This is my first trip report and it was my first solo backpacking trip. I had planned to backpack somewhere on Mt. Hood, but the forecast called for a lot of rain. After reading a thread on the Wallowas by Retired Jerry, I checked the forecast For Joseph, OR and it said sunny and 80+ degrees (thanks, Jerry!).
I consulted the Douglas Lorain, "Backpacking Oregon" book (page 124) and decided to hike the West Fork trail of the Wallowa River. There is a campsite about 3.1 miles in with only an 1100 ft. elevation gain.
I arrived at the trailhead at 2:30pm on Sunday, 7/17. Another backpacker informed me that a bridge had washed out on the West Fork. After ditching some of my gear, I decided to hike to Aneroid Lake (East Fork) which is 6.3 miles and 3200 ft. elevation gain.
The Gorge hikes were an excellent conditioner for this hike. The grade seemed quite mild, though it climbed up steadily for most of the 6.3 miles. I reached the lake, setup camp and ate dinner well before dark. It was warm that night, maybe 50 degrees. Most of the snow had melted on the trail and around the lake. There were also very few mosquitoes.
The next morning I was eating my breakfast and staring across the lake when I spotted four deer.
Aneroid Lake is beautiful.
After breakfast I went for a day hike. I continued on the trail that brought me to the lake until I reached a fork in the trail. The sign to the right points to Camp Halton. According to hikers I met on the way up, there is a really nice camp host that lives there and allows hikers to stay in the cabins for free. The sign that points to the left trail says Tenderfoot Pass and N. Fork Immaha River.
I took the left trail which lead to some beautiful meadows with mountain streams.
There were a lot of these little guys (marmots?) whistling to each other.
I came to another fork in the trail. The top sign points to the right and says Tenderfoot Pass and N. Fork Immaha River. This is the way to continue the loop if following the Wallowa River loop in Lorain’s book. I explored a little of the trail, but there was quite a bit of snow. The bottom sign points to the left for Bonny Lakes. I took the left trail.
I climbed to the peak and looked down on Bonny Lake. The picture doesn’t do the view justice, it was awesome. I wished I had hiked all the way down to Bonny Lake (the lake is in the rear of the picture). My Steripen had quit working that morning and I wasn’t sure of the water sources toward Bonny Lake. As it was I drank some untreated spring run off water, the backup pills I brought required a 4 hour cure time.
On the way back to camp I stopped to fill my pack with firewood and left my camera behind. I had to trek back twice before I found it, so I didn’t have time to hike around Aneroid Lake.
I hiked out at 6:30am Tuesday. There was a beautiful moon out as I hiked out. It was too short of a trip. I would love to go back in a couple of weeks when the snow is completely gone and do the entire loop from Lorain’s book.
-helen
