Western Hiker -- Ten Essentials

WH News & Notes
January Update Get your skis ready because the Wallowa Mountains are the place for winter recreation. Over six feet of mountain snow covers the ground at Cornucopia Lodge. You can use the lodge as your basecamp for exploring Eagle Cap Wilderness on skis or by snowshoes, or you can reserve a hut with Wing Ridge Ski Tours Western Hiker's winter partner, Wing Ridge, is a longtime leader in backcountry skiing in the Wallowa Mountains where you'll find deep powder away from the crowds. Be sure to visit wingski.com to find out about renting one of the Wing Ski huts. You can use it as a basecamp from which to ski trails away from the crowds or to cut your own trails. The Web site also includes a photo tour of the Wallowa winter terrain, a topo map, trail profiles, and a gear list. If you wish to stay in nearby Enterprise or Joseph before or after your wilderness trip, wingski.com also includes a list of local accommodations and restaurants. The backcountry skiing opportunities from a Wing Ski range from easier to serious challenges. You can also choose to plan a trip with one of the expert Wing Ski guides. And for those who want to learn even more about winter backcountry travel in the Wallowas, Wing Ski offers an avalanche safety course. Call Western Hiker or Wing Ridge Ski Tours for more information about winter in the Wallowas. -- Barry Greer

WH News & Notes

January Update
Get your skis ready because the Wallowa Mountains are the place for winter recreation. Over six feet of mountain snow covers the ground at Cornucopia Lodge.

You can use the lodge as your basecamp for exploring Eagle Cap Wilderness on skis or by snowshoes, or you can reserve a hut with Wing Ridge Ski Tours

Western Hiker's winter partner, Wing Ridge, is a longtime leader in backcountry skiing in the Wallowa Mountains where you'll find deep powder away from the crowds.

Be sure to visit wingski.com to find out about renting one of the Wing Ski huts. You can use it as a basecamp from which to ski trails away from the crowds or to cut your own trails. The Web site also includes a photo tour of the Wallowa winter terrain, a topo map, trail profiles, and a gear list.

If you wish to stay in nearby Enterprise or Joseph before or after your wilderness trip, wingski.com also includes a list of local accommodations and restaurants.

The backcountry skiing opportunities from a Wing Ski range from easier to serious challenges. You can also choose to plan a trip with one of the expert Wing Ski guides. And for those who want to learn even more about winter backcountry travel in the Wallowas, Wing Ski offers an avalanche safety course.

Call Western Hiker or Wing Ridge Ski Tours for more information about winter in the Wallowas.

-- Barry Greer

Gear and Clothing

An entire book, such as Colin Fletcher's The Complete Walker, is needed to describe the range of gear and clothing needed for wilderness hiking and camping. Below are a few general guidelines. If you still have questions, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Boots first. Dress in rags but wear good boots.

Socks second; always bring a spare pair.

Watershoes next. You may have to ford streams in Eagle Cap Wilderness.

Cotton or a synthetic fiber for shorts/shirt to dry quickly.

A good rain/wind shell next for both upper and lower body. It also protects against bugs.

Warm sweater to wear under the shell.

Hat to keep the sun out of your eyes or the heat in your head

Gloves that keep your hands warm wet or dry.

Zero-degree mummy bag

Survival blanket or bivy sac

Sturdy hiking stick (hoe handle or fancy aluminum)

Swiss Army knife or Leatherman tool or equivalent

Liquid-filled compass adjusted for declination

Water pump with filter

Spoon and cup

Two plastic water bottles one liter each

First aid kit (see ten essentials page).
Day pack large enough to carry survival gear (see ten essentials page)
Specialized energy bars good for day hikes
Toilet paper
Two bandanas
Soap
Camera

Of course, you'll need to build your own list for any specialize activity such as photography, etc.

Brendan Keavney has hiked many hundreds of miles in the mountains of Oregon, Washington, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Montana, and throughout the Mojave and Colorado deserts. Many of those miles have been solo.

“I spent five years in engineering school and another five in a relatively high-stress job, and when I wasn’t flying around the world to meetings I was decompressing alone in the wilderness.“

Now helping others enjoy and appreciate wilderness is Brendan's full time job at Western Hiker. Brendan Keavney is certified in wilderness first aid.

Allison Keavney and her brothers spent a great deal of time exploring the creeks, rivers, mountains, and forests surrounding Winlock, Washington where she grew up. It was only natural that she joined the local search and rescue team and spent time after high school exploring the world. She loves to hike and has backpacked in Yosemite, Sequoia, and Joshua Tree National Parks.

"I truly enjoy guiding. It is an excellent opportunity to meet new people and get out into the wilderness. There is nothing better than lying on your back on a grassy patch, snacking on blackberries, and watching the sun go down." Allison Keavney is certified in wilderness first aid.

Norman Young is the professional wilderness packer supporting Western Hiker with years of expertise. "I seem to spend more time in the wilderness than out," he says. In fact, Norm does spend most of his time in Eagle Cap Wilderness and Hells Canyon from May to November, including at least one week-long trip across Eagle Cap. Though he knows a few old timers who won't use panniers and still prefer to top load the pack animal, Norm uses modern means to transport and protect your gear, including panniers, pack boxes, and manties. "Tying a diamond hitch on a top load is becoming less and less common as more and more packers are going to side loads only."

And Norm also knows the mountains as well as he knows packing. "I've ridden and packed nearly all the trails on the western side and southern end of the Eagle Caps and quite a bit on the eastern side and Hells Canyon as well."

Barry Greer has hiked, climbed, run, skied, and camped in Oregon's Cascades, the Wallowas, the Strawberries, the Steens, Gearhart, and Crater Lake National Park summer and winter for 25 years with an occasional sojourn to the Colorado Rockies.

He taught environmental lit in the Oregon State U. honors program and wrote the first history of North American solo mountaineering for Appalachia. His experience as a writer for Sierra, Climbing, Summit, Appalachia, Orion, and other publications led to his current career as developer of and webmaster for westernhiker.com, your first source for hiking information on Eagle Cap Wilderness and Hells Canyon Wilderness in rugged northeastern Oregon.