Wallowas, Sept. 1983 & Aug. 2015

This is a forum for trip reports that pre-date the Portland Hikers forum, trail photos from pre-digital era, or any other discussions that focus on trail history.
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Don Nelsen
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Wallowas, Sept. 1983 & Aug. 2015

Post by Don Nelsen » September 6th, 2015, 5:04 pm

Back in '79, one of my brothers and three of our friends went on a Three Sisters backpack adventure and enjoyed is so much we decided to get together and head out to another area in another year or two. The stars didn't again align for us until 1983, but it was worth the wait. Careers, etc. got in the way over the years but we still were able to get together again in '85, '02, '06 and then, finally last month, we repeated the exact trip we took in '83.

Each trip over the years had a different mix of participants, too, and only one of us, yours truly, made all the events, now dubbed "Viking Camp".

This year's event was particularly important for my nephew, David, as he was among our group on our original Wallowas adventure at the age of eight and never forgot what a grand time he had with his uncles, dad and their friends.

We went to Long Lake, 12.4 miles from the Two Pan TH, stayed a couple of nights, explored the area then hiked to Sky Lake. We found a very nice camping spot at Sky Lake, explored some more and hiked out on the fourth day. 30.3 miles, 5,702' vertical in all.

Here are a few photos taken this year and a few I've tried to match from the same spots from1983.

About half-way there,1983. My brother, David, 34 at the time, on the right:
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Same spot, 2015. My brother's son and my nephew, David, 40, on the right:
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The Matterhorn as seen from near the highpoint of the trail:
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The motley crew: Our friend Kevin, my son, Paul, my nephew, David and my Brother, Carl.
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Swamp Lake, 1983:
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2015:
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Interesting tree along the way.
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The upper reaches of the same tree:
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Along the trail and nearing Long Lake, 1983:
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I could not locate the exact spot the1983 photo was taken, but this is close:
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My brother, David, at Long Lake, Sept 4, 1983:
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Same spot, more-or-less, 2015 - a forest fire has altered the scene a bit!:
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Our view from our camp, Aug. 7th, 2015:
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Swamp Lake, 1983:
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2015:
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Eagle Cap from the trail in 1983.
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A month earlier in the summer, the same view in 2015. Wow! serious snow depletion!
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Our route:
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All the photos are here:

http://www.fototime.com/users/donnelsen ... amp%202015
"Everything works in the planning stage" - Kelly

"If you don't do it this year, you will be one year older when you do" - Warren Miller

justpeachy
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Re: Wallowas, Sept. 1983 & Aug. 2015

Post by justpeachy » September 8th, 2015, 6:29 am

Cool! I love those then-and-now shots. It's always fun to do that. :D

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miah66
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Re: Wallowas, Sept. 1983 & Aug. 2015

Post by miah66 » September 8th, 2015, 7:29 am

Bravo, DN! I love it! I've been wanting to get up into the Wallowas for years. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. In 1983, I was 5 years old, so I probably couldn't have made it up there with you guys! :) My dad and his brothers used to go backpacking around that time and I was always too young to join them. I really wish I could've, now looking back. Awesome experience for David, for sure. And to repeat it years later! Fantastic! He's very fortunate.
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Arturo
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Re: Wallowas, Sept. 1983 & Aug. 2015

Post by Arturo » September 8th, 2015, 7:40 am

Good thing you didn't replicate those shorts :shock: ;)

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Splintercat
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Re: Wallowas, Sept. 1983 & Aug. 2015

Post by Splintercat » September 9th, 2015, 9:55 pm

Love it, Don! :) For a moment, I thought we might have been up there at the same time, but my oldie trip was in 1982. Short shorts were comfy, back in the day... :D

Thanks for posting, Don!

Tom :)

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retired jerry
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Re: Wallowas, Sept. 1983 & Aug. 2015

Post by retired jerry » September 10th, 2015, 6:38 am

Nice!

Nice idea

Seems like there may be a few more trees now, but mostly it looks the same. Nice we haven't destroyed it :)

I went there in 1966 or so, first backpack with brother. We re-did it a couple years ago.

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