West Fork Wallowa River, Ice Lake, Matterhorn, Mirror Lake & Eagle Cap Peak & Glacier Lake — Saturday, Aug. 9, 2008

Day 1 – Ice Lake/Matterhorn I began at the Wallowa Lake TH at 6:30. The bridge at the 2.8 mile junction has been damaged by a log jam, but doesn’t appear to have been compromised outside of a railing. The trail then switchbacks up, mostly thru beautiful meadows and alongside the incredible Adams Creek, which cascades over many a waterfall in its quest to join the West Fork Wallowa River. Flowers were in abundance. I reached Ice Lake at 10:30 and set camp. After some rest, I elected to descend back down and photograph the meadows and waterfalls about 1,500’ below the lake. My approach had been in sun, but clouds were now moving in and out and creating some diffused light. Of course, upon reaching the lake’s outlet, the sun was back out in force and the clouds nearly gone. A change of plans was in order. The Matterhorn stands at 9,826’ and is distinguished by a white granite face with 3,000 vertical feet of relief on its west side. An easy to follow climber’s path leads from Ice Lake all the way to the summit. Again, flowers were out in force around the 8,200’ level. Beautiful meadows. I reached the summit in about 1.5 hours. By now the clouds had returned (of course) and an inconsistent wind had picked up. Inconsistent in that it would be calm for 1-2 minutes, then a 35 mph gust would come out of no where. During a calm stretch, I set my tripod up for a summit shot. While reaching for my camera, one such gust blew my tripod over. I decided my camera was not going on that tripod! So instead, you get a summit cairn shot. Day 1 stats: Ice Lake: ~8 miles, 3,300’ gain. Matterhorn: ~ 1 mile (?), 1,977’ gain. Day 2 – Mirror Lake I broke camp at 7:00 am. I had played with the idea of doing the over-the-ridge route to Razz Lake from Ice Lake. This is a cross-country route that would save several miles of hiking. It is pretty straight forward, with multiple options for getting over the ridge. However, a large pack coupled with sore feet from the day before caused me to re-think this route. In the end, I doubted the cross-country route would be less effort than the hike around on established trail. So I descended the Ice Lake trail back down to the West Fork Wallowa River trail and followed it to Six Mile Meadow, and then up to Horseshoe Lake. There are probably 2 dozen trees down between Six Mile Meadow and Horseshoe Lake. At Horseshoe Lake I took a wrong turn and enjoyed the scenic route to Mirror Lake via the Lost Basin trail, wondering all the while why the lakes I passed were not matching my map! Then the light bulb went off. I arrived at Mirror Lake at 1:45 pm. The lake is crazy popular. It was the most crowded camping I have experienced in the backcountry. No need to pass the Grey Poupon, just grab it yourself. It’s within reach. Go for it. Oh, the stories… Sunshine Lake is much more pleasant. I enjoyed photographing sunset in its waters and descended back to camp in the dark. During the night I realized I had left my new trekking poles up there. I returned shortly after first light to find them gone – and a fresh candy bar wrapper in their place. Day 2 stats: 15.4 miles, ~2,300’ loss, 1,987’ gain. Day 3 – Eagle Cap Peak Eagle Cap Peak is the must climb in the area. A trail leaves Horton Pass and ascends all the way to the summit. The views from its summit are expansive. It’s also a very popular climb. I met a lot of people during my 2 hour stay on top. Pink heather absolutely carpeted the meadows on the west side of Upper Lake. Day 3 stats: 1.6 miles, 1,977’ gain. Day 4 – Glacier Lake I left Mirror Lake at 8:30 am and arrived at Glacier Lake at 9:45 am. I know, tough day. Glacier Lake was by far my favorite part of the trip. It’s a gorgeous lake with islands, and much less people. I heard stories from many about how they had the lake all to themselves on recent visits. I wasn’t quite that fortunate, but close. I also spent time venturing up to Upper Glacier Lake and climbed over the saddle to Prospect Lake – another beautiful deep blue lake with an island. Pink heather and buttercups filled the meadows around the lake. Day 4 stats: ~ 2.5 miles, ~600’ gain. Day 5 – Descend West Fork Wallowa River. The West Fork Wallowa Valley is as scenic as they come. The flower show was intense from just above Frazier Lake all the way down to Six Mile Meadow and beyond. The river is wild in its upper reaches as is cascades thru deep gorges. It has to be forded where a bridge has been washed out. Once again, several trees were down over the trail between Frazier Lake and Six Mile Meadow. I departed camp at 8:30 and reached the TH at 1:45. Day 5 stats: 12.3 miles, 4,000’ loss. Many more images will be available at www.mountainscenes.com