After the weather turned questionable on our Golden Larch trip to the Pasayten Wilderness, Deb and Steve recommended going to The Wallows in north-east Oregon. Having never been there, Jim and I jumped on board. Deb architected a beautiful loop trip with 3 lovely summits. It is amazing how many 9,000+ foot peaks there are in such a small space.
After an 8 hour drive, we headed up the West Fork Wallowa River Trail. We hiked into a basin below Ice Lake and setup camp. Our goal was to climb the Matterhorn as a day trip on the next day.
We woke to blue skies. A nice change from the Washington rain and fog.
From the basin, we took day packs up to Ice Lake. Just before Ice Lake, we broke out of the trees and were treated to the rolling hillside. Ice Lake was still.
After gawking at the views for several minutes, we continued hiking around the lake. The white rock of the Matterhorn appeared high above the lake.
As we headed up the hillside on the other end of the lake, we were treated to fall colors and Craig Peak. It would have to wait for another trip.
The trail climbed very steeply which offered us fabulous views of the lake basin behind us.
As we reached the top of the lake basin, we crossed over the ridge leading to the Matterhorn. The white rock was striking in the distance. The rock was so white, it was difficult to see what was rock and what was snow.
Sacajawea Peak shares a ridge with the Matterhorn but the rock was completely different.
From high on the Matterhorn, we could see the rest of the Wallowa’s. The dusting of snow from a few days ago still stuck to the high peaks giving the rocky surfaces loads of texture.
The summit of the Matterhorn was slabs with rock intrusions stuck to its surface. Not sure I have ever climbed anything like it.
We spent a long time on the summit asking Deb about the area. This was her 4th trip to the Wallowa’s making her the resident expert.
After a long break, I decided to run the ridge before dropping back down.
Our route back to Ice Lake offered full views of the lake. We didn’t realize there was a lagoon of the the right side of the lake. Too bad we didn’t allow time to explore the lake basin. What this lake really needs is a pack raft.
I couldn’t get enough of Ice Lake.
We reached camp around 3:30 and decided to move camp back down to the river. Our plan the next day was to hike to the end of the river valley. By dropping camp, we could take a couple of miles off tomorrows hike.
There is a nice camp right on the river. There was a single woman with a dog in the best site but ours wasn’t bad. We had river access which allowed us all to clean up before dinner.
We woke to freezing temps. We knew this would be our coldest night but it still doesn’t make the cold any less tolerable. We all packed up wearing everything we had brought. I couldn’t get on the trail soon enough. Anything to get some blood flowing. It took almost 2 hours before I felt I could stop and take some clothes off and wait for the group. Since we were hiking in a river valley, it took that long for the sun to get high enough to heat the valley floor up.
It took us another 4 hours to reach Frazier Lake which would be camp for the night. We were the only people at the lake so we picked a prime spot. After setting up camp, we headed out to explore the lake basin.
We found a small lake tucked up against the rock clicks. We deemed it Tiny Frazier Lake. Both Frazier Lake and Tiny Frazier Lake were full of tiny frogs and small fish. Fun to see such a healthy ego system.
We woke to some heavy winds. We could hear them in the tree tops. We had luckily setup camp next to some trees on the lake shore that acted as a fabulous wind break.
I took a morning walk along the lake shore to enjoy the colors on the hillsides. Beautiful place. I wonder how many people make it in Frazier Lake. It definitely didn’t seem over camped.
After breakfast, we put together day packs (actually Deb and I gave our stuff to Steve and Jim so we didn’t have to carry packs at all). Deb had been looking at Cusick Mountain for many years. Cusick sits in the middle of the Wallawo’s, all by itself, you can see it from everywhere.
After crossing the outlet stream, we headed up the only gully that looked feasible. It was easier than it looked from camp.
Near the head of the gully, Deb and I decided to scramble a fairly solid rock wall. It had a few easy class 3 moves. We were on top of the wall before we knew it. The guys had stayed in the gully to its headwall before turning and traversing over to where we popped out.
While we waited for the guys, Deb and I started to explore the upper basin also known as Honeymoon Basin because it looks like the surface of the moon.
From Honeymoon Basin, we got our first look at the climbing route up Cusick Mountain. Looked like a whole lot of slab hiking.
Honeymoon Basin had the cutest little tarn. It demanded a quick break to soak it all in.
As we climbed out of Honeymoon Basin, we came across a rock cylinder. It was connected at the top and bottom. Completely smooth. So interesting.
Above the basin was a huge meadow. We decided it must be Honeymoon Meadows.
At the top of the Honeymoon Meadows, the slabs started. Perfectly graded for easy hiking.
Some of the slabs had a wave like appearance.
After some interesting class 2/3 moves in a gully with fresh snow, we arrived on the summit. Our group was all smiles. Cusick Mountain was such a fun climb. I would highly recommend it.
We ran around the summit grilling Deb on what we were seeing.
We sat on the summit as long as we could in the cold winds. Eventually we were all freezing and started heading down. None of us wanted to reverse our route through the high slot on the ridge but the alternative descent route had way too many unknowns. In the end, we all did some white knuckle moves to get back to Honeymoon Meadows. From there, the descent was quit fast as we were able to go down several sandy slopes.
Before long, we were on top of our approach gully looking down on Frazier and Tiny Frazier (left) Lakes.
We all opted to go down the loose gully the guys had ascended. It was so loose that we did it in groups of 2 eliminating some of the danger.
We arrived back in camp before 3:30 so we opted to move camp up to Glacier Lake. Steve kept talking about how beautiful it was. I loved the idea of camping at a new lake. It allows more time to take it all in.
The hike to Glacier Lake was slightly less than 3 miles and 1000 feet of gain. It took just over an hour but felt like an eternity.
When we arrived at the lake, all the suffering was forgotten. Glacier Lake might be the most beautiful lake I have ever seen. Islands everywhere. It even had a view of Cusick Mountain.
Steve found us a camp just above the shoreline. We had just enough time to clean up before the sun went over the horizon.
We woke to another blue bird day. Jim and I took sometime before breakfast to explore the lakeshore and take in the morning views.
Not a bad place to have breakfast.
As we packed up and headed out, I wondered if I would ever be back to this beautiful place. I could definitely camp here for several night and just explore the area.
As we hiked the switchbacks up to Glacier Pass, we enjoyed expansive views of Glacier Lake and Cusick Mountain. Amazing!!!
On the other side of Glacier Pass is the Lakes Basin. A very popular area for weekend hikers. We expected to run into crowds of people.
When we arrived Moccasin, we were greeted by a lady and her dog. She was the last person we saw for the next two days. So much for the crowds. Deb said the basin was crowded the last couple of times she had been here. It does pay to wait until October. The colors aren’t as good but there are a whole lot less people.
We setup camp on a peninsula in the lake giving us multiple lagoons to clean up in when we returned from our afternoon climb.
Our goal this afternoon was to hike up Eagle Cap. We figured it was a must do since we were in the Eagle Cap Wilderness. There was a trail to the top. Even though they had hiked it before, Deb and Steve decided to join us.
First we had to hike passed Mirror Lake. Probably the most popular lake in the lake basin. It was a pretty lake but we all thought Moccasin Lake was prettier. Mirror Lake does have a view of Eagle Cap and it is the easiest lake to reach in a day. I would avoid trying to camp here in the summer and early fall. Deb said it is a zoo.
As we hiked up to Eagle Cap, the Matterhorn started to stick out on the horizon. Its white rock and shaped reminded us all of Half Dome.
From the trail, we also got a fabulous view of the Lostine Valley which is Deb’s favorite approach to the Lakes Basin. Probably beautiful early season with all the wild flowers.
The hiking trail was laid out nicely to provide multiple views of Eagle Cap.
The summit of Eagle Cap was vertical cliffs on two sides offering un obstructed view of the Glacier Lake Basin and Cusick Mountain on one side and the Lakes Basin on the other.
We arrived back at Moccasin Lake expecting to find more campers but no one else was here. We had the place to ourselves. We had a peaceful dinner on the rocks.
The morning was calm. Finally the wind had stopped. We enjoyed a long breakfast on the lake shore.
Our plan today was to take our time and hike through the Lakes Basin. Taking a break at every lake we passed. The Lakes Basin is small so this meant we would be taking a break less than every hour. I think we were all excited for the slow pace to try and take it all in.
Our first lake was Douglas Lake. The lake shore was vertical rocks. If Jim and I fell off the edge, we would end up in the lake and we couldn’t see the bottom. No idea how deep the shoreline was.
Next up was Lee Lake. It was the smallest lake but still worthy of a break and some pictures.
Our last lake was Horseshoe Lake. We all enjoyed hiking along the grassy shoreline as we headed toward the peninsula.
At the end of the peninsula was an island that required some rock hoping to get to. We had been trying to get out to any of the islands on all the other lakes but the water this time of year is sooooo cold.
There was a sign on the island declaring it “August Island”. It took about 2 minutes to hike the entire island. It was actually quite interesting.
My favorite spot was a slab that ran into the lake and disappeared under the water. Everyone joined me here for a long lunch break.
After lunch, we reluctantly packed up and starting hiking out of the Lakes Basin. Very near the end of Horseshoe Lake, the trail starts dropping back into the river valley.
Before long we had closed our loop and were headed for the cars. We all marveled at how much the trees had turned since we hiked in 5 days ago. There seemed to be yellow everywhere and the larches were definitely on their way to gold.
Once we reached the trailhead, we quickly through our packs into the cars and drove over to the campground. None of us wanted to drive home tonight but we were all anxious to clean up and use a real bathroom. Deb and Steve had brought towels so they even got to enjoy showers.
What a fabulous trip to end our 2021 backpacking season!
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