Wallowa Mountains, Oregon, July 4-6, 2008, with Matt, Jessica, and Marlon Lyon

Trip Report

Located at an elevation of 7,850, Ice Lake is one of the gems of the Wallowa Mountains.  In the typical style of lakes in the Eagle Cap, it is a glacial bowl forming a catch basin at the base of some amazing vantage points, which include Matterhorn Mountain, Sacajewea Peak, Hurwal Divide, and Craig Mountain.  All these factors combine to make Ice Lake one of the most photographed mountains in the Wallowa Range.

 When Matt Lyon told me a week before the departure date that he was planning this hike, I quickly marched down to the library and checked out Fred Barstad’s Hiking Oregon’s Eagle Cap Wilderness for guidance.  Like most hiking books, the information contained therein is largely a matter of the author’s interpretation or a confused compilation of accounts passed on by the author’s friends who hiked the trail.  I would like to start this trip report by addressing some shortcomings in the guide.

 “Difficulty:  Moderate”.  This 7.7 mile hike covers a gain of 3,300 feet from the Wallowa Lake trailhead, over extremely uneven and rocky terrain.  Most of the final two miles consist of a fairly difficult traverse of 13 switchbacks across the same ridge.  In several places the trail is forged throw the remnants of rock slides, and three times the hiker is asked to cross a small tributary of Adams Creek which has been obviously and deeply scared by numerous flash floods.  So, Mr. Barstad, is there a handle such as “moderately difficult” or “difficult to moderate” or “Surrender, Dorothy” that we can attach to this hike?

 “Trail maintenance:  Yearly”.  Oh yeah?  Whoever is maintaining it is obviously more interested in the frequently rising brook trout in the lake than in the dozens of downed trees that the hiker must skirmish with.  I can imagine a conversation down at the Enterprise Forest Service office that went like this:

 Crew Leader:  Say, Joe, I heard that the Ice Lake could use some reinforced water bars.  Could you go up there today and check it out?

Joe:  (packing his fly rod) Sure, Boss, I’ll go up and check it out.

Crew Leader:  (looking at fly rod)  Hey, Joe, that sure looks like a funny looking Pulaski shovel.

Joe:  It’s okay, Boss.  Don’t you remember that I’m on loan to you from Fish and Game, and they are always looking for research data on the remote lakes? 

This trail hasn’t seen maintenance since the last time that Saint Nick slid down your chimney.  On the various switchbacks adjacent to Adams Creek, the trail ledge has actually served as a catch basin for the numerous large pieces of granite which have tumbled from the heights above.  The series of three crossings of the small tributary of Adams Creek was probably once a rock hop; now it is like scrambling into and out of a gravel pit.  The trail either needs to be rerouted up the hill at the first creek crossing, or some temporary log bridges need to be assembled until the next flash flood wipes them out.  There are a few places where a single windfall has blocked the trail in multiple places; one such tree on a switchback corner has fallen over the trail in three locations.

 But the largest maintenance travesty is the total absence of workable water bars, particularly on the “Switchback Alley” before you reach the lake.  Because of the excessive early summer runoff, the trail frequently takes on the dual purpose role of path and stream.  The amount of water flowing down the trail in the meadow basin next to Adams Creek was so volumous that I questioned whether I was still on the right course.  A few corrective strokes with a small shovel could ease the massive trail erosion, as well as prevent what appears to be inevitable earth failures currently signaled by a long series of fissures in the trail.

 “Best season:  July through September”.  That would be July as in July 1, not to be confused with June 30.  The poor soul who ventured to the lake on June 30 would have had to enjoy winter camping, complete with an entirely frozen lake and enough tent space for one bivy.  The more fortunate hiker on July 1 could fish in a variety of places along the lake, as long as they had no intention of casting more than 10 feet.   We were lucky enough to witness the breaking up of the ice flows throughout the majority of the lake during our three days there.

 “Traffic:  Heavy, with heavy horse traffic”.  There weren’t a whole lot of people on the trail, as who would be stupid enough to go camping at a lake which was reported to be frozen over?  Matt and I had looked at contingency camp locations if the lake was totally impassable.  Fortunately, we found a lovely site overlooking the north side of the lake, although the thick snow surrounding the site gave us the feeling that it was January rather than July.

To further enhance Mr. Barstad’s trail guide, I would add my own categories, as follows:

“Fishing:  Use goofy looking lures, fish at weird hours of the day, and forget the fly rod”  The Jake Spin-A-Lure was really the only thing I needed.  When we first arrived, I was just starting to fish when a huge thunderstorm blew down the valley, and, in the maelstrom, I caught five decent sized brook trout.  I was waiting for the FLASH-BOOM of a lightning strike to pull me from the brookies, but it never materialized.  I found the narrow channel between the two sections of the lake to be especially favorable.  And right before dark (8:30 pm), I couldn’t keep them off my line.  For the record, I landed 47 fish over the weekend, which for me is an Eagle Cap career high.  The guy with the fly rod got in a lot of good casting practice, but nothing with gills ever hit the line.

“Scenery:  Numerous waterfalls cascade from hanging valleys along the trail.  Use caution when viewing.”  I think our entire party was in awe of the numerous waterfalls and cascades, both permanent and seasonal, which can be viewed from the trail.  The signature waterfall is found on Adams Creek, which plummets over the plateau that houses the lake.  Three small waterfalls empty directly into Ice Lake on the west side, essentially at the base of the Matterhorn.

“Pets:   Pets are discouraged from being taken into the backcountry.”  That includes “Moose”, the huge one-year-old black lab owned by the nearby campers.  Moose had the disgusting habit of bounding toward you with gnarled teeth every time you ventured within 100 yards of his owner’s campsite.  One evening our side entertainment was to see if the neighborhood whitetail could outrun Moose down the isthmus.  Advantage:  deer.

“Wildlife:  Mountain goats, deer, and even bear may be scene along the trail.”  We observed whitetail deer on several occasions while hiking, and even received a second hand report of a bear on the trail.  One of the wildlife viewing highlights was observing a herd of 25-30 mountain goats (represented by small white dots) paralleling the top of the ridge as we hiked out.  Oh for a 400 power lense for a decent photo!

“Fires:  Fires are allowed only in emergencies.”  Emergency situations include drying socks, cooking fish, and keeping warm.  Good job with the fish, Matt.

“Conditioning:  Know your physical limitations, and keep your pack weight to a minimum.”  On the way out, about two miles from Wallowa Lake on the West Fork trail, we passed a middle age couple who appeared to be in the throes of hiking distress.  The man was leading, red faced, sweating, trudging along with a single trekking pole that he had obviously just purchased at the local curious store, and carrying a pack which resembled the jetsam hanging from Jed Clampett’s Model T.  His overburdened wife soon followed, hunched over from the weight of a pack that was driving closer to the trail with each step.  That scene was our main topic of discussion for the next two hours, as we were left in wonderment by a pair who turned a refreshing trip into the great outdoors into a hellish Bataan Death March.

“Hiking partners:  Your trip can be made or broken by the individuals you hike with; select wisely.”  Kudos to Matt, Jess, and Marlon (Matt’s dad) for being excellent trail and camp partners throughout this trip.  I would go on another trip with them in a flash.  Matt’s dad set an excellent hiking pace on both the uphill and downhill segments.  Everyone kind of did their own thing on our second day, which consisted of (a) Matt and Jess adventuring around the lake, (b) Marlon scaling the ridge above Ice Lake, and (c) I fished and read Clive Cussler’s Sacred Stone.

“Navigation:  Carry an accruate trail guide, and topo map”.  In other words, don’t listen to an idiot (like your’s truly) when he thinks he knows where is going but is actually reading the wrong page of the trail guide (we almost ended up on Chief Joseph Mountain).