Wallowas • I’ll be back
On this particular adventure I paired up with my sister Evie and a group of her friends. They are in their mid thirties, and of course I’m just around the bend of 50, this may or may not play into the details of this tale. Unlike most of my trips, I didn’t even download a trail map, we were going with a supposed Wallowas “expert” why would I need too, plus the word was that the hike in to the lake basin was “mostly flat”.
I had things to do, in order to drive 8 hours and potentially be “off grid” for 3 days, so I didn’t end up leaving Eugene until about 1:30pm. I love the open road and decided to take the slightly longer route via Bend and HWY 126, the changing tree lines to high mountain desert did not disappoint, but because of my late departure and some traffic delays, I didn’t roll into the reserved campground until 11:00 pm. It was raining, and setting up my truck tent would have disrupted my fellow hike mates who were comfortably crashed in the VW pop-up, so I crawled in the back seat of my truck and passed out.
A quick six minute drive to Joseph for some brewed coffee. Final pack/gear check then we loaded up, and drove the short distance from the campground to the park entrance. As we began the hike a light mist was falling and everyone was totally stoked to get going, the trail was well marked and we filled out our free camping pass before entering. There is a maximum allowed group size of six and you must list your dogs.
I hike a lot, I do not backpack that often, and it had been more than a year with weight on my back. I also hike with a Fjallraven backpack that has a wooden interior frame, it is very comfortable and I love it, but it is heavier than most packs. Additionally I also have a snail-ish pace when I am first starting, I know myself it doesn’t change. I like to start slow and then stay steady, I will have more energy and a quicker pace at the end of the day, thats just me, thats how I hike. I was with a new group of people and they had lighter packs, sharing tents etc. and they set a fast pace. I also have no problem letting people know that I enjoy hiking alone and at my own pace. Of course everyone was agreeable, but the weather started to quickly change and we ended up staying mostly together. The light misty rain turned to heavy rain, the clouds didn’t lift and eventually the rain turned to hail. This isn’t a story about a bad hike, it was fucking wonderful from the first step to the last…..but it was a little complicated for me. Here goes another caveat with having new backpacking or hiking partners, a few in the group did not have the right gear and were quickly soaked to the bone, shoes/boots, jackets etc. this motivated them to move even faster. I was dry, but getting a serious cardio workout trying to not slow them down, (and it wasn’t flat we were at an incline almost the whole way). Elevation gain to the lake basin is only about 2000 feet in 8 miles, so normally not a difficult hike. The pace, and the weight of my backpack was really pushing me to the limit. When we reached the first lake (Horseshoe) and the discussion commenced as to wether the site we arrived to was good enough, I was like dude…… I am drenched in sweat, I need a new set of clothes and to get horizontal in a dry place right now. My pack came off and my tent was out and up within five minutes.
I was in charge of dinner for the first nights meal and of course I am packing Saucefly Basecamp, the looks on the other five campers faces when we dug into hot ribeye fajitas with pico de gallo and roasted chile peppers was epic, and the lost energy of the high exertion day was quickly replaced. My sister Evie had packed up our favorite tequila the rain had stopped, the clouds had cleared and as the sun started to set, I was finally able to take in the absolute magic of the Wallowas.
Our second day was a day to hike at your own pace, I was feeling refreshed and was very interested in summiting Eagle Cap, we filled our day packs with grub and water and our Wallowa mountain ‘expert’ was going to lead us to the ascent trail then the group would decide who was going up and who was heading back to camp. I can not describe the absolute pure mountain energy felt here, to say that I could feel it soaking into my soul….would be an understatement. The day was perfect and the temperature was in the mid 70’s, an epic day. I hung back, strolled at my own pace, but kept the group within eyesight, as we rounded a bend after having hiked about an hour (in what turned out to be a giant loop) one pf the guys in the group said; “hey is that my tent?” group leader “ no, we are about 3 lakes away from our camp, many do look the same”……what came next was laughs from all…..no, that was our camp and he did see the red food bag hanging from the tree and the tip of his orange tent. The procession did an about face and we picked up the pace in order to make it to the Eagle cap base and still have time to get up and down before dark. As much as I wanted to do it, we decided for safety’s sake that it would have to be on another trip, and my lesson learned was, its ok to lean in and let other people lead, but always download your own maps………..Getting back to camp we all took quick dips in the ice cold water and spent the rest of the afternoon just hanging in the sun. Second nights dinner is only worth mentioning because eating it solidified why Saucefly Basecamp dehydrated line is so desperately needed
( I want to barf thinking about the chicken and rice dinner from ( **My Competitor**) those big chunks of eggs…….so gross)
The hike down was amazing an uneventful, I started off before the others on the pretense that I didn’t want to hold them back. What I really wanted was eight miles alone on the trail, because I knew they would be up on me if I needed anything, but having the freedom of that perfect solitude was too good to pass up. I ended up actually running down a good portion of the eight miles, made it down in two hours and fifteen minutes.
The eggs, bacon and coffee seemed to be the best I’ve ever had.
Jeremy Jones (the snowboarder) was asked, what is your favorite place to ride, what was the most epic ride? He never answers, because it sucks the magic. Each ride and every ride is delicious. Cheers to keeping the appetite wet for adventure !
**The pictures posted are: getting up for a midnight pee and capturing one of the best moon moments I have had in my life and view from our campsite at Horseshoe Lake