Summit Days

Even though we’ve lived and hiked in Eastern Oregon since the summer of 2017, there are still so many places we haven’t explored. This weekend, Evan, Springer, and I decided to take an overnight backpacking trip to visit some new places.

Springer admiring the view.

We decided to do an overnight loop in the Eagle Cap Wilderness, passing Minam Lake, summiting Eagle Cap, and returning to the trailhead. Eagle Cap is the peak that the wilderness area is named for and was once believed to be the highest peak in the range.

I drove to meet Evan, who was just getting off a 4-day trip working on trails in the Wilderness. We got a late start on the trail, only making it a mile-ish down the trail before setting up camp for the night. This guaranteed a long day the next day!

Reflections at Minam Lake.

The next morning we woke early, enjoying the hike in the cool morning air. We stopped for a snack at Minam Lake before starting up the pass that would drop us into the Lakes Basin for our Eagle Cap summit. Our first real climb of the morning, we worked up a sweat during the climb over the pass, but were rewarded with amazing views from the top.

We descended the other side, passing waterfalls and meadows on our way to the river where we re-applied sunscreen and stocked up on water for the 4+ mile round-trip hike to the summit of Eagle Cap.

The landscape turned from lush meadows to rocky, exposed slopes with lingering snow as we carefully made our way to the summit. The peak of Eagle Cap stands at 9,573 ft, which makes it my highest summit to date! Though the climb was steep and hot, the 360 views of the entire Wilderness were definitely worth it. We snacked and named as many peaks as we could.

The view from Eagle Cap.

Descending Eagle Cap.

With sore legs and full hearts, we made our way down the mountain and back towards the trailhead through the vibrant meadows surrounding the Lostine River. Pausing only to look back at the mountain we had just summited, we returned to the trailhead. The day was an 18+ mile day, probably the most either of us had completed in a single day since the Appalachian Trail!

Looking back at Eagle Cap.

Sun, Summits, and Views

Living in Oregon has been a blast so far. It's amazing to be able to look out your window and see mountains that have been relatively untouched by humans. A 45 minute drive takes me to the base, and windy Forest Service Roads take me to the trailhead. There are so many places to discover.

Recently, I had my first experience summiting a mountain over 8,000 ft! We took a sunny, beautiful day hike to the top of China Cap in the Eagle Cap Wilderness and Wallowa Whitman National Forest, scrambling off-trail to reach its summit with a beautiful 360 view. We enjoyed a summit beer and signed the register while the dogs enjoyed the last vestiges of winter's snowpack.

Moving to Oregon

Evan and I have moved to a little corner of Oregon. It's been a long road to get here: our road trip from Austin included a wedding in Georgia, a vacation in the mountains of North Carolina, a short stay on the Gulf Coast of Alabama, a fiasco with our moving company, and many hours of driving.

Since we've been here, we've begun to tackle the myriad of outdoor opportunities that the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest has to offer. Most recently, we took a short overnight backpacking trip to Catherine Creek Meadow. The meadow was beautiful, green, and boggy with spring snow melt. WE got wet feet, but Springer loved walking through the cool water.

My personal chef cooked up a delicious backcountry meal of mashed potatoes, morels, vegetables, and corn on the cob, with s'mores (probably one of the last times we'll be able to have s'mores before fire season starts in the region and campfires are outlawed!) for dessert.

Pedernales Falls State Park

Pedernales Falls is one of my favorite parks in the Central Texas area. Even when it's packed, it's easy to find the right trail to get some solitude. There are 20+ miles of trails in the park, and they wind through beautiful Texas hill country landscapes.

A couple weeks ago, Springer and I ventured out to Pedernales Falls to go hiking. We got the last parking spot at the trailhead, and chose a 9.3-mile long loop (Springer's longest hike to date!) that would take us down the Juniper Ridge trail and back up to the parking lot via one of the Equestrian loop trails. Springer was the perfect hiking partner, at least until she smelled a horse for the first time!