Service and Splendor: Trail Repair in Eagle Cap Wilderness, Oregon

If you’re 18 to 35, you may be able to go on this trip for $300 off the listed price, thanks to the Sharon Churchwell Fund. To sign up and get your discount, please call 415-977-5522. No application is necessary. For a full list of Sharon Churchwell trips and other opportunities for young travelers, visit our Trips for Young Participants page.

The Trip

Eagle Cap is Oregon’s largest wilderness area, perched in the stunning Wallowa Mountains. During your volunteer vacation, you’ll repair trails and restore natural habitat in this remarkable and remote northeastern corner of Oregon. Participants can expect satisfying work, great food, and camaraderie with other wilderness volunteers. During your day off explore Eagle Cap’s wonders, and see for yourself why it’s often referred to as “Little Switzerland.” Granite peaks, punctuated by alpine lakes, reaching elevations above 8,000 feet, will take your breath away.

Eagle Cap Wilderness extends over 361,446 acres, and features 534 miles of trails allowing exploration of diverse terrain, and varied flora and fauna. Enjoy crisp alpine lakes and wildflowers in the high alpine meadows. During our stay, we may see black bears, deer, elk, mountain goats, big horn sheep, and eagles. There are no poisonous snakes or grizzly bears in Eagle Cap.

Volunteers play a crucial role in helping to preserve the essential qualities of our wilderness lands. Due to Eagle Cap’s remote location, traffic and camping are light compared with many other wilderness areas. Join us for a memorable week helping preserve one of nature’s unique environments.

The Eagle Cap Wilderness and surrounding country in the Wallowa–Whitman National Forest was first occupied by the ancestors of the Nez Perce Indian tribe around 1400 AD, and later by the Cayuse, the Shoshone, and Bannocks. The wilderness was used as hunting grounds for bighorn sheep and deer and to gather huckleberries. It was the summer home to the Joseph Band of the Nez Perce tribe. (Source: Wikipedia)

The Project

We will work alongside National Forest Service personnel in several ways, depending on the priorities assessed when the snow melts allowing trail access. Typical trail maintenance involves removing fallen logs and trees, brushing trails, and building water bars and steps. Trip leaders will strive to provide options throughout the week to match participant capabilities, but overall this can be strenuous work at high altitudes. The National Forest Service will provide training on safety and equipment use. Safety and appropriate use of hand tools will be emphasized throughout our time. All participants will be encouraged to work at their own pace and capability to allow for the best possible experience during the week.

We will meet at about 4 p.m. Saturday the first day of the trip near our trailhead in the vicinity of Joseph, Oregon. We’ll spend Saturday evening preparing ourselves for the coming week and getting acquainted over an informal dinner. We’ll camp near the trailhead that evening and provide a simple breakfast and hot drinks in the morning as we pack up our gear and lunch for our hike into the wilderness.

We expect the backpack into our Eagle Cap Wilderness base camp to cover about 5 to 7 miles. The Forest Service provides pack animals to carry our food, tools, and group equipment. Each of us must carry our gear, including tents, sleeping bags and pads, clothing, and water to the base camp. On our hike in, we will likely gain 1,000 feet or more in elevation. We will pace ourselves for everyone's safety and comfort.

Arriving at base camp sometime after lunch, we will spend the rest of the afternoon organizing the camp and kitchen, digging a latrine, and setting up the kitchen water system.

The next six days will involve four days of work with one day off dedicated to resting or further exploration of this scenic area. We will have maps and trail guides for you to utilize if you desire.

A more complete itinerary will be provided to participants once our Forest Service liaison can specify the project’s precise location and other details.

After our week of service, we’ll break camp and hike back to civilization on Saturday morning. At the trailhead, we’ll bid fond farewells to our new friends, having spent an amazing week together, working hard to preserve our public lands. Although the trip officially ends at the trailhead, those who don’t need to head home immediately may choose to meet for dinner in a local restaurant to mark the finish of our shared wilderness adventure.

Getting There

Trip members are responsible for getting themselves to and from the trailhead rendezvous point. 

By car, Eagle Cap Wilderness is:

• 5 hours east of Portland, Oregon
• 4 hours south of Spokane, Washington
• 4 hours northwest of Boise, Idaho
• 4 hours south of Lewiston, Idaho

All of these cities are served by commercial airlines. From all these locations you can easily drive to La Grande via I-84 before proceeding east on HWY 82 to our meeting place near Joseph, Oregon. Detailed driving directions, maps, and information about places to stay in the vicinity before and after the trip will be sent to all registered participants. The trip leader will also send out a roster of participants to facilitate ride-sharing arrangements.

Please do not make travel arrangements until the leader has confirmed you as a trip member.

Accommodations and Food

Come with the attitude that food is part of the adventure. Trip menu planning considers that there is no refrigeration and that food must be protected from animals. We provide healthy, nutritious vegetarian-friendly meals with a small amount of meat, along with dairy and soy products added to ensure proper protein.

We have a group commissary, with everyone taking turns preparing food. Before applying for the trip, people with food allergies and/or strong food preferences must contact the cook to see if accommodations are possible.

The Forest Service will provide pack animals to carry our food, tools, and group commissary equipment to our base camp. Each of us must carry our gear, including sleeping bags and tents, to the camp. Food and fragrant personal items, including toothpaste and lotions, are stored securely overnight to safeguard against animals.

Trip Difficulty

The hike into our base camp is considered moderate. Participants should have some experience in hiking, camping, and backpacking. It is also important to be in good physical shape. Most of the trail repair work will be performed above 6,000 feet. Other than possibly climbing Eagle Cap Peak (9,572 feet elevation) we will not experience altitudes much above 7,500 feet.

While this isn’t high enough to cause problems for the average person, the air is thinner and your body will be working a little harder. Trail work is strenuous and will tax our muscles, particularly for those of us who hold more sedentary jobs. We highly recommend physical conditioning before the trip, both muscular and cardiovascular. Preparation should include hiking with your fully packed backpack with approximately a 30+ pound load, including significant elevation changes. Regular bicycling and swimming are also great ways to prepare. To make sure your trip is both safe and fun, prepare!

Equipment and Clothing

In addition to your regular backpacking gear, you’ll need to bring leather work gloves and a good pair of over-the-ankle hiking boots, as well as heavy-duty long pants and a long-sleeved work shirt to wear while working. The Forest Service will furnish our work tools.

You’ll also need a day pack large enough to carry your lunch, water, work gloves, rain gear, sunscreen, etc. to the work site. 

The weather and temperatures in the mountains can vary quickly, so you’ll want to bring good-quality gear to keep warm, dry, and comfortable throughout the week. Layering is the best clothing strategy in these changeable conditions. If you're wearing it you can always take it off. If it’s in your day pack you can always put it on.

You should plan to bring a bowl, cup, and eating utensils, as well as a leak-proof plastic food container for packing your lunch each day. While we will provide all food and the gear for cooking it, as well as a selection of snacks, you may want to bring along a few of your favorite snack bars or other must-have special treats.

We’ll also provide a first-aid kit for emergencies, but you should bring your first-aid kit with band-aids, blister repair, and any personal medications you require. There will be purified water available for camp and commissary use, but you will need to bring water purification equipment for personal use when away from camp. A final detailed equipment list will be provided to participants in the spring.

References

Maps:

We will have detailed topographic maps with us on the trip. If you would like to purchase your maps, especially if you plan on excursions before or after the trip to the surrounding area, we recommend that you purchase a comprehensive area map.

Order forms for purchasing maps can be found at https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5377788.pdf Mail the order form to: Wallowa Mountains Visitor Center 201 E. Second Street Joseph, OR 97846 (541) 426-5546

Also, see the USDA's page on Wallowa-Whitman National Forest and this Backpacker magazine article for further information on this area.

Books:

• Barstad, Fred, Hiking Oregon's Eagle Cap Wilderness. 
• Nez Perce Chief Joseph, That All People May Be One People, Send Rain to Wash the Face of the Earth.

Conservation

Since its founding in 1892, The Sierra Club has worked to preserve and restore the natural environment we all share on this planet. Thousands of grassroots-level volunteers spearhead our efforts to conserve and sustain resources, both in our backyards and on a global scale. Through direct experience in the outdoors, Sierra Club outings enable participants to better understand, advocate, and participate in the environmental conservation goals of the Club.

Service outings, in particular, stand out as one of the Sierra Club’s most important “boots on the ground” conservation efforts. The work done by service trip participants in our nation’s public lands is a way of practicing conservation in the most direct way possible, whether it’s improving access while preserving wilderness values, restoring wildlife habitat, or repairing human-caused damage to a natural area. Service trips are a great way to pitch in and do something tangible to make the world a better place; they’re a way to go beyond just talking about conservation; a way to get out there and experience conservation with your whole being. 

We plan to have a wilderness ranger from the U.S. Forest Service address the group on conservation issues. We will also set aside time during the trip for informal discussion of conservation issues.

Sierra Club National Outings is an equal opportunity provider and when applicable will operate under permits obtained from U.S. federal land agencies.