For the first time ever, we’re out in Eastern Oregon. We spent our first day doing a couple short hikes just to get out and see some stuff. There are a ton of hikes out in the Wallowas and most of them are pretty big. My knee couldn’t handle any of that so our short ones were perfect.
First we did a short hike across some grasslands to a small pond and then out to the Chief Joseph Memorial.
The Wallowa band of the Nez Percel ived peacefully in the remote Wallowa Valley for centuries, undisturbed by any invaders. The band raised families, hunted game, developed a superior breed of horses and, in particular, fished the salmon-rich waters of Wallowa Lake, the meandering Wallowa River and other streams. White settlers began to move west and north and eventually reached the land of the Nez Perce in 1805. In the1870s, settlers and the U.S. Cavalry started to force the Nez Perce from their homeland. Chief Old Joseph had signed a treaty in 1855, but when the discovery of gold nearby prompted the government to take back millions of acres, he renounced the treaty. Old Chief Joseph died in 1871.
Next we drove to the head of the lake and hiked out and back for a few miles on Chief Joseph Mountain Trail. It was a bit hazy so we didn’t get great views of the lake, but the hike along the West Fork Wallowa River is stunning with it’s fall colors on full display. We took a slight detour to check out some falls, and wow is it rugged out there! If you keep going you get to Chief Joseph Mountain but we didn’t want to do anything that far.
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