Sunday August 11, 2025
- Starting Point: Wallowa Lake Trailhead (mile 0)
- Ending Point: Aneroid Lake (mile 6.7)
- Driving Distance: 442 miles
- Hiking Distance: 6.7 miles
Trails:
- East Fork Wallowa Trail #1804
There’s not much to say about this morning’s drive other than it was long. I left the house at 8:15 a.m., heading north on I-5 through the Willamette Valley to Portland. From there, I turned east on I-84, driving through the Columbia River Gorge into Northeast Oregon, passing The Dalles, Pendleton, and La Grande. Just lots and lots of driving.
I finally left the interstate in La Grande, propelling myself through the final 60 miles of cattle ranches and into the mountains. When I arrived in Joseph, I discovered it was a much cuter town than I’d been expecting, and the views across Wallowa Lake were impressive.
This was my first time seeing Wallowa Lake, with the triangular Bonneville Mountain sitting at its southern end as if towering over the lake like a sentry. Like Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River, this mountain was named in honor of Captain (later Brigadier General) Benjamin Bonneville (1796-1978), a career Army officer who led expeditions into the Oregon Country and Wallowas in the early 1830s.
With such a long day of driving behind me, it might have been wise to stay in Joseph for the night. Alternatively, I could have found a campsite at Wallowa Lake State Park, which features a large campground with over 200 campsites, hot showers, and flush toilets, just one mile from the trailhead where I intended to begin my hike.
But I had other ideas in mind. I intended to turn this 42-mile loop into a 4-day hiking adventure.
I was planning to hike into Aneroid Lake this evening and then spread the remaining mileage over the other three days. Not only would this save me a whole night of lodging expenses, but it would also set me up perfectly for two highly anticipated parts of this hike: camping at Glacier Lake tomorrow evening (Day 2) and climbing to the summit of Eagle Cap on Day 3.
Wallowa Lake Trailhead
I finally arrived at the Wallowa Lake Trailhead at about 4:45 pm. The late afternoon hour was much later than I would typically consider starting a trail. But I wasn’t worried about daylight. It was still August, and the sun wasn’t due to set for another three and a half hours yet. I’d have plenty of daylight left to hike the 6 (or so) miles I needed to reach my initial campsite at Aneroid Lake before night fell.
This popular trailhead was co-located with the Little Alps Day-Use Area, where Highway 82 reached a dead end near the Wallowa Falls hydroelectric plant. There were plenty of parking spots available at this hour. Most of the day hikers were gone by now, and I had my choice of places to park. I wouldn’t even need to pay for parking, since this popular trailhead was free of charge.
Nevertheless, there was still a niggling part of me that wondered whether it was safe to leave my car here overnight for so many days. I didn’t anticipate Joseph or Wallowa Lake being a hotbed of crime. And I wasn’t leaving anything of value in my car. However, I always worry about leaving a vehicle at any trailhead for an extended period. There’s a little piece of me that wonders if my windows will get smashed or the town will tow my car because I’d failed to discover some new parking policy. Fingers crossed that it all works out.
Now that I was here, the only real logistical task I needed to worry about was getting my permit. I wandered over to the USFS permit station near the trailhead, where overnight visitors to the Eagle Cap Wilderness fill out a free, self-issued permit listing out their intended campsites.
Half a dozen random signs were posted at the permit station. One warned hikers not to feed the mountain goats at Ice Lake or Glacier Lake. Another warned about a bridge that was currently out approximately four miles up the trail. And another still warned of hazards resulting from a burned area. But none of them warned hikers not to park at the trailhead overnight. So perhaps it wasn’t as big a deal as I was making it out to be in my mind.
After inserting one copy of my newly filled-out permit into the box, I shoved my folded carbon copy into the hip belt pocket of my backpack. Only one more task left before I hit the trail. I wanted to visit the bathrooms in the Day-Use Area to enjoy the luxury of a flush toilet one last time before I hit the backcountry.
East Fork Wallowa Trail
It was still a surprisingly warm 85°F when I began walking up the trail. The temperatures were supposed to be 100°F back in the Willamette Valley this week, and I’d hoped it would be cooler than this in the mountains. The trailhead was just below 5,000 feet in elevation, but the early evening air was hot as I walked toward the shade of some trees holding signs for the network or trailhead ahead.
My plan for this clockwise loop hike was to head into the Eagle Cap Wilderness using the East Fork Wallowa Trail (#1804) and then return via the West Fork Wallowa Trail (#1820). Both these trails converged at this trailhead along with the Chief Joseph Trail (#1803).
Lucky for me, the USFS rangers out here in the Wallowas were on their game. Pristine wood signs marked the way.
Nearby, I could hear the gentle hum of the Wallowa Falls hydroelectric station, which can provide up to 1.1 megawatts of electricity. This is a pittance when compared to the larger hydroelectric dams in Oregon. The John Day Dam and The Dalles Dam on the Columbia River produce more than 2,000 megawatts each. But power is power, and I’m a fan of harnessing clean energy.
The East Fork Wallow Trail led me gradually uphill on a well-groomed and easy-to-follow dirt path. I was noticeably climbing, but the grade was gentle enough.
Even though it was mid-August, this was my first backpacking trip of the season. I’d broken my arm (just below the elbow) back in June while I was trail running out in Colorado. This injury precluded any real backpacking this year. It’s hard to hoist a pack onto your shoulder when you are limited to lifting no more than five pounds and don’t have the ability to open your elbow very easily.
I was admittedly out of shape as I trudged uphill. The hiking fitness I’d acquired while hiking the Via Francigena and Camino Primitivo this past April and May had long ago evaporated.
About a mile and a half after departing the trailhead, views of Wallowa Lake appeared behind me. I was several hundred feet higher than it now, and the blue water shimmered in the distance.
I could hear waterfalls cascading downward on my left as the East Fork of the Wallowa River dropped back down toward the lake. At least one trail broke off to my left and continued over the water on a wood bridge.
Around mile 2.2, I reached the small reservoir and dam that supplied energy to the hydroelectric station below. Warning signs cautioned visitors to be careful if they crossed the metal bridge over the spillway toward a side trail. Meanwhile, more signs described the process of how the water made it down from this dam to the penstock and then the powerhouse.
Eagle Cap Wilderness
Shortly after departing the dam, I came upon a newer wooden sign informing me I was entering the Eagle Cap Wilderness portion of the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest. Hopefully, I’ll also get the chance to summit Eagle Cap before this hike is over, too. It’s one of the main reasons I chose to hike this loop instead of a different part of the Wallowas.
As it got closer to 6 pm, the sun fell behind Bonneville Mountain. I was now on the east side of this prominent peak. Thus, the mountain cast a dark shadow over the forest and trail, making it feel as if it were much later in the evening than it actually was. The sun wouldn’t set for another few hours. But this 8,000-foot mountain was blocking enough daylight that everything felt eerie and quiet.
The tall evergreens and conifers towered above me, and their boughs seemed to form a green tunnel that brought back memories of the Appalachian Trail (the ultimate green tunnel).
As I reached mile 4, I remembered the sign back at the trailhead. It warned hikers about a bridge being under construction and informed them that they would need to ford the river after four miles. Yet, I’d failed to take a photo of the sign. Was that bridge out on this trail? Or the West Fork Wallowa Trail?
It would take another quarter mile before I would confirm that it was, in fact, this trail that was affected. Another temporary sign sat at the river crossing, along with a partially finished bridge. That water was easily 6-8 inches deep and moving fast. I wasn’t eager to ford or get my shoes wet if I didn’t need to. But was it ok to cross this bridge?
There was nobody around to ask. So I placed one foot tentatively on the log that spanned the river and tested the handrail. Everything looked bolted together. I suspect there would eventually be a second log and handrail before construction was complete. But the project ahead of me looked solid enough for a single hiker to cross on it.
Before I had time to second-guess my decision, I stepped out onto the log and began to walk toward the opposite bank. Only two more miles until camp!
Aneroid Lake
The trail finally seemed to level out after two hours of moderate, but consistent climbing. I also passed my first established campsite near a lovely meadow. I wondered if I should just set up camp here. The sun was still illuminating the top of the peaks to my left, and I caught glimpses of snow on the slopes ahead of me. As picturesque as this spot was, I decided to press on.
Although I’d expected Aneroid Lake to be a 6-mile hike from the trailhead, I didn’t actually reach the side trail that led to some established campsites until my watch read 6.7 miles. It was now approaching dusk, and I was losing daylight quickly. I needed to find somewhere to set up camp and get some water.
I could hear two male voices off in the distance. They seemed to be on the far end of the lake near where Camp Halton should be. But there didn’t seem to be anyone else out here on the east side of Aneroid Lake. Not a single tent or person. I had the entire place to myself, and the mountains and sky on the far side of the lake seemed to have a lovely purplish hue.
As I scouted the area, I realized I had my pick of established spots near an outcropping above the lake. I was feeling good physically. And given how far I’d driven to get out to the trailhead, I felt lucky to get any miles of hiking in before nightfall. My reward for pushing myself today was a picturesque lake where I would get to camp all by myself. Not half bad if you ask me!
I got busy setting up camp and spotted a few deer nearby. But otherwise, the wilderness seemed quiet and still.
I was settling into my tent to eat a snack and read my book around 8:45 pm when I unexpectedly heard footsteps. It was now dark enough that I definitely needed a headlamp. But the dark silhouette of a person walking by didn’t seem to be using one. They just stomped right past my tent and then abruptly stopped about 30 yards away.
Was this one of the men I’d heard earlier on the lake? Or was this person another hiker who had just arrived at Aneroid Lake to set up camp after getting a late start?
I reached out to touch my pepper spray to reassure myself that it was nearby. As a solo woman hiker, I always carry pepper spray for safety. You never know if you’ll need to fend off an animal (or a person) getting ornery with you in camp.
I thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2019, which was the same year a mentally ill man physically attacked several NOBO thru-hikers in Virginia and fatally stabbed one of them. This was only one week into my AT thru-hike, and nowhere near the scene when this attack occurred, but it shaped my perception of safety.
I wouldn’t have thought anything bad about this person walking so close to my tent if they had already been here when I’d arrived. Or if it were still daylight out. But I’d found a spot that was a solid 150 meters off the main trail, and I was a little weirded out by someone rolling in without a headlamp at this hour.
I listened quietly in my tent, trying to ascertain their intentions until I eventually heard the familiar sound of tent poles clicking together. It was just another hiker setting up camp nearby. I released my tight grip around my pepper spray. But I still felt a bit weird about how close they were to me. There was all this space around the lake, and they’d decided to set up their tent awfully close to mine.
Highlights
- The town of Joseph was very cute. I’d never been out here to this corner or northeast before, and I had no idea what I was missing.
- Wallowa Lake was beautiful, especially as I left Joseph and drove toward the trailhead. The views of Bonneville Mountain at the end of the lake were just breathtaking.
- Aneroid Lake was the perfect spot to end my first day in the Wallowas. Finding a level campsite with a lakefront view is always a win in my book!
Challenges
- The long drive from Eugene to the trailhead was the pits. Nothing like sitting in a car for eight hours straight!
- I didn’t get to start hiking until around 5 pm, and it felt like dusk for much of the 6.7-mile hike thanks to the long shadow that Bonneville Mountain’s prominent profile cast over the forest.
- The person walking by my tent after dark (and without a headlamp!) definitely triggered my anxiety for a brief moment.