BEAR CREEK
(WALLOWA MOUNTAINS)
WHERE: From Portland take I-84 east to La Grande (about 4 hours) exiting onto Highway 82. Go northeast on 82 to Bear Creek road which is on the right as you enter the town of Wallowa. Follow Bear Creek road for just over 7 miles to the trail head.
THE TRAIL: The trail looks much easier on paper than it actually is on foot. I took a relatively slow 42 mile loop up Bear Creek to Washboard ridge then looping back down at Dobbin Creek. The trail starts at 3,700 feet elevation and peaks at about 8,200 feet after about 22 miles. The steepness is not extreme given the amount distance in which the altitude is gained, but there are a lot of ups and downs on the way including some steep 200+ foot gains and drops over the 9 miles you spend on Washboard ridge. In addition there is a lot of rock along the trail making for rougher hiking than the soil covered trails out west. On the ridge the hiking was mostly on top of a volcanic rock where the trail disappeared regularly.
OK the trail was tougher than I thought it would be but was well worth the hike. The beginning of the hike goes through old growth forest of Ponderosa Pine, Lodgepole Pine, Douglass and Grand Fir. As the elevation gets above 6,000 feet you begin to see Subalpine Fir, Mountain Hemlock and Western White Pine. The first 15 miles go up the floor of Bear Creek with many views of the mountains guarding the valleys sides. After this the trail steepens a little bit heading through both Sub-Alpine forests and Sub-Alpine meadows. In other areas of the park there are beautiful Alpine Lakes but on this route there are only a few ponds (One of which is the beginning of Bear Creek. At about twenty miles there are a few wide open parks where the more distant mountains in the wilderness begin to appear. This is also were the trail gets rough (not that it was easy going up to this point). The ridge is not much higher in altitude but the trail is hard to follow, extremely rocky and completely exposed. For the next 9 miles the ridge is follows up and down every little spine or knob. At one point I wasn't sure if I would find the trail, and whether or not I should go back the way I came, despite being 70% done with my hike. The last scenario would leave a long hike for the last day. It was a fantastic experience as you could easily tell this subsection of the Blue Mountains known as the Wallowas is a mountainous island isolated from neighboring ranges.
Along the hike I saw at least ten mule deer at 5 different locations as well as a barred owl flying during the rain in the daylight hours. There were also plenty of cougar, bear, bobcat and elk signs all along the trail. Additionally you can listen to the sounds of Pika and Marmot in the rocky sub-alpine and alpine rock meadows. There are also two cabins and several privies along the way. One is 5 miles up the trail and the other is at a trail junction at the northern edge of the ridge a mile before heading down the Dobbin Creek trail. The biggest sour note I have to report on this trail is the abundance of garbage located at the campsites that are stock accessible. There was unburnable garbage (where the campers apparently thought the garbage could burn) at the first site I encountered. The third site which was at a junction with the Bearwallow trail which is only four miles from a high elevation forest access road: This site had torn garbage bags hanging from a tree as well as an inflatable raft on the ground. I am guessing the previous owners had their camp raided by a bear and were too lazy to pack there garbage back. Its really a shame that people leave their crap in the wilderness. They even have horses to do the work! This is not meant to associate all stock users with this kind of behavior as I am sure a majority of the stock users are conscientious visitors to the wild. I do believe, however, the easier the access to any outdoor area, the more garbage that is left behind and riding a horse is definitely easier than hiking. This follows the rule of easier trip means lazier practices.
