r/WildernessBackpacking • u/WesternPut5063 • 1d ago

Eagle Cap Wilderness this weekend

Am I crazy? Weather doesn't look too terrible at the moment. Looking to do 2-3 nights there this weekend. Any suggestions for best route? I have extensive off trail experience, but never been here before.

1 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

2

u/blindside1 1d ago

How far are you wanting to hike?

5

u/DishonestHumility 1d ago

If you're going in from the Wallowa Lake side the Lakes Basin loop is a classic, can't really go wrong. You can add on Glacier Lake as a side trip if you've got the legs for it

Weather this time of year gets squirrelly fast though, I've had blue skies turn into sideways sleet in an hour up there. Pack like you're expecting the worst and you'll be fine

1

u/WesternPut5063 1d ago

25-40 miles depending on the gain. Pretty open

1

u/RearCog 1d ago

I highly recommend the lakes basin classic loop. It is amazing. If you want to extend it a bit more you can go up and over Eagle cap and connect it to Glacier Pass. We did that a few weeks ago. Makes for an incredible day! Here is the route we took to include Eagle Cap as part of the loop. https://maps.topomaps.co/share/NBDV5cjnrs. When you are getting up on the shoulder to the south of Eagle Cap I recommend going a little farther south than where we went up. There was a much route up about 100 yards south that wasn't so slick.