Upper Imnaha River

Imnaha Falls

Distance: 7 miles one way

Directions: From Halfway, Oregon, follow Hells Canyon Scenic Byway (Highway 86) east for about 9 miles. Turn Left onto NF-39/North Pine road. Follow the main road for about 23 miles. Turn left at the sign for Imnaha River Campgrounds (NF-3960). Follow the road about 9 more miles to its end at Indian Crossing Campground. The trailhead and day use area is just before a bridge in the campground. Overnight campsites are on the other side of it.

Goldenrod

Perhaps my favorite river that I’ve hiked along, the Imnaha originates on the rugged slopes of the eastern Wallowas and flows down mountain valleys and steep canyonland to the Snake River. The trail headed along its upper length also serves as a gateway into the Eagle Cap, Oregon’s largest wilderness.

The journey begins at Indian Crossing campground, partly shaded by ponderosa pine, and follows the river at a slight distance on a wide, comfortable trail. After passing a pack station and crossing into the wilderness, the trail narrows, becomes rocky, and forsakes the trees for an old burn. Goldenrod, Indian Paintbrush, and other perennials bloom profusely here in midsummer.

Blue Hole

The route soon intersects a .2-mile spur trail to Blue Hole, a calm pool exiting a steep rocky gorge.

Back on the main trail, the brush thickens. In places, the alders, willows, thimbleberries, and other understory, amped up on the extra light provided by the burn, crowd the trail so thoroughly that feet, legs, and arms become invisible in a tangle of green and brown.

The brush thins and then fades altogether on a talus slope, the river beautiful below and the rocks blazing underfoot in midday sun.

Talus slope above Imnaha River

The brush returns as the trail continuously dips up and down to avoid the multitude of cliffs and pinnacles, yielding a vast range of environments – hot barren rock, unburnt forest pockets, meadows, and soggy creek shores.

At one point, the trail crosses a creek that’s been recently dammed by a beaver (or beavers). Young saplings have been gnawed down in the immediate area to build a miniature, though impressive, feat of natural civil engineering. On two sides, a dam of earth and wood rises knee-high, and the middle of the beaver pond reaches approximately six or seven feet deep. Log crossing is the best route across – to both avoid getting excessively muddy and to not intrude on the beavers’ home turf.

Along with the sporadic mountain views far up the valley, perhaps one of the most impressive sights along the trail is Imnaha Falls. One hundred yards down an unmaintained spur path through young pine trees, the river concentrates into a narrow channel and thunders over a five-foot drop, then boils down through a water-polished rock gorge. In late summer, steelhead can be seen jumping the falls (some more successful than others).

Channel below Imnaha Falls

This section of the trail ends at a fork seven miles from Indian Crossing, allowing for further adventuring. The trail to the right follows the North Fork Imnaha River to 8600-foot Tenderfoot Pass. The trail to the left crosses the North Fork (on the only large bridge I’ve seen so far in the entire wilderness, so don’t get used to it) and heads along the South Fork Imnaha River to flat open meadows, beautiful creek gorges, and stunning mountain views. It eventually climbs Frazier Pass, the location of an old mining operation (still privately owned), and drops down to the Frazier lakes.

Other forks of the Imnaha exist and are quite spectacular to explore, but are best discovered by one’s own adventures.

Off-trail adventuring