Wallowas condition update

[drm]

Just got back yesterday from a 4-day loop in the Wallowas out of Cornucopia. It will be some days till my zillions of photos are ready, but I think lots of people are planning trips there and so a text report of conditions was in order.

We started at Cornucopia and had a long day over Norway Pass to the upper S. Fork Imnaha, where we made camp for two nights at about 7000'. Spent our third night at Pine Lakes. We saw 4 people in 4 days.

The southern passes we crossed (Norway - 7600', Tuck - 8040', and the unnamed pass above Pine Lakes 8350') were all completely snowless (well the latter had a couple of minor patches left). We also crossed Hawkins Pass as a dayhike from our Imnaha camp. The south side had one tiny patch but there were quite a few snow sections on the north side. Some were low angle and easy to cross, but there were a few steep runnels crossing the trail. Because of the steepness, they don't get as much energy from the sun so were harder snow. They often are only 10 feet across, but if you slip, bye-bye. One looked to be undercut like a weak snowbridge. So these require tedious XC around the snow on the steep and loose rocky soil. We did 2 or 3 of these with our daypacks and probably could have managed with a pack, but not happily.

I talked to one guy who was finishing the East Eagle loop so he presumably already crossed Horton and Glacier passes. He pointed to his "ice axe" with a smile - a 3 foot long stick he picked up along the trail.

So I think for this last weekend, a trip that involves the central passes requires a hiker who either can handle steep snow, or is willing and able to XC on rough ground around it, and some snow cannot be avoided. Those who need or want clear trails all the way over the passes need to wait. Given the daily sunshine and the coming heat wave, I don't know how long that is. Maybe a week is enough, maybe two weeks to be absolutely sure.

The bugs were minimal. The worst was at the lower S Imnaha crossing at 5900'. My friend used her bug spray many times but I never did and got 2 or 3 bites the whole trip. And I even forgot my permethrin treated long pants at home, so had only shorts for the entire trip! There were no bugs at our Imnaha camp but there were some at Pine Lakes and at Little Frazier Lake, but no intense swarms.

The alpine flower up high were a riot and near peak. There were some low down but they were at their best above 6500'.

We had to wade the S. Fork Imnaha twice and it was at or above the knee. Not trivial, but not too bad - with trekking poles. I think they might challenging without those extra two legs. If you have kids or pets that would need to be carried, could be a problem.

All trails had some logs down but most were not too bad. The only one that was real bad was on the north side of Norway Pass - but nobody ever goes there, right? One hiker told me a trail crew was at work in the Lakes Basin over the weekend.

[BurnsideBob]

Dean, thanks for a very informative report. Looking forward to the illustrated version!

[Charley]

I'm planning on going up there next week. Thanks for the update!