Six and a half hours from our home are the Wallowa Mountains in Eastern Oregon. Not wanting to hit the trailhead after such a long drive, Joe and I decided to drive five hours to Baker City, Oregon the day before our intended start day and stay overnight.
We woke just before six on our start date to drive the additional one and a half hours to the trailhead. The drive to the trail was more entertaining than we anticipated. We were less than halfway into the drive when we saw an entire herd of antelope running through a grass field. I was in awe having never seen antelope in the wild let alone an entire herd of them. We hoped this was a good omen for more wildlife sightings.
The road to the trail was narrow and rocky as it wound through the forest and we both got a bit of a shock when a black cow with an entirely white face suddenly turned its head and looked straight at us as we rounded a corner. I had initially seen the white face out of the corner of my eye but didn't fully register what it was until the cow looked straight at us. The suddenness of the experience made us laugh since the very last thing we expected was a lone cow in the middle of a forest.
We reached the trailhead around eight-thirty. The trail started out as an easy amble uphill, nothing too strenuous or difficult. There’s something really lovely about hiking a trail where you are not constantly anticipating the next big climb or water crossing. It allows you to just let your mind wander and not really think about much. Less than a mile in we were greeted with our first view of the Wallowa Mountains which would become our playground for the coming days.
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| Our first look at the Wallowa Mountains |
After only a couple miles into the valley cut by East Eagle Creek, we found ourselves surrounded by mountains and passing through gorgeous meadows. Despite fires ravaging the West Coast, the air was clear and we had beautiful views the entire morning.
We made a quick stop for lunch then continued on through more gorgeous meadows bursting with the beginnings of autumn.
Video: Walking along East Eagle Creek meadows
By then it was getting warm and our packs were feeling heavy, just the realities of the first couple days when the food bags are at their fullest. Our destination for the night was a small side trail off the route to Moon Lake or Hidden Lake, whichever we felt suited our need for a good view and flat ground.
The ascent to the lakes was easily the hardest ordeal of the day. We had to climb 900 feet in elevation in just over one mile over large rocks with the afternoon sun beating down. Joe was behind me for most of the climb, a very rare occurrence for us, so I knew he was having a bit of a rough go-uphill.
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| The climb to Moon Lake and Hidden Lake |
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| Still climbing |
We hit Moon Lake first and decided after the climb we’d rather just find a place to camp and enjoy the relative easiness of the first day. It helped that Moon Lake and the surrounding area were absolutely gorgeous.
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| Moon Lake |
Setting up camp early is never bad especially for what we considered our "warm-up" day to our adventure. Sometimes it’s not about what you can do but what you should do. We had five days planned with more elevation gain than we'd ever done before, there was no reason to truck on just for the sake of it and end up really sore when we knew our hardest days were coming. Knowing that we’d just have to backtrack any distance we did back to the main trail it was an easy decision.
We set up camp in a beautiful grassy meadow tucked away near some bushes and with our very own path to the lake.
We spent the night completely alone with no other hikers camping in the area so this allowed us the freedom to wander around the lake and explore without intruding on anyone's campsite. We saw one deer, lots of elk tracks, and what looked suspiciously like a mountain lion print. Luckily the only wildlife encountered was a single doe grazing across the lake.
Definitely not a bad way to end the first day of our Wallowa adventures!
Distance Logged 9.3 mi
Ascent 3033 ft
Descent 538 ft
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