Wallowas/Ice Lake

The Wallowas viewed from the West Fork of the Wallowa River

Ice Lake

The Wallowas are a picturesque mountain range in Eastern Oregon that nobody has ever heard of.  It was recommended to us by my friends Brian and Ben, but I’m not sure how they heard of it, either.

It’s a very well-kept secret, probably because it’s 300 miles from anywhere.  We met almost no tourists from outside Oregon, despite the fact that the place is called “Little Switzerland” because it looks like the Alps.

We had originally planned a 4-day backpacking trip, but as our feet were still sore and our mosquito bites still fresh from the Uintas trip, we decided to lower our sights to a grueling, 16 mile, 3500ft vertical day hike to Ice Lake.  It was pretty much 8 solid miles of switchbacks in either direction.

Ice Lake lived up to its name, as it had just recently melted out and was still surrounded by snow.  (Unlike CO and UT, Oregon and Washington had near-normal snowpack this year).  It was fantastically gorgeous; for me it was tied with Amphitheater Lake as the most beautiful lake I’ve ever seen, and it was certainly up there for Kristen as well.

Eastern Oregon was also the first time in 4 weeks we encountered humidity.  We slept two nights at a Forest Service campground near a creek outside Joseph, OR (which is a nice little town, by the way) and our bed was clammy and cold all night.  Not that it mattered after 6 hours of hiking straight up a mountain.

Picture album here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/22845041@N08/sets/72157630552895626/