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....
Pictured below
is a scan
of a historic postcard advertising the Wallowas. I've since lost
the card, but estimate this image is at least 20 or 30 yearss
old. It pictures the classic "tourist" view of the Wallowas
that helped to establish them as "Oregon's Switzerland."
This is the most-easily visited major viewpoint; it's located
at Wallowa Lake State Park, near the Mt. Howard tramway. The picture
is taken from the giant terminal moraine left by the glacier which
carved out Wallowa Lake!
(below) Cached
Lake, 7,300 ft., Eagle Creek drainage (you must hike many miles
to get to this lake!)
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."
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 2/10/2010