Legore Lake Hike (16 August 2017

[phijef]

First of all, I still think Ruckel Ridge *may* be a tad bit tougher of a hike than getting to Legore Lake, but maybe it's just that the scenic payoff is so much better than Benson Plateau that you forget the immediate pain of getting to the lake.

A bit about Legore Lake (from Wikipedia):

"LeGore Lake is a tarn located in the Eagle Cap Wilderness of northeastern Oregon, United States. It is the highest true lake in Oregon at 8,950 feet (2,730 m) elevation. It is positioned near Twin Peaks and is accessed by a 4-mile hiking trail that ascends 4,000 feet and passes the LeGore mine, the lake's namesake."

Two things wrong with this description. First, this is the first instance where I see the G capitalized. On my maps, the G is lower case, so we will just stick with that spelling. Second, the trail doesn't go all the way to the lake. There is a significant portion of the hike that is continued off-trail. The trail only goes to Legore Mine.

To get to the trail, park at Hurricane Creek Trail Head. Take the Hurrican Creek Trail approximately .10 of a mile and turn right on the Falls Creek Trail. Pretty much immediately, the trail goes up at a brisk pace.

It's hard work, but don't forget to look up

Continue climbing through the forested hillside

The climb continues

After about 2.5 miles and 3,000 ft, you'll stumble onto Legore Mine. Joe Legore dug out this old copper mine. I didn't go too far in as I was by myself and didn't have a helmet. There is also a cabin near the mine which only a few of the logs are still present.

Legore Mine

Legore Mine interior

The trail continue on for just a little bit before disappearing completely. This is the start of the off-trail hike.

Off trail commences

Then comes the boulder field, which seemed to take forever to pick my way through.

The beginning of the boulder field

Still picking my way through.

Through the boulder field

Once I finally got through the field, I came upon these guys in a meadow. It was pretty neat to see both mountain goats and Bighorn sheep

I interrupted a gathering

Sheep and goats, oh my!

They kept a close eye on me

There was one last pass to go through and it felt otherworldly

Transported to Mars

Then...

Oh, there you are

The prize! Legore Lake

I'll spare you the downhill portion of the trip except to say that all the loose rock can be a tad treachorous as I almost fell on my rear at least a half dozen times.

Cheers!

A totally different prize!

[Bosterson]

Wow! Awesome that you saw all those bighorns and goats up there. I was just on Hurricane earlier this month, but haven't been up to Legore (it's on the list). So does the trail peter out below that tarn north of Legore, and then you turn south up to the notch just above the lake? I think I can see a little user switchback in the slope above the lake in your photo - was that a user trail up to Twin Peaks? And last pic - is that from the new Terminal Gravity location in the old Mutiny Brewing space in Joseph? How was it?

[phijef]

Wow! Awesome that you saw all those bighorns and goats up there. I was just on Hurricane earlier this month, but haven't been up to Legore (it's on the list). So does the trail peter out below that tarn north of Legore, and then you turn south up to the notch just above the lake? I think I can see a little user switchback in the slope above the lake in your photo - was that a user trail up to Twin Peaks? And last pic - is that from the new Terminal Gravity location in the old Mutiny Brewing space in Joseph? How was it?

The trail peters out just after the mine. It leads up to the old cabin and that's it. That's where you have to head West to the boulder field, which then leads to a meadow, but on the map it shows a tarn. From there is a goat trail that leads up in between the two peaks. I took a slightly alternate route and went a tad more West of the trail, but it was all good.

It is the new Terminal Gravity location. It was good, if you just want a beer. There is no kitchen, but instead they have a food cart. I wanted a larger meal, so I went across the street to La Laguna for a big flank steak with beans and rice meal (and plenty of chips and salsa).

[bobcat]

Enjoyed the report. Nice to see pictures of the Legore Lake area. The herd of bighorns communing with the goats and their curiosity (rather than abject fear) tells me few people venture up there. The remaining Twin Peak is Oregon's #11 summit, but even though it's just a 60-foot nub, it's crumbly and technical.