Wallowas (OR)

Wallowa River.

In late August 2011, the job took me to the Wallowa Mountains in Oregon briefly and I squeezed (squoze?) in a short hike up the valley to check out the little river.  Kris and I had a big backpack planned there a couple summers before, but our timing was off weatherwise and the snowy high ground suggested day-hiking.  It was also kinda convenient--and embarrassing--to realize at the trailhead that I’d left my overnight pack at home!  I had the stuff to go in it all neatly packed in boxes and bags in the trunk of the car.  It was an odd oversight.  Better be the first and last time I ever do that.  I've left home before without my hiking boots and once without my sleeping bag (and often without a flashlight or food), but when you forget your backpack, that’s a definite oh-oh.   In any event, on my next trip to the Wallowas I’ve vowed to summit Eagle Cap and look down on all the pretty lakes.  Gorgeous country up there.