Tuesday August 13, 2025
- Starting Point: Glacier Lake (mile 20.4)
- Ending Point: Six Mile Meadow (mile 35.8)
- Hiking Distance: 15.4 miles
Trails:
- Glacier Trail #1806
- East Eagle Trail #1805
- Eagle Cap Summit Trail #1910
- Moccasin Trail #1810A
- Lake Basin Trail #1810
Although Glacier Lake was located fairly high up in the Wallowas (~7,600 feet elevation), it was a very warm night. I barely needed my summer quilt to stay warm in my tent.
It wasn’t the warm night that forced me awake at midnight, though. That was my fault. I overhydrated at dinner to compensate for the hot day of hiking.
Yet when I emerged from my tent, it was as if an astronomy laser light show was taking place overhead. I was 20+ miles deep in the backcountry during one of the two peak days of the annual Perseid meteor shower.
Perseids are dust particles released from a comet during its return to the inner solar system. As the Earth travels through the comet’s debris, we get a meteor shower overhead. The particles burn up in our atmosphere, and it looks like an endless number of shooting stars originating near the constellation Perseus.
Even with a nearly full moon making the nighttime sky brighter than normal, the show was phenomenal. It was like dozens of little fireballs streaking across the night sky. I can only imagine what it will look like next year when there is far less moonlight and the stars and meteors appear brighter to the eye.
Glacier Pass
Despite my midnight interruption, I was up early this morning. The mountain goats were climbing on the rocks near my tent at 5 am, and I decided I would use nature’s alarm clock to catch an early start to my day.
Today’s goal was to hike over to the Lakes Basin (on the other side of Glacier Pass) and then drop my tent near Mirror Lake so I could hike up to the summit of Eagle Cap – the highest natural point in Union County.
As I broke down my tent, the sun was already cresting the mountains to my east and casting the most beautiful orange glow on the upper slopes of Glacier Peak.
Even though the mountain goats were awake, most of the other campers near Glacier Lake were still quietly sleeping in their tents as I departed at 6 am.
The trail up toward Glacier Pass was much easier than I expected it to be. There was still a bit of lingering snow to cross, but once I made it to the top, the views were nothing short of spectacular this time of day.
On the far side of the pass, I had a two-mile descent toward the Lakes Basin, where I’d eventually encounter Mocassin Lake and Mirror Lake. More snow greeted me on my descent as it melted and formed a steady stream down the trail. With the yellow wildflowers blooming beside the trail, it was an utterly tranquil start to my morning.
The first lake I encountered after my descent was Mocassin Lake, which was just as quiet and serene as everything else. There weren’t any hikers out yet, and none of the wildlife seemed to be moving either. The lake water was so clear that it seemed to be as blue as the sky reflected above.
Despite my eagerness to get up Eagle Cap before the day turned too warm, I was moving pretty slowly this morning. I wasn’t overly concerned, though. I knew my pace would pick up once I got to Mirror Lake because I had a plan.
Near the western edge of the lake, I set up my tent and then emptied the majority of my gear inside so that I could hike the mountain with just the minimum weight on my back. When I finished this task, my pack felt so light that it barely registered on my back. I was now ready to climb Eagle Cap and tackle my 24th county high point in Oregon.
Eagle Cap
Just beyond the western edge of Mirror Lake, several trails converged, and I had to stop to take my bearings. The junction had so many signs that the pole was full. There were signs for the Lakes Basin Trail, the East Eagle Trail, Horton Pass, Minam Lake, and Eagle Cap.
The majority of Eagle Cap hikers come into the Wallowas from the Two Pan Trailhead and the East Lostine Trail, just 6.8 miles to the north. So as long as that trail was my back and Eagle Cap and Upper Lake were still to my south, I knew I was heading the right direction.
There was no shade on the initial part of the ascent, and even at this early hour, the sun felt like lava beating down on me. I suspect that it wasn’t the heat as much as the UV. However, I was grateful for my early start before breakfast. I couldn’t imagine doing this steep ascent in the middle of the day.
I could see Eagle Cap looming ahead of me once I made it to 8,300 feet and the junction for the East Eagle Trail and Eagle Cap Summit Trail. From this vantage point, the peak looked as if it had two dark jagged lightning bolts cutting into its side. But I was still far enough away that I couldn’t see whether these distinct lines were formed by veins of darker colored granite or by some perilous fault line in the rocks.
My calves burned as I continued uphill toward the snowy slopes, and I hoped the trail wouldn’t cross over any snow or ice. I hadn’t packed my microspikes for this mid-August hike, and I briefly wondered if this was a mistake.
Luckily for me, the trail detoured mostly to the right of where the snow still clung to the mountain. I did have one short 20-foot-long bit of trail still covered with snow, but it wasn’t too sketchy. The slopes above and below the snow patch were clear, so I had several options if I didn’t want to walk directly atop the pile that rose above my knees.
I didn’t see a single soul while I trudged slowly uphill, and I began to wonder if there was anyone else out here with me at all. Maybe I was just ahead of the crowds with my early ascent. Or maybe this peak wasn’t a popular climb.
As I reached 8,800 feet in elevation, the trail finally leveled out as it wound around the back side of an unnamed subpeak. This section of the trail was not only easier to hike, but it provided some much-needed shade from the sun climbing higher and higher in the sky.
During the final stretch of climbing and switchbacks up the peak’s western slope, I was treated to fantastic views of the mountains to the south. A cirque of mountains, including Needle Point, created an amphitheater-like depression for Eagle Lake (which was just out of sight).
I emerged from the sparse bushes and trees to the flattish summit just before 9 am. I hadn’t seen a single other hiker during my ascent. However, there was one solitary hiker up here at the top, resting in the shade.
My fellow hiker was from Corvallis and introduced himself as Alex. He said he drove out to the Two Pan Trailhead yesterday and hiked a few miles up the trail to set up camp last night. Unfortunately, he’d only been able to sleep a single hour in his tent, so he decided to make an early push to the summit before the day warmed up.
The Summit
As Alex packed up, I surveyed my surroundings. The summit was just a handful of boulders with a dangerously sharp drop-off beyond them. Panoramic views of the Wallowas stretched out before me, and the only direction that was obscured was to the southwest, thanks to the six to eight-foot-tall trees near the summit.
To my southeast, I could see Glacier Peak and the lovely lake where I’d woken up this morning. The small peninsula of land seemed to turn Glacier Lake into a sapphire blue heart from this vantage point.
Above the lake, I noted the ice and snow clinging to Glacier Peak’s northern side. I’d barely noticed the glacier yesterday because the granite had been so gray in the afternoon sun. This ice mass is the last remaining glacier in the Wallowa Mountains, and it was named Benson Glacier in 1914 in honor of the former Governor of Oregon, Frank W. Benson.
I shifted my gaze northward, toward the famed Lakes Basin of the Eagle Cap Wilderness. Directly below me, I could see Mirror Lake and Moccasin Lake, which I’d walked alongside earlier this morning. The distinctive Hurricane Divide stretched up above Mirror Lake, and Sacajawea Peak – the tallest Mountain in the Wallowas – was clearly visible in the distance.
I walked around the top of Eagle Cap for the next few minutes searching for the summit register, but didn’t find anything secreted atop this peak. No ammo box or glass jar. No survey benchmark. Just the flat dirt summit with some round boulders.
The Lakes Basin
The descent back down to Mirror Lake was both easier and far busier than I expected. Alex and I were definitely in the front of the pack for summiting Eagle Cap this morning, and I passed at least two dozen hikers on their way up as I strode down the trail.
By the time I finished my detour up Eagle Cap and returned to my tent near Mirror Lake, I’d hiked 8.4 miles. My calves were feeling it, so after doing some calf raises on some low rocks to stretch them out, I decided it was time for a long break to eat lunch and read my book.
After a 90-minute rest, just chilling in my tent, I decided to break camp and hike this afternoon’s miles. There were still several lakes to explore in the Lakes Basin, and I still wasn’t 100% sure which one I wanted to camp at. My initial goal was going to be Horseshoe Lake, but I might stop short if or press on even further if the lakes were too buggy.
I backtracked east toward Mocassin Lake and had a choice to make. I could stay a bit north on Lakes Basin Trail #1810 that headed toward Crescent and Douglas Lake, or I could follow the Mocassin Lake Trail #1810A, which remained a bit further south along Mocassin and Douglas Lake.
Both routes were roughly the same distance and ran parallel to each other. And I ultimately chose the Mocassin Lake alternate because I suspected it would be quieter than the other major trail.
Despite a bit more cloud cover this afternoon, it was still quite warm as I hiked through the Lakes Basin. And the Mocassin Lake Trail was relatively quiet, as I’d hoped it would be. In fact, I only encountered one other group of people on my way to Douglas Lake.
I was surprised when one of the people in the group stopped to ask me if I had lost a canister of bear spray. Apparently, they found one, and were trying to return the canister to its owner so they didn’t have to carry it out with them.
Um, no. Definitely not mine. And why would anyone be carrying bear spray out here? Did they know that grizzly bears don’t live in Oregon? There wasn’t any need for bear spray to deal with any of the wildlife out here.
I was still shaking my head in amusement about the bear spray question when I cruised past Douglas Lake and met up with a fellow hiker and his dog, Sadie. We stopped to talk for a bit, and he said they’d stayed down at Six Mile Meadow the night before, which was a lovely and relatively bug-free spot, according to him. The meadow was a good campsite option if I pushed a bit further than Horeshoe Lake this evening.
Where to Camp?
The trail all afternoon was lovely and cruisy, and I was making good time as I rejoined the Lakes Basin Trail and hiked above Lee Lake and Horseshoe Lake.
By the time I reached the shores of Horseshoe Lake, it was only 2:20 pm. I could either set up here and have a restful evening or press on toward Six Mile Meadow and shorten tomorrow’s hike by a few miles.
As I looked at my map, I could see that the entire way to Six Mile Meadow was downhill. The meadow had come with a solid recommendation, and it was only another hour or so of hiking to get there. I’d already camped at alpine lakes the past two nights. Why not try something different to round out my Wallowa experience? I hoisted my backpack back on and set off toward the meadow.
As I dropped further and further in elevation, I crossed paths with several groups coming uphill. I didn’t envy them in the least. It was another hot afternoon, and my sun hoodie was soaked with sweat. I was barely expending any effort going downhill, so I could only imagine how they must have felt.
During one of my breaks to let an ascending group pass on the trail, I caught an excellent view of the distant mountains. I’d entered the Wallowas on the opposite side of that range nearly 72 hours ago, and I would parallel them on my way back toward Lake Wallowa trailhead tomorrow. What an amazing trek!
Just before Six Mile Meadow, I had to ford two creeks that sat about 0.1 miles apart. I stopped at the water’s edge to strip off my shoes instead of just walking through like I’d done yesterday. If I crossed these creeks in my camp sandals, it would be my opportunity to clean my legs from all the dirt, grime, and sweat from the past three days. And god knows I needed it!
Just past the second creek crossing, I reached my destination and spent an inordinate amount of time trying to figure out where the heck to set up my tent. There were already a fair number of people with their tents set up in the meadow, and I didn’t want to be super close to anyone else. But the first two flat and established spots I found seemed to be where people bedded down their pack animals (based on the large piles of horse manure in the area).
Eventually, I found a suitable spot up on some flattish rocks. It was still somewhat close to a group of four guys, but the rushing water of the West Fork of the Wallowa River was nearby enough that it drowned out their conversation. And this spot was well away from all the college-age guys playing frisbee and loudly cheering in the middle of the grassy meadow.
It definitely wasn’t the tranquil meadow experience I’d been hoping for. But tomorrow’s hike was a relatively easy 6.5 miles back to the trailhead. And if I were being completely honest, nothing was going to compare with my epic spot up at Glacier Lake last night. So I just settled in for the night.
Highlights
- The overnight meteor shower and the sunrise on Glacier Peak make that last night’s campsite my favorite spot in the Wallowas.
- I’m so happy I was able to summit Eagle Cap this morning. It’s my 24th Oregon CoHP, which means I’m officially 2/3 of the way done with all the counties in my home state!
- I can see why the Lakes Basin is one of the more popular spots in the Wallowas. It was a truly beautiful place to hike!.
Challenges
- It was another hot August day in the mountains! I’m so glad I climbed Eagle Cap early. The sun was warm enough by mid-morning that I saw several people turning back to save their energy.
- Six Mile Meadow was the busiest place I camped in the Wallowas, probably due to its proximity to the trailhead. It was far too popular for my taste. But at least I cut several miles off tomorrow’s hike into town.