WH News & Notes
Summer Hiking

Let Western Hiker be your guide each summer into Eagle Cap Wilderness in Oregon's incredible Wallowa Mountains.

The 1800 square mile Wallowa Mountain range is located in the northeast corner of Oregon and boasts alpine peaks, steep-walled valleys, and five designated wild and scenic rivers. At the heart of the range lies the 540 square mile Eagle Cap Wilderness, Oregon's largest.

From the Grande Rhonde Valley in the west to Hells Canyon country in the east, you'll have plenty of room to roam along hundreds of miles of trails without crossing your own path.

You'll find classic alpine meadows, the highest natural lake in Oregon, four officially designated wild and scenic rivers, snowfields, glaciers, rock faces, warm sun, the bluest of blue sky, and no traffic, television, phones, email, or worry.

For climbers, the range has seventeen summits over 9000 feet in elevation with the tallest named after the Sacajawea, the famed guide for the Lewis and Clark expedition. Sacajawea, Matterhorn, and many other 9000+ summits offer some of the best technical and nontechnical climbing in Oregon.

  -- Barry Greer


Wilderness Base Camps
When you hike into one of our base camps, you are hiking into Oregon's largest wild area, Eagle Cap Wilderness, and passing through classic Wallowa Mountain history in northeastern Oregon. Hurricane Creek flows beneath Chief Joseph Mountain, a majestic summits named for the famous Nez Perce chief that connect to the Great Hurwal Divide.

The Hurwal Divide abover Hurricane Creek links the 9,838-foot Sacajawea Peak and the Matterhorn, two of the highest summits in the magnificant Wallowa Mountains where you'll find 17 peaks over 9,000 feet in elevation. Sacajawea, the highest summit in the Wallowas was named to honor the famed guide of the Lewis and Clark expedition that traveled through northeastern Oregon in 1805 on orders from President Thomas Jefferson to explore the newly acquired Louisiana Purchase.

From the south, you hike into two classic timberline alpine tarns at Pine Lakes. The lakes lie protected in a basin below a ridge, but the trail continues to climb up onto a pass from which you can survey ridge upon ridge of the Wallowa Mountains.

From either basecamp, you can hike or climb in country that, at lower elevations, is thickly timbered with ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine, Douglas fir, spuce, and tamarack and rises into alpine tundra with lush green meadows to the sources of mountain streams and the shores of cobalt blue tarns. We'll help you find the best routes for your ability.

At night, back in camp, you sleep comfortably on cots in our spacious canvas wall tents or ouside with only the stars overhead. Dine on grilled salmon, sourdough pancakes, and other Northwest favorites prepared by your camp hosts. We can also set up a personal base camp for your group at the location of your choice.


Make your reservation today!
CONTACT INFORMATION
Western Hiker
P.O. Box 568
Union, OR 97883
(541)562-1181
(888)420-7855


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Backpacker Magazine
Eagle Cap Guidebook
Gordon's Guides
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The Mountaineers Books
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The Backpacker
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