Recommendations for 3-4 Day Loop in Eagle Cap Wilderness?

[mjuliana]

I have Lorain's Backpacking Oregon book which describes several spectacular loops but I'm looking for other ideas as well.
Trip would probably happen week of August 25th and would be with my 16-year old son. Scrambling to the top of peaks is NOT optional - it will be mandatory with him along.

Would like to keep mileage in the 10-12 mile range per day. Shorter is okay , longer on the last day would be okay as well.

[dixhuit]

You can't go wrong with any of the trips in Lorain's book, but my favorite is the Eagle Creek-West Eagle loop he describes in 100 Hikes in Oregon. See Bosterson's recent TR here, http://www.portlandhikers.org/forum/vie ... =8&t=19703 or mine from several years ago here, http://www.portlandhikers.org/forum/vie ... &view=next. Great scenery, fabulous lakes, peak bagging opportunities, abundant flowers, in other words, the Wallowas.

David

[texasbb]

I agree, it's really hard to go wrong in the Wallowas. There are several routes into the main Lakes Basin with opportunities for peak bagging, and that's well recommended if you've never been there, though it can be a little crowded at times. Maybe go up the East Fork Wallowa River to Jewett Lake the first day. There's Pete's Point or adjacent ridges for some climbing around. Next day go over Polaris Pass, with maybe a side trip toward Sentinel Peak. Then make your way into the main Lakes Basin via Glacier Lake/Pass, with a possible hike up Eagle Cap. Then wind your way back out the West Fork Wallowa River.

But I'm with dixhuit on West Eagle. Not quite as calendar-picture as the main Basin, but wild, rugged, more solidtude, big views, you name it. I did a loop with side trips in the area last year and loved it (in spite of some rough weather).

[sparklehorse]

My favorite trip in the Wallowas is the East Eagle-Imnaha loop, which is also in Lorain's book. It's just spectacular and gives you a great opportunity to bag the summit of Eagle Cap along the way. It also passes through the main lakes basin, which does draw quite a few folks, but that basin is simply gorgeous and well worth seeing. The basin is pretty big and people get spread out, so it's never felt uncomfortably crowded there to me. If you plan your trip so you pass through it mid-week it should help you avoid most of the folks. The rest of the loop passes through pretty lonely terrain where you quite possibly could go a whole day without seeing another person. I did a trip report on this loop here on Portland Hikers back in 2006, but it lost all its photos when they archived it. I re-created it on my Smugmug site though:

http://pixelhorse.smugmug.com/Trip-Repo ... #!p=1&n=10

Fantastic trip and it could be done in four days if you're pretty fit.