It's a rainy Friday evening in Portland and a good time to remember one of the last warm weather rides of the year. A few weekends ago we drove 5 1/2 hours to the eastern Oregon town of Joseph, named after Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce tribe. Chief Joseph led his band when they were forcibly removed from their lands in the Wallowa Valley by the U.S. government. They were pursued 1,170 to Canada in a "fighting retreat" by the U.S. Army in what became known as the Nez Perce War. He lost his land but they named a town after him.
We first visited Joseph 15 or so years ago. We hiked to Ice Lake (a difficult 14 mile roundtrip that I no longer have the inclination to do) and went site-seeing "off road" in our then new Jeep. One of these off road ventures was to Hat Point Lookout, an observation tower 24 miles up a gravel road from the blink-and-you-miss-it town of Imnaha. Hat Point sits on a rim above Hells Canyon, with views to the Snake River below and Idaho's Seven Devils Mountains across the canyon.
Fast forward to this summer and our shiny new gravel bikes. Apparently the road up to Hat Point had made quiet an impression on Chris, because all summer he kept saying he wanted to ride it. So, with the door closing on nice weather we decided to make a beeline for it a couple of weekends ago when the temperature was predicted to be sunny and dry.
The first section of the climb was too steep for me so I dropped Chris at the bottom and drove 6 miles up. Chris caught up with me after about an hour+ and we rode together to the top. It was, unfortunately, the first day of hunting season, but the hunters were all very pleasant (their hopes and dreams of baggin' the big one still intact) and nobody (such as us) got hurt.
Hat Point Lookout
Ellen: 36 miles, 3,894 feet of climbing
Chris: 42 miles, 7,369 feet of climbing
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| The only store in Imnaha was celebrating its 100th anniversary; Chris's ride began here |
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| I skipped the toughest section, parking 6 miles up the road from Imnaha |
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| making my way up |
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| at the top; Seven Devils in the background |
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| Chris climbed the steps up the tower; my legs were tired so I chose to rest them before the return trip |
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| plaque hanging on the observation tower |
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| Chris exploring Hat Point |
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| heading back; as usual our late start meant we'd finish at sunset |
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| back at the car, just in time |
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| another sunset in the bag |
Last time we visited Joseph we stayed at the Wallowa Lake Lodge. It was built in 1923 and is situated outside of town at the edge of Wallowa Lake. We didn't stay at the Lodge this time, why, I don't know. But the day after our ride returned there for breakfast, which we remembered as being quite good. It did not disappoint.
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| Wallowa Lake Lodge |
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| Pancakes and bacon; yes, the pancakes are the size of the plate |
As I mentioned, we were last here 15 or so years ago. I think I also mentioned that at that time we took a very tough hike to Ice Lake. Here we were, on the lawn of Wallowa Lake Lodge, 15-ish years ago, the morning of the hike. I distinctly remember NOT wanting to go on the hike, but to lounge for the rest of the day in that chair.
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| please don't make me go on a hike |
Here we are, a few weeks ago, returned to the scene of the crime:
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| so happy not to be going on a hike |
