This trip takes you on a 20 mile out and back, with four days of optional and flexible adventures exploring the beautiful Lakes Basin and summiting Eagle Cap. The inspirational views and light day packs keep adventurers energized, and the gorgeous mountains, crystal clear lakes, and abundant flora and fauna of the northeast corner of Oregon welcome travelers to the Wallowas.

Highlights

6+ Lakes – Mountain Ranges – Building Community

Difficulty Level

Intermediate-Hard: 20 to 30 miles over six days. 3,500 to 7,350 feet of elevation gain and loss.

2024 Schedule:

August 17-22

Price: $900

Prices include gear rental, transportation, and all entrance fees, permits, and passes.

Our mission is to make outdoor recreation accessible to all. If you cannot afford the total trip cost, send us a brief message at trips@sahaleoutdoors.org to request a payment plan or sliding scale pricing.

“Inside this boundary all our people were born. It circles the graves of our fathers, and we will never give up these graves to any man.”

Tuekakas (Chief Joseph the Elder), Wallowa Nimiipuu

The Nez Perce call themselves Nimiipuu which means “The People.” The name nez percé (“pierced nose”) came from French Canadian fur traders in the 18th century, an erroneous identification as nose piercing was never practiced by the tribe.

The Nez Perce tribe was historically nomadic, traveling with the seasons from buffalo hunting in the Great Plains to salmon fishing at Celilo Falls. 17 million acres in what is now Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Montana made up the tribe’s homeland. Today, the Nez Perce Indian Reservation consists of 750,000 acres, of which the tribe or tribal members own 13 percent. The tribe, with an enrolled membership of about 3,500 (2011), is headquartered in Lapwai, Idaho.

The management of land and natural resources continues to be paramount for the Nez Perce. A strong tribal fish program employs nearly 50 full-time and part-time workers. Nez Perce co-management responsibilities extend to the Columbia, Snake, Tucannon, Grande Ronde, Imnaha, Clearwater, and Salmon drainages. Tribal members fish on the Clearwater River, which runs through the reservation near its northern and eastern borders, and on the Columbia, Rapid, and Selway rivers.

~ from critfc.org/member-tribes-overview/nez-perce-tribe/

The Wallowa Valley is the homeland of the Wallowa bands of the Nez Perce, who in 1877 were forcibly driven from their land, which they had refused to sell, and hunted for 1,170 miles as they fled towards Canada. Despite almost 150 years of advocacy and resistance, the Wallowa bands were never permitted to return to their homeland, and today, most live on the Colville Reservation in Washington.