Oregon Hikers

Does anybody have any direct reports of snow limits in the Wallowas recently? I see that the Aneroid Lake snotel still has feet of snow. Kinda of wondering where snow starts going up the East Lostine.

Call Gina at the Marina. The Wallowa Lake Marina 541-432-9115. Gina Barstad, related to hiking book author Fred Barstad. She has been helpful and informative in the past.

Stop in and buy something if they provide useful information.

Well, I'm going in via Two Pan so won't be anywhere near Wallowa Lake. [I would even have to go out of my way to visit Terminal Gravity! - we will see] The rangers told me the snow level is round about 7000 feet, which is perfect for what I want to do.

Didn't work out, way too much snow. I had hoped to get through the initial narrow canyon and not hit snow till it opened up. But snow started one half mile from the trailhead, after the log bridge crosses left to right, and was deep with steep exposed traverses within a mile. Snowshoes don't do you any good on that. I really think an ice axe was required. I turned back as did another couple hoping to traverse the Lakes Basin and exit Wallowas east fork. My hoped for trip probably needs two weeks of melting.

So I went out and redirected, doing a backpack in Hells Canyon, trip report pending.

Thanks for the heads up! I was going to try to climb something out there in about a week and a half. This is not the year!

I was thinking of doing a trip in three weeks. Maybe it'll be melted enough by then.

Jerry - The forecast there for the next week is actually pretty cool. The Lakes Basin might even get a touch of new snow later this week. The lower canyons might be melted out, but I would still expect snowy passes in early July, unless the end of June heats up. I spoke to a local waiter who obviously knows the mountains. She said that they got a dump of snow in May that kind of threw the melt schedule for a loop. We have to separate the Wallowas from the Cascades. The Wallowas are not melting early at all this year. All those storms that dumped the Cascade snow on the Sierras them went up through eastern Oregon.

I wasn't planning anything there until the end of July, but there is a fallback position that melts somewhat earlier at the Elkhorn Crest trail.

yeah, the snow model says Elkhorn is pretty much melted out, maybe I'll do that

drm wrote: ↑

June 18th, 2019, 8:11 am

The lower canyons might be melted out, but I would still expect snowy passes in early July, unless the end of June heats up. I spoke to a local waiter who obviously knows the mountains. She said that they got a dump of snow in May that kind of threw the melt schedule for a loop. We have to separate the Wallowas from the Cascades. The Wallowas are not melting early at all this year. All those storms that dumped the Cascade snow on the Sierras them went up through eastern Oregon.

Thanks for the beta, Dean. I'm headed to the Wallowas for 4th of July. Do you reckon it might be melted out to around 5-6000 ft, or is that optimistic?