There weren’t as many flowers along this trail as we had seen on Harsin Butte but there were still quite a few and some that we had not seen during the first hike.
Camas

Old man’s whiskers and white-stem frasera

We followed blue posts and pointers to a fence.

This area was a bit rockier and had quite a bit of phlox and large head clover.
Lots of phlox

20190526_075112 Phlox

Large head clover, larkspur, and wild onion

20190526_075335 Large head clover

Wild onion

The trail descended slightly as it approached Camp Creek. Although we still had some clouds passing overhead we had a clear view of the prairie and the flowers we were passing by.
Duckett Barn starting to disappears as we descended.

Possibly hoary balsamroot

Hoary balsamroot?

Phlox

20190526_081858 Diffuseflower evening-primrose

Camp Creek

Patti’s Trail followed along Camp Creek to a small pond where red-winged black birds were hanging out.

Beyond the pond the trail continued following the creek passing more flowers and blackbirds along the way.

Possibly a mustard

White-stem frasera blooming

20190526_080638 Violets

20190526_081638 Hairy clematis

Old man’s whiskers

20190526_082540 Cusick’s paintbrush

The trail veered left at a stock pond.

We paused at the pond and Heather spotted a deer running up a nearby hillside.

The trail continued to bend back around to the left following what was described as the swale of a dry creek but again with the recent precipitation there was water flowing creating a nice little stream.

The trail eventually left the creek and was headed straight for Harsin Butte in the distance.

We’d lost sight of the posts at one point and were just sticking to what appeared to be the main track and ended up veering left of the butte and coming to a small watering hole where the track petered out.

Looking back from this higher vantage point we could see the next post we should have been aiming for so we backtracked and found another fainter track that put us back on the right course.

The clouds were breaking up nicely as we ended this hike and the butterflies were coming out.

After completing the loop and returning to our car we headed back toward Zumwalt-Buckhorn Road and our final hike of the day and trip on the Horned Lark Trail. While we were still on Duckett Road though we spotted a pair of elk running up the Findley Butte near the barn and stopped to get a picture.

Shortly after turning right onto Zumwalt-Buckhorn Rd we stopped again to get a picture of a Wilson’s snipe. One had flown up from the grass while we were on Patti’s Trail but we hadn’t been able to get a picture of that one.

When we were finally done with stopping for wildlife we parked at the Horned Lark Trailhead just over 3 miles from Duckett Road.

This trail was described as an “easy 1.9 mile loop which sounded like a perfect way to end our trip. We began by following a clear double track through the prairie. Lupine was blooming nicely in this area and there was a view of the Wallowa Mountains beyond the Findley Buttes.

As with Patti’s Trail the route of the Horned Lark Trail was marked by blue posts.

The trail descended toward a pond near Pine Creek.

Once again flowers were good supply.
Paintbrush and biscuitroot

A ragwort or groundsel (I think)

False sunflower?

Old man’s whiskers and milk vetch

20190526_094353 Western stoneseed

We spotted another ground squirrel ahead in the path.

He may have been on high alert due to the presence of a merlin nearby.

I had to dip into the digital zoom to get this photo so it’s a bit blurry.

We followed the path and posts to the fenced pond but the path disappeared near a post a bit beyond the pond.

We consulted the map that we’d printed out and it appeared to show the trail following a fenceline near Pine Creek so that’s what we did until we were able to spot another post in the distance.

The fence was popular with the birds.

We picked up a faint path and followed it toward the post.

We followed the posts up a draw where the tread was often indiscernible.

Even now we were still seeing different flowers.
Dwarf yellow fleabane

Blue dicks

Maybe it was simply due to the fact that this was our fourth staight day of hiking and it was early in our hiking season but this loop despite being only 2 miles long didn’t feel easy. The deer that we spotted bounding up and over the hill ahead of use didn’t seem to think it was too difficult though.

Looking back down the draw.

Back on top we were headed ESE and could see the Seven Devils and Harsin Butte on the horizon.

The Wallowas were still visible too behind Harsin Butte and the two Findley Buttes (from left to right).

With the completion of the Horned Lake Trail our total milage for the three hikes came to 6.9 miles. It would have been a bit less had we not followed a couple of wrong paths. Harsin Butte was the most difficult with the 700′ elevation gain followed by the Horned Lark Trail with the easiest being Patti’s Trail. The Canyon Vista Trail which we skipped would have been about 3.6 miles round trip and possibly around 500′ of elevation gain. It was a beautiful place to visit and I guess we have a good reason to go back with one trail left undone.

As we were driving back toward Enterprise we encountered a vehicle stopped in the road. They flagged us down and let us know that they thought there was a golden eagle sitting on a rock on the hillside. Between the distance and the angle of the sun it was hard to tell but then the bird flew and it looked awfully small for a golden eagle. It landed on a telephone pole allowing us to see that it was indeed only a hawk, but it was a nice scene regardless.

We said goodbye to the Wallowas and drove into Pendleton for the night where, after having been threatened by their possibility all weekend we finally got a thunderstorm. Luckily we had already walked back from our dinner at OMG! Burgers and Brew where we had another excellent meal. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Zumwalt Prairie

Tags Camp Creek, Canyon Vista Trail, Cusick's Indian Paintbrush, deer, elk, enterprise, Findley Buttes, Harsin Butte, Harsin Butte Trail, hiking, Horned Lark Trail, OMG! Burgers and Brew, Oregon, Patti's Trail, Pine Creek, wildflowers, Wilson's snipe, Zumwalt Prairie