To the Lake that shall not be named

Downed trees were surrounding us.  There was nowhere to walk, unless you wanted to climb over a log, or crawl under a fallen tree.  There was jackstraw as far as we could see.  The logs were four and five feet off the ground. The downed trees were everywhere, and we were just trying to get to a nearly inaccessible lake.  We were in the middle of a forest of deadfall.

Steve struggles.

This was a recent hike to an out-of-the-way lake.  There is no trail to the place.  On many maps, there is no name to the lake.  In fact, it seems to have been named fairly recently, judging from the older maps that do not label this body of water.  The closest trail, only a mile away, is 1800 feet below the lake.

Rumour has it that very few people visit the place.  Online searches will turn up one trip report.  It is off the beaten path and will probably remain off the beaten path.  Let the tourists go to the Lakes Basin, this lake is the secret spot of a select few.  

Solid ice, except for the water flowing beneath.

We had hiked in the previous day, crossing icy creeks and wading through a half inch of snow.  Well, maybe it was a trace of snow that had fallen a few days before.  The weather had been chilly, down to the single digits, so if there had been water, it was now ice.  We set up camp near our departure point, then wandered up valley for a mile or two just to stretch our legs.

Nighttime below one of Oregon's tallest.

Steve (upper right) documents the upper basin.

The second day found us day hiking uphill, up the canyon, up through the downed trees, over boulder fields, alder thickets, steep rocky slabs of granite, and into the upper basin.  The weather was pristine--sunny but cool, no wind, and shirt-sleeve hiking weather.  It took about three hours to struggle up the one mile to our secret lake.

Nary a soul around.

The lake was exactly where the maps had indicated.  No surprise, but there was also no evidence of humans in the area.  There were no tent pad spaces, no fire rings, no dropped straps, water bottles, nor candy wrappers.  The bottom line was that this lake basin seemed to be about as unspoiled by humanity as was humanly possible.  There was simply the beauty of nature, the geology and biology undisturbed by past human visitations.

The Lake of our dreams.

The return trip to camp was a little faster, having gravity working for us.  We swung by a little ridge where we got a sweet view of the Wallowa Valley and the canyon we had hiked up the first day.

The view of Enterprise, Oregon.

The western larch were at their peak autumn colours, turning a brilliant yellow contrasting with the green of other conifers.

Logs and water crossings were still icy on the third day.

This trip is not recommended!  Do not try to go there.  Do not attempt to find this lake.  It is not a place you should go.  

At one time I would make recommendations, but no longer.  I have switched to discouraging anyone, and everyone, from following in my footsteps.  Find your own d*** trail.  Don't follow me.  How many times do I have to say this:  Don't follow me.  And don't try to find this lake.  It is off limits.  Hey, there are lots of other places to hike.  Give Mirror Lake a go.  Or stroll up to Ice Lake.  These places are the sacrifice area of this wilderness area.  Just don't try to go to this lake.   Thanks.