Chief Joseph Mountain
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Hikes including this destination:
- Thorp Creek Hike (TH | <— —> | LOG)
- Weather forecast: NWS/NOAA
- Maps: Oregon Hikers Maps Google Maps
- Latitude, Longitude: 45.28572, -117.26176
- Elevation: 9617 feet
Description
Chief Joseph Mountain looks over the town of Joseph and its summit, Point Joseph, is the northern high point on the high ridge that extends from the Matterhorn and then along the Hurwal Divide. The mountain is most often ascended using the Chief Joseph Trail, which intersects with the West Fork Wallowa Trail although there are several connectors coming up to the former trail from Wallowa Lake. The Chief Joseph Trail gives access to scramble routes that will take you to the summit. A second approach is via the Thorp Creek Trail. You can head cross-country from the high point on this trail to the saddle between Chief Joseph Mountain and the Hurwal Divide or scramble up to Hurwal first from Thorp Creek Meadows and then hike the two-mile ridge to Point Joseph.
Chief Joseph Mountain's geology is complex and it offers examples of all five main strata that make up the Wallowas: bands of dark reddish Hurwal shale, limestone from the Martin Bridge Formation, the granodiorite of the Wallowa Batholith, Clover Creek greenstone, and the summit cap of Columbia Basalt. The hike along Chief Joseph's ridge is colorful indeed and you may encounter the goats and bighorn sheep that sometimes graze here.
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