Forum Index > Trip Reports > Lakes Basin, Eagle Cap Wilderness, Wallowas 9/11/16-9/14/16
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kiliki
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kiliki
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PostSat Sep 17, 2016 3:49 pm 
We did a 4 day/3 night trip, based at Mirror Lake, with day hikes to Glacier Lake, Eagle Cap, Ivan Carter Pass, and the Lakes Basin loop. It took us 6.5 hours or so to get to Enterprise, where we stayed in a motel, from Seattle. What a beautiful area! We knew it was mobbed in summer so we chose to go on September weekdays. We never felt crowded though it was very surprising how busy it still was. There were 34 cars and 6 truck/horse trailer combos at the Two Pan trailhead when we hiked out on Wednesday, and Two Pan is not the busiest trailhead. There were some pairs of hunters scouting but bow season didn't open until the 15th, so mostly it was hikers. The East Fork Lostine is an easy and scenic way in. The hiking books had called this route "strenuous" but it wasn't. You have 3 miles of very reasonable uphill, then 3 flat miles, then another reasonable uphill mile. I kept waiting for it to get steep but it never did. We found a great spot near the end of Mirror Lake. Most people had set up near the beginning (closer to the junction of the East Fork Lostine trail). There were 2 wilderness rangers about on that Sunday, making sure everyone was camped 100' from the lake, etc. There are no backcountry toilets in this area, which is surprising given the heavy use. There are tons of spots around the lake, but a lot of people chose to camp at Moccasin or near Upper Lake, so we actually felt less crowded at Mirror than we might have had we tried to camp at a less popular spot. (Again, it was September during the week).
Trails in general are dusty and there are plenty of horse apples. This is worst on the Lakes Basin loop (1810 and 1810A). We saw one guy hiking with a face mask. (No offense to horse packers, I don't begrudge them the use, I'd just rather avoid their favorite trails). The loop was pretty but I wouldn't do it again because of those trail conditions, and it wasn't THAT pretty. Douglas Lake is probably the prettiest spot.
I was a little leery about water quality due to all the horse (and human) use but we even filtered out of Mirror Lake and are none the worse for it.
Glacier Lake was the highlight. I had variously heard that Glacier is a great camp spot, or, the Forest Service doesn't want you to camp there, and it's so windy and exposed you don't want to anyway. We found the latter to be true. It was absolutely freezing there. Even my warm blooded husband kept his down coat and long underwear on. Many of the sites have had large rocks embedded in them to discourage camping. It's a beautiful day hike though.
There are lots of good views if you climb toward Ivan Carter Pass, Horton Pass or Eagle Cap.
It was down into the 20s at night. Our 53 lb dog got so cold he crammed himself headfirst into my husband's sleeping bag. There was ice and frost in the mornings. Mirror Lake is at 7500' so I guess that's not too surprising. My dog and I stayed in the tent until the sun hit us in the am.
There was a little fall color, but not a ton. The September light is so beautiful, though.
We had considered making a loop and hiking out the West Fork Lostine, but other hikers we met variously called this trail awful/eroded or just steep and difficult, and we were told that since Minam Lake functions as a reservoir, it was drawn down and so mucky around the edges you couldn't even access it to get water. So we went back out the East Fork. The Little Bear Drive In in Wallowa is a great stop on the way out if you are heading out of the area. There's nothing in Lostine.

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bobbi
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bobbi
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PostSat Sep 17, 2016 3:55 pm 
ha! i just posted my own little trip report to Eagle Cap/Glacier Pass! i think we saw you, your husband, and dog. you were talking to a group about your day hike to Glacier Lake and how cold it was there. it's a gorgeous place. the horse apples were a pain especially the 'fresh ones'.

bobbi ૐ "Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So…get on your way!" - Oh, the Places You’ll Go! By Dr. Seuss
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kenbee
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kenbee
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PostSat Sep 17, 2016 6:20 pm 
Small world...and a beautiful part of it! Nice pair of trip reports.

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David¹
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David¹
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PostSat Sep 17, 2016 6:34 pm 
Wonderful photo of Glacier Lake, I wish we had sunshine like that when we visited.

Warning! Posts may contain traces of sarcasm. Hiking Website: http://members.shaw.ca/karenanddavid/Index.htm
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kiliki
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PostSat Sep 17, 2016 10:31 pm 
Bobbi did we pass you guys on the way out, too? Someone saw my husband's Mariners cap and said "Go Seahawks". smile.gif In any case, it's surprising how many of us western WA folks go there. Those nice horse packers from La Grande camped at Moccasin Lake said, "it's all 503ers and 206ers here."

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Distel32
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PostSun Sep 18, 2016 6:44 am 
up.gif

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bobbi
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bobbi
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PostSun Sep 18, 2016 8:14 am 
kiliki wrote:
Bobbi did we pass you guys on the way out, too? Someone saw my husband's Mariners cap and said "Go Seahawks". smile.gif In any case, it's surprising how many of us western WA folks go there. Those nice horse packers from La Grande camped at Moccasin Lake said, "it's all 503ers and 206ers here."
yep, that's me yakking as always with s_t and Blaze! ha, i'm a 360ers tongue.gif

bobbi ૐ "Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So…get on your way!" - Oh, the Places You’ll Go! By Dr. Seuss
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texasbb
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texasbb
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PostSun Sep 18, 2016 8:31 pm 
Great trip. I hear ya on the horsey trails--they're always either dusty or muddy--but everyone has to do the Lakes Basin at least once. smile.gif The good news is there's a LOT more of the Wallowas to see on your next trips. While I agree that the West Fork Lostine trail isn't as nice as the East Fork, the views from Ivan Carper Pass are worth the trip over, IMHO. And the creek always seems to have the nicest emerald color in some places. (See, now you've gotta go again!)
Thanks for sharing!

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