09-21-20 Wallowa Loop Trail Day 1: After delaying our four day backpacking adventure in the Wallowa mountains one week due to wildfire smoke, we arrived Sunday at the beautiful Wallowa Lake State Park and set up home for husband Dave and dog Bella. Seasoned Strider, Shoehorn and I departed at noon on Monday and took the eastbound trail up to Aneroid Lake. Because of the smoky conditions back home we had become couch potatoes, and after 6.86 miles, 2,825 ft elevation gain (and only 112 ft descent), we were really glad to see that lake. On the way up we passed the Wallowa Falls Hydroelectric Project which was constructed in 1921 to provide electricity to the communities of Joseph, Enterprise, Lostine, and Wallowa. The water drops 1,000 feet to the powerhouse. At the lake we set up camp and watched the sun set while we ate dinner. Bedtime was early for us!
09-22-20 Wallowa Loop Trail Day 2: We woke to the pitter patter of a light rain shower (which was not forecasted) and thankfully it quit after 30 minutes. We hit the trail around 8am and continued upward toward Polaris Pass. I had brought my binoculars on this trip hoping we would see some big wildlife but so far we haven’t seen anything bigger than the grouse yesterday. The smoke was thicker today so the views were a bit smudgy. A nice breeze was blowing and we were hoping it would blow the smoke away. The trail followed the contours of the hills meandering through orange-colored dead low growing bushes. The colors popped against the terrain. At five miles we arrived at Polaris Pass at 8,891 feet and the wind was blowing like stink on the other side. We stopped for lunch on the leeward side and looked for goats to no avail. The smoke seemed to be getting worse so I sent a text to my husband Dave (via my InReach device) to ask what the Air Quality Index was. If it was forecasted to be bad, we were considering bailing tomorrow morning as there was an alternate trail back to the State Park. We had read that going down over Polaris Pass was quite dicey and found how true that statement was. We took our time, placing our feet and making sure they were set before moving forward. We also had the wind blowing against us. We made it down through the dicey part without mishap and spent the rest of the afternoon zigzagging down the other side (see photo of switchbacks). We ran into a couple who were resting and the fellow warned us of sheer cliffs and nasty trail ahead of us. We were already hyper-aware of the trail but found his concerns unwarranted when we reached the bottom. We still had another 600 ft of uphill to reach Frazier Lake, our destination for the night. We dragged up the hill, found the lake and our campsite for the night. It was a longer day than anticipated and we were beat. We had followed something that looked like a stick that had been continually dragged along the trail, and met up with a fellow backpacker (his name was Kim and he was from Corvalis, OR) who was hiking with his dog Maggie. He lets the dog’s leash drag on the ground and finds it easier to just step on it when they encounter other hikers. The mystery of the line was solved! He also said he was Big Horn Sheep up at the pass complete with Mr. Billy Goat. So bummed we didn't see them! Dave replied to my text and said the weather and smoke should be better tomorrow so we’re continuing our adventure. A 12 mile day with 2,388 ft elevation gain and 2,799 elevation loss.
09-23-20 Wallowa Loop Trail Day 3: This is the day we have been waiting for and had our fingers and toes crossed that it wouldn’t be too smoky. The day we hike around the popular and famous lakes basin. Most people do a lollipop loop of 21 miles that starts on the westbound trail and goes straight into the lakes basin. We started two days ago on the bigger eastbound loop that hopped (yeah, right) over Polaris Pass. The day started off windy and it stayed with us all day. The wind did help blow out some of the smoke but the pictures do reflect the residual effect of the leftover haze. I was a snapping maniac and took 180 photos today. That took some time to whittle down for today’s journal. We left Frazier Lake bundled up in long pants and jackets and made our way up, up, up to Glacier Lake. Two backpackers from Silverton, OR stopped to let us know how windy it was at the lake. They had stayed the night and said it was so cold and windy. They decided to hike down to Frazier Lake to have their coffee. We mentioned that it was probably just as windy there. Moving on, we approached Glacier Lake and it looked like an infinity pool at eye level as we arrived at the lake. Yep, it was super windy and cold, but also super beautiful. We took our snack break while we explored the area. There was a spectacular view of Eagle Cap from the lake.
We continued up to Glacier Pass and over and passed seven fellows who were backpacking together. They said they stayed at Mirror Lake two nights and it was an amazing place. Since it was just a hop, skip, and a jump from our upcoming lunch stop, we decided we would take the time for a visit. After a long downhill we arrived at Moccasin Lake. Wow, it was gorgeous! Beautiful campsites on a peninsula. After lunch we hid our backpacks in the trees and hiked over to Mirror Lake. Wowsie! We thought Glacier Lake and Moccasin Lake were beautiful, Mirror Lake knocked our socks off. We walked to the end of the lake and passed by many campsites. Apparently the lakes basin can also be reached by another trail system from a trailhead via the town of Lostine. Shoehorn asked a couple of backpackers if it was possible to hike around the entire lake and they said they didn’t know, but they had planned on staying two nights but the incoming storm was making them cut their trip short. Uh-oh, time for us to depart and make our way to our next campsite at Horseshoe Lake a few miles from here. We retraced our steps, found our packs and made our way past several other lakes, Douglas Lake, Lily Lake, and Lee Lake, before we arrived at Horseshoe Lake. We ran into Kim and Maggie at Lee Lake where he had made camp. We continued on to Horseshoe Lake and found our home for the night. Life was good until, WAM! A huge gust of wind picked up the soil near our tents and slammed it into the tent mesh. The insides of all three tents were covered with fine dust/dirt. Sleeping bags, air pads, clothing, packs, cook kits, all covered with fine dirt. What a mess. We tried to hunker down but the wind was relentless on depositing fresh dirt into our tents. (Say, didn’t something like this just happen on my Adams to White Pass section hike in August??) We were temporarily distracted by the beautiful sunset and heard a loud crash on the other side of the lake. We are assuming a tree fell over from the wind. We had done our due diligence before setting up our tents, ensuring no dead widowmakers (trees) were towering over us. The wind finally settled down later in the evening and we were able to get some Zzzz’s before morning. 10.42 miles, 2,238 ft elevation gain, 2,215 ft elevation loss, just about even....
09-24-20 Wallowa Loop Trail Day 4, final day: At first when we woke up, we were excited to find out that it hadn’t rained last night. It was still pretty dark out at 6am but with our headlamps we could see that we were socked in with thick fog. I was so glad that Shoehorn had her headlamp on when I made a potty run into the woods so I could find my way back to the tents. Then the rain started slowly while I was heating water for coffee and continued in strength while we finished breakfast and started packing up. The rain let up for a bit and we hurried to pack up the tents. On the trail by 7:37am! We had on full rain gear with thermals on underneath as it was quite chilly. About three miles down the rain stopped and we continued another mile before we started removing raingear. It was a very pleasant trek back to the trailhead where we started three days ago. About a mile from the trailhead, here comes Dave with Bella! Always a treat and something we look forward to. Trish wasn’t aware of this tradition but she also enjoyed the extra visit all the way back to the car. For a celebration, Shoehorn treated us to lunch at one of the small restaurants close to the state park. It was great food and a grand finale for a fantastic trip in the Wallowas. 10.1 miles, 404 ft elevation gain, and a whopping 2,943 ft elevation loss. We are already brimming with anticipation until next summer for another exciting adventure in the Wallowas!