Wallowa
Mountains--
the Switzerland of Oregon
Hidden in the
remote northeastern corner of Oregon is a land of Alps unlike
anywhere else in Oregon. Here you ascend deep u-shaped canyons
for 10-20 miles to reach the inner glacial sanctums of bare rock
and crystalline lakes. Your neck aches from gazing so steeply
upward at the 9,000+ peaks on either side, ears full of the sounds
of swift streams and distant waterfalls crashing down the steep
granite slopes of hanging valleys high above. The canyon vegetation
alternates pleasingly between a varied forest of pines and true
firs, and numerous resplendent meadows where the scent of wild
onion crushes underfoot. Outdoors writers like Mark Bagett report
that this region of Oregon supports a population of the rare and
exciting
Wolverine,
the ferocious "carcajou" of the Canadian Northwest Territories.
Pictured above
is a nameless lake reached only via a faint, nearly abandoned
trail. It nestles in hidden glory in its hanging valley high above
the headwaters of the Minam River. The Eagle Cap Wildeness preserves
the central portion of the Wallowa Mountains. It was established
as one of the first Oregon Primitive Areas in 1930, and formally
designated as one of Oregon's earliest Wilderness Areas on 10/7/1940,
at a size of 293,775 acres (Oregon's largest Wilderness). Just
to the east on the Idaho border lies the magnificent Hells Canyon
Wilderness, established 12/31/1975, a medium-sized Oregon wilderness
area at 108,900 acres (the Idaho portion of the Wilderness adds
another 83,800 acres). For a map of all 40 of Oregon's wilderness
areas, please click
this link:
http://www.wilderness.net/index.cfm?fuse=NWPS&sec=stateView&state=or&map=orwest
Cached Lake, 7,300
ft., Eagle Creek drainage
A quality of the
Wallowas so unlike the Cascades is the brillance of the light
that bathes them; their large expanses of gem-like, crystallized
metamorphic rocks catch and throw the high altitude sunlight in
an arresting manner similar to the High Sierras, John Muir's "Range
of Light."
October, 2001. New page:
click to visit the southern portion of the range at Eagle Creek:
Click
on image below for larger image
Prospect Lake
8,400 feet
Wallowas as seen
from the southwest deserts near Baker
Page
Last Revised 5/10/2006