In August we trekked out to Eastern Oregon to rekindle our love of backpacking - it had been tooooo long. Our destination: The Wallowas - a mountain range that the Oregon travel bureau has named one of the
7 Wonders of Oregon. We chose a route that some trail guides called "a classic loop", but thankfully we enjoyed a mostly solitary journey. The 33.5-mile hike took us 4 days, with 3 nights of backcountry camping, and a couple nights of car camping on either end. We were fueled, as usual, by dehydrated beans, whiskey, M&Ms and almond butter. It was rejuvenating.
Photographs henceforth:
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| heading into the Blue Mountains for our first night |
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| leaving town |
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| Lostine River |
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| Upper Lostine Rd, en route to Two Pan Camp and trailhead |
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| let's do this. |
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| clear blue stream |
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| frigid stream crossing |
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| easy route |
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| climbing, granite |
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| time to be horizontal for a lil bit |
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| View of Eagle Cap, 9572 ft (on the right) |
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| At approx 8400ft - Swamp Lake in the distance. Snow fields ahead. |
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| Swamp Lake - 9.1 miles in - campsite #1 |
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| C took a swim..bbrrrr |
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| Western bog laurel |
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| the latest in swamp fashion |
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| tres chic, no? |
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| Cusick's Speedwell |
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| Steamboat Lake |
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| slender / giant red paintbrush |
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| descending into North Minam Canyon |
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| Red Willowherb |
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| disease? |
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| North Minam Meadows - 15.9 miles in - campsite #2 |
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| she survived the thunderstorm |
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| zen and the art of water filtering |
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| ...aaand we're climbing again |
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| Wilson Pass, 7900ft |
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| Chimney Lake - about 23.9 miles in - campsite #3 |
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| heading out - 5.8 miles to the road |
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| so many blueberries |
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| back at Upper Lostine Rd - now only 3.8 miles to the car |
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| final night, out of the woods |
