8/2 - 8/8 The Wallowas - All the way to Halfway |
8/10 - As you may note from the date, this adventure was completed a couple of days ago, so this is a recap rather than a diary. For the second time this summer, Timmy was not along. He loves to go for walks, but I don't think backpacking would suit him. So after leaving him in Eugene & taking care of a few other matters, I returned to Wallowa to retrieve Gypsy. I used the interstates (I84 & I5) both ways on the round trip, so I had a double dose of the beautiful Columbia Gorge. I want to spend some time there one of these trips & take photos of its spectacular scenery.
Gypsy was waiting for us at the Wallowa Valley Stay N Wash RV Park,
where Lorraine Swift, the friendly host & owner let me store the
trailer for a dollar a day. I spent one more night at the free Wallowa
Lions RV Park, planning to backtrack to Halfway via La Grande &
Baker City the next day. But as I was reviewing the map, I noticed the
Wallowa Mountain Loop route that goes around the east side, near Hells Canyon.
Most of the way it's a Forest Service road, not even a state highway,
so I was a little uneasy about taking it. Then one of Wallowa's friendly
Lions came by to change the sprinklers in the park & he told me
it's a beautiful drive with good roads, so I decided to go for it.
Next morning we were off fairly early. I stopped for a look back at
the lovely Wallowa Valley from the east, then headed down to the start
of the loop road. The drive ascends a long steady grade from a pretty
forested valley with several cattle ranches on up to Salt Creek Summit.
Then it winds through a more open terrain, some of it recovering nicely
from a forest fire that looked to have burned maybe 15 years ago. About
halfway along, we reached the turnoff to the Hells Canyon overlook.
I dropped Gypsy there rather than try towing up the steep, winding side
road. This was my first view of the famous canyon & I can now appreciate
how it came by its name. The arid brown chasm stretched away in 3 directions,
interspersed with numerous side canyons & occasional bands of sparse
forest. Several of Idaho's mountain ranges topped the distant horizon.
The midmorning air was quite warm at the overlook; I could imagine what
a cauldron it must become down on the Snake River far below.
I returned to hitch up Gypsy & continue on. The road headed back
down, moderately steep & with many curves. I think driving the loop
in the opposite direction might have put a strain on eBoy's transmission
cooler. The road proceeds through various microclimates with the forest
changing in composition from one to the next. We trace the pretty Imnaha
River for a ways, then over a ridge & down North Pine Creek before
turning west again to arrive at Halfway. I definitely recommend this
drive to anyone visiting the area. 
Shortly after I set up at the Halfway RV Park, the rest of the backpacking
party arrived: my long time buddy Tim, his son Mac who has accompanied
us on these treks for years, & Eric, another friend & regular
for the last several treks. We decided to check out the Cornucopia Trailhead
where we planned to terminate our hike. We'd leave a car there &
wanted to make sure we knew where to park it. Cornucopia is a ghost
town, a relic of a the gold mining era. We tromped around for about
an hour, poking among ramshackle cabins, some totally flattened over
time. Eventually we located the trailhead. Next morning after a carb-heavy
breakfast in Halfway we parked 2 cars at Cornucopia & loaded ourselves
& our gear into eBoy for the drive up to the Summit Point trailhead,
15 plus trail miles from Cornucopia. For the full story & accompanying photos
of our hike into Pine Lakes, 3 days of camping & fishing, then
the hike out, see our Wallowa Mountains Backpacking Journal. But I hope these 2 photos convey how beautiful this area
is & how much we enjoyed it. Pine Lake was a tranquil gem nestled
in a glacially carved bowl. It rests above the ridgeline in the second
picture & our trail descends through the woods & granite slopes
of Cornucopia Peak.
After retrieving eBoy & returning to Gypsy to clean up, we enjoyed
hamburgers & shakes in Halfway. Then we all headed in separate directions,
tired, stiff & buoyant from our 4 day wilderness experience. For me
this meant the final segment of the summer voyage, returning to port
in Eugene. I decided to take the scenic route home & stop for
the night along the way. 
After backtracking to Baker City, I headed up the Powder River on SR7, into the Blue Mountains. Along the way I passed a nesting platform with 3 large raptors perched on it. I doubled back & parked, then walked closer to see if I could get a photo. As I approached, the Osprey mother appeared to take alarm & I was able to capture her as she spread her wings for flight. Her 2 nearly grown chicks followed my movements with apparent curiosity, but remained on the nest. Mother swooped around, landed, then took off again. I caught several more images of her in flight, then left the family in peace.
Near Tipton Summit in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, I pulled
off on a Forest Service road & immediately found an undesignated
campsite, perfect for an overnight boondocking stop. After a very restful
night, we continued on, soon taking US26 toward John Day. The Strawberry
Mountains off to the south looked very intriguing for a future camping
& hiking adventure. Soon after I pulled off at the John Day Fossil
Beds overlook where a volunteer ranger advised me not to miss Blue Basin,
one of the Fossil Bed sites & just up the road. I had time, it was
still morning, not too hot yet. What an interesting place! Blue badlands,
formed by erosion from volcanic ash deposited 20 million years ago during
a time of great geologic change in what is now the Pacific Northwest.
I was struck by the similarity to the formations at Red
Rock Canyon, yet here in blue.
The final leg of the drive took us into the Ochoco Mountains, where
we passed another shoe tree out in the middle of nowhere. The long grade
leading to Prineville required 2 rest stops to avoid overheating eBoy's
transmission. At the last stop, I was disturbed to find that some low
life had used the national forest as a dump. Appliances, a rotten mattress
& just plain garbage had been shoved down the 
embankment. I was still floating on my natural high from our wilderness
experience, but this arrogant abuse of nature briefly dampened my mood.
Soon though I saw the central Cascade volcanos arrayed across the western
horizon: From Mt Jefferson in the north to the Sisters & Broken
Top in the south, their blue slopes beckoned, the last milestones for
this trip. We managed the grade up & over without overheating, then
cruised down the McKenzie River rainforest. An excellent adventure &
a very enjoyable summer voyage completed.
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