We arrived at the trailhead around 1130 pm, set-up the back of the Outback for a good nights sleepWho knew Outbacks came complete with a full-sized bed in the back) and woke-up the next morning all ready to get started on the hardest hike that we have done yet.
We decided to take advantage of the State Park down the road and shower before starting out. We were on the trail at 10am. Somehow, 10 am always seems to be the time we get started on our hikes. It is not intentional, but seems to be the way.
Here is our beginning of the hike shot...
You can see the river most of the way.
(Ill add a pic of the buck later)
At about 2.6 miles, and probably 800' EG, you come to the Wallowa river crossing. There is a nice resting place, other than the fact that it smell like horse poo, on the right about 100' before the bridge. The log pile that people were using to cross the river, when the old bridge washed out, is still there.
We sat for about 20' and had some lunch. Little did we know, as we were enjoying the view, of the grueling hike that laid ahead.
Here is the rest stop , old log crossing and you can barely make out Adam creek waterfall(in the middle of the pic near the dead tree)
- There is a small waterfall in the middle of this pic...that is Adam creek...It drains from Ice Lake
After the second set, the trail is pretty straight. There is a nice view of the upper Adam creek waterfall that drains from Ice lake. The trail passes through a meadow and there are a lot of views of the Hurwal divide and the other peaks in the area. This is where someone pointed out to us that the waterfall was where we were headed to. Comparing its elevation to the other ridges in the area that we had been looking at when were down lower and wondering how high we were going to get, really put things into perspective. We were already feeling beat and still had the last set of switch backs to go.
Here is a view of the waterfall from the meadow.
Just when we thought they were never going to end, they did
We came to the top of the trail and spotted the lake. I referenced the printout I had from the field guide to see where the chances of finding a camp spot would be. We crossed Adam creek and headed toward the peninsula.
We followed the trail around the lake and came to the peninsula. We spotted a group of people camped with about 4 tents. We decided to pick a spot that was just before theirs mostly because we were so pooped, we didnt feel like trying to find another. They were a quite bunch with two cute dogs that were wandering around. I was a little worried, mostly because our little 12 pound chi/iggy mix thinks he is about 10 times larger, but he behaved himself (he was always leased, but sometimes gets leash aggressive when other dogs run up to him). We set-up our tent, rehydrated some dinner and tried to eat. I think we were both to exhausted to eat, but we made ourselves eat as much as we could...mostly cause we knew we needed it.
As we were trying to eat and relax, there were some does that came down to the lake for an evening sip.
As we dozed off, we heard some howling in the distance...I would like to think it was wolves, but it was probably coyotes.
We woke up on Sunday to another beautiful day. As we were eating breakfast, we noticed the group that was near us seemed to be getting ready to head out. We decided if they left, that we would move down to that spot. There were come nice sitting logs that we wanted to take advantage of.
As the morning went on, we explored the peninsula. There are a lot of camp spots around it, all with varying views of the surrounding peaks.
This is how our dog helped to filter water
There was a small snow-pile near out tent that we used to cool our water (and Sofia) in.
When we woke up in the morning, the ground was dry (the rain-fly was still wet). There were some dark clouds flying by and a few brief drizzles, so we hurried to eat breakfast and took advantage of the moments when there was no drizzle to pack-up.
We were on the trail out by 8am. As head headed out, we made it down the first set of switchbacks in about half the time it took us to get up them. When we cam to the meadow, we noticed that to the right of Adam creek, it look like a flash flood had come through and knocked a bunch of old trees down.
There were a few groups of dayhikers headed up the trail as we were headed out. When we got to the rest spot (after crossing the Wallowa river) and group of 3 guys, who were also on their way out, stopped and rested there as well. We were there for about 30 minutes at most, enjoyed an apple and some almond butter, looked up at the little spot that we knew we just came from and continued out.
I thought it was interesting on the way out, when there were a few spots where we gained in elevation, how I didnt remember going down on the way in...
We got back to the car at about 1 and were on the road by 130.
We stopped in Enterprise for a Subway, ate in the car (we had the pooch with us, so we were limited to our dining options).
The drive home was nice. It was great to see the landscape we missed on the way there in the dark. I was so thankful for cruise control. My calves were feeling the hike down we had that day, so it was nice to stretch them as needed.
We stopped in Hood River to stretch our legs, get gas and then continued back to Portland.
It is a great hike and beautiful country. The mosquito's seemed to just be getting started there. We had our bug spray on, but still managed to get a few bites.
I look forward to our next adventure to the East. I think the next time, I might schedule a recovery day off though
For a few more pics, check out my blog: http://cjsjaunts.blogspot.com/2013/07/w ... 3-day.html
