Day 3: Canyons

It’s a week later and I’m only now getting to the end of our romantic weekend away to celebrate our anniversary. Saturday was our third and final full day in Oregon. Thursday we had a nice scenic road trip to Enterprise. Friday, we explored the mountains. And Today (a week ago), we explored the canyons. Hells Canyon is a remarkable geologic feature. It’s deeper than the Grand Canyon, and on both sides it’s flanked by two major canyons. On the Idaho side, it’s the Salmon River with the Seven Devils creating the wall between the two. On the Oregon side, it’s the Imnaha river, separated by an extension of the plateau making up the Wallowa Valley. This formation between the two canyons rises up over 6000 feet in elevation and offers spectacular views on both sides. Unfortunately, we were unable to get over to the Snake River side at this time.

Our morning started out with breakfast outside again. I had a wonderful skillet with eggs and fresh local veggies. The sun was shining and the air was warm, but the forecast wasn’t to be so good for the rest of the day. Despite my best attempts to get out early, we still seemed to get a late start. The goal was to drive down to Imnaha and explore Hells Canyon a bit. Imnaha sits at the bottom of the Imnaha River canyon. At about 2000 feet, it’s often 10-20 degrees warmer and doesn’t get the harsh snows that the higher elevations receive. Thus, Imnaha was the winter refuge of choice for the Nez Perce.

Today, the town of Imnaha is the end of the paved road, 25 miles into the canyon from Joseph. There’s not much to the town: a tiny post office, a general store, and a couple of houses. But it is the gateway into the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area. We headed up the road to Hat Point, though Hat Point wasn’t our destination. My plan was to get up on the rim, hike around and find some views of the Snake River 5000 feet below. But our plan was thwarted 6-7 miles in when, at 5600 feet, we ran into snow blocking the road. The trip wasn’t without its merits. The entire drive up, the view over the Imnaha gorge just gets better and better. While we were up there, we watched as a thunderstorm developed over the Wallowas and were glad we weren’t over there. The rains slowly filled the canyon, but never actually fell upon us. Even as we drove back down into Imnaha, I was sure we’d hit the rains, but they passed before we got there.

We went back to Joseph for a late afternoon snack, and then back to the B&B for a bit. We had made reservations for a nice dinner at a place called Caldera’s in Joseph. Their menu is seasonal and the food made with fresh, local ingredients. The food was to die for.

Day 4: The Return Trip

All good things must come to an end. And so, Sunday, we got up early, packed, had breakfast, and headed back for home. Erin had to work, so we couldn’t make an exploratory drive out of it. We stopped at the Joseph Canyon overlook to use the restrooms, and we made one brief stop on the way down rattlesnake grade so that I could take a photo of the canyon.

It’s sad that the trip had to end so soon, but my days in the Wallowas are not over. I plan to make at least one trip there annually to do some hiking and backpacking. The Wallowas are a very awesome mountain range and their relative obscurity makes them that much more special.

Sacajawea, originally uploaded by Matthew Singer.

Day 2

Friday morning, I woke up in time to catch the sun rising over the Seven Devils. I went outside with the camera to catch the morning glow on the snow-capped peaks of the Wallowas as the sun rose in the sky. It was a beautiful morning, and quite warm, even at 6:00. We were told that it was the first time this season that breakfast was hosted outside.

Breakfast was amazing. Each breakfast starts out with fruit and yogurt with their own home-made granola. Erin had some toast from her bread. I was given crepes filled with a huckleberry sauce. Best crepes ever. The atmosphere helped. We were outside with a view of the mountains, the warm sun upon us, and the birds happily chirping all around.

Our plan was to visit the mountains. Our first stop was Hurricane Creek. Less than a mile in on a side trail, there is a rather large waterfall on Falls Creek. I was optimistic since there was no snow on the road or the trail. In fact, the snow line looked to be at least a thousand feet above us. However, when we got to the falls, we found the entire creek under feet of snow. But only the creek. It must have been avalanche build-up because the rest of the valley around was bone dry. In fact, the snow ended at the base of the falls. So we kept walking up the Hurricane Creek trail looking for a good view of Sacajawea.

Eventually, the sunshine and blue skies turned into dark clouds and threats of rain, so we turned back. As we got to the car, it started sprinkling on us, but not the heavy precipitation we were anticipating. We headed to Joseph and walked around town, finding a place for lunch. We drove along the lake and up to the Wallowa River trailhead where I wanted to hike to another waterfall, but as the weather never cleared, we decided not to. Instead we did some more scenic driving and scouted out a good sunset location. Unfortunately, the sunset was not too spectacular and we ended up calling it an early evening.

I finally got Erin into the Wallowa Mountains, and while we didn’t get very far, it was enough to show her why this place is special. I hope that she will muster up the energy to come all the way to the lakes district with me.

Introduction

Almost one year ago, I married the most wonderful girl in the world. Unfortunately, we did not have time to take a nice honeymoon. We spent the night after the wedding at the luxurious Bedford Springs resort, but that was it. Our intentions were to take a trip later in the year, but as winter break approached, we had neither the time nor the funds for a romantic getaway. The winter was long and cold, and still we weren’t able to get away. But finally, as the semester ended and Erin had some long weekends in her schedule, we were able to take some time for ourselves This coming weekend will be our first anniversary, but we chose to celebrate a week early, in part because it’s also Memorial Day weekend and everything would be crowded, and in part because the place we wanted to go was booked up. So here’s how it started.

My parents are planning a trip to Idaho at the end of July, and I was looking for places to go with them. One of my favorite spots in the greater area is the Wallowa Mountains in northeastern Oregon. It’s unlikely that I could get everyone to hike the 5000 vertical feet to some of the best views around, or the 7+ miles one-way to one of the many alpine lakes. But just outside of Joseph in the Wallowa River valley, there is the Wallowa Tramway, a gondola that takes you to the top of Mount Howard. From there, you can walk the nature trail to a miriad of overlooks, or take off for one of the nearby higher peaks. Since the trip to Enterprise and Joseph is at least a 3-hour scenic drive (with no stopping) from Moscow, I decided to investigate lodging. That’s when I came upon the Barking Mad Farm, a Bed & Breakfast that not only caters to Erin’s special dietary needs, but is also friendly to dogs. After browsing their site, we decided it would be the perfect place to take a mini honeymoon and celebrate our anniversary.

Day 1

We left pretty late, later than I wanted. We had to go to Moscow first to pick up snowshoes (I wasn’t sure how much snow would be on the trails) and get some food for the trip. It was after lunch when we finally pulled out and headed for Lewiston. The drive to Enterprise is one of the most scenic there is. It starts on 95 through the rolling hills of the Palouse and then drops 2000 feet into Lewiston and Clarkston. From there, we travel along the Snake River to the town of Asotin where we climb back up to the top of the canyon. The plateau is fairly flat, but gradually rises to 4000 feet only to be cut by another canyon.

Just before we hit Rattlesnake Grade, the 3000 foot drop to the Grand Rhonde river, I saw a sign for Fields Spring State Park. At the last minute I decided to turn in and see what it was all about. Worst case scenario, we could always turn around if there was an obnoxious entrance fee. But it is a free park. It’s pretty small, mostly a campground, but we found a trail leading to Puffer Butte, and with the lovely weather, decided it would be a good time to stretch our legs and let the dogs run around. Well, it’s a good thing we stoppe because it turned out to be a magical walk. The first thing I noticed was the carpet of Glacier Lilies. Then Erin pointed out a purple flower. I examined closer and became giddy with excitement. We had found an orchid. It only got better as we ascended the hill. Ballhead waterleaf, Western Trillium, Spring Beauty, Arrowleaf Balsamroot, Shooting Star, the list continues. Then the trail departed the confines of the forest as we reached the grassy summit of the butte, a view into the deep gorges of Hells Canyon and tributary canyons, the high peaks of the Blue Mountains to the west, and the snow-capped giants of the Wallowa Mountains to the south. There is a cabin on the summit which is open for overnight visits. It’s primarily a shelter for winter recreation. The roads and trails become a cross-country ski and snowshoe area.

After enjoying the view and the flora, we headed back down to the car to finish our journey. As mentioned before, the road descends 3000 feet over 10 miles of twists and turns only to cross the Grand Rhonde and retake all of the elevation lost. We climb out of the canyon into a flat, open woodland that is just beautiful. We saw a large, dark bird fly across the road and land on a fence post. I thought it was a raven, but as we passed, it became evident that we had witnessed a Great Grey Owl. I turned around to get a photo, but as I got out of the car to get the camera, a large truck passed and the owl was nowhere to be seen. Soon, it becomes evident that you are driving along the rim of another deep canyon. The Forest service was greatful enough to put in an overlook to peer into the Joseph Canyon.

As we get closer to our destination, the snowy summits of the mountains give us previews of what is to come. Finally, the forest thins and we enter into the prairie habitat that would have made up the Wallowa Valley. Chief Joseph, the 9716 foot high giant appears straight ahead with all of its majestic beauty and splendor. Soon after, more of the range appears and we descend into the town of Enterprise, elevation 4000 feet. It was 7:30 when we checked into the B&B and unpacked the car. The room was amazing, a luxurious suite above the garage with a big view of the Seven Devils to the east. We had a delicious dinner at the Terminal Gravity Brew Pub with the most spectacular pink sunset we would have all weekend.

Day 2 to be posted soon…