East Fork Lostine River & Horton Pass

Approach

From the Town of Lostine, OR (located along Oregon highway 82), drive south on Lostine River Road for approximately 15 miles to the end of the road. The turn off from highway 82 onto Lostine River Road is well marked.

Route Description

From the well-equipped (as in bathroom) trailhead (located at the southern end of the Lostine River Road) take the Lostine River Trail in the general southward direction. After about 5 minutes of walking you will encounter a marked fork in the trail - this is where East/West Lostine River trails diverge. Take the East (left) fork. Approximately 15 minutes from the trailhead you will cross a log bridge to the west side (right side) of the East Fork of Lostine River. Stay on the trail for the next c. 8 miles. The trail does much of the climbing in the first 2 miles and then flattens out as you leave the dense forest and enter a sparsely wooded valley at about 7200-7300 foot level. You gain your first view of Eagle Cap as soon as you leave the forest. Approximately 5 miles into the hike you will cross the river back to the east side (left side) on a nice bridge. The trail then re-enters a relatively dense forest and stays there until you reach MIrror Lake and a marked junction (about 7600 feet). Turn right and follow the trail up to Horton Pass. In early season this is where an ice ax might be useful. At the pass, look for a well beaten climbers' trail heading left up the ridge. This trail stays mostly below the ridge on the right (roughly south) side. The trail switchbacks for final 600 to 800 feet of climbing along a broad scree/snow slope to the summit.

Essential Gear

The route is a trail hike when free of snow (late summer/early fall). Other seasons require ice ax and crampons. There's high avalanche potential all along the approach route - use caution in winter.

Miscellaneous Info

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