Backpack Trail Guide

Trails / Oregon / Wallowa Mountains

Two Pan Loop: Minam Lake, Ivan Carper Pass, and Mirror Lake

Eagle Cap Wilderness, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest (Two Pan Trailhead, Lostine River Road south of Lostine)

The Two Pan Trailhead, at the end of the Lostine River Road, is the western doorway to the Eagle Cap’s Lakes Basin. This loop climbs the West Fork Lostine to Minam Lake, crosses Ivan Carper Pass, drops to Mirror Lake below Eagle Cap, and returns down the long East Fork Lostine valley.

Evans Outdoor Adventures hiked it in three days in July 2015 and recommends July through September.

The hike

The trailhead sits at about 5,584 feet, according to Evans, roughly 18 miles from Lostine on narrow gravel roads. Just past the wilderness boundary, take Trail #1670 right, up the West Fork Lostine. Evans describes a steady, forested climb with few views for about 4 miles, then a rock-hop across the West Fork (easy and dry in their low-snow year) into an open, lush valley. Hiking Project’s author notes the West Fork trail is heavily used by horses and deeply rutted.

Minam Lake, at about 7,375 feet, comes at roughly 6.2 miles. The Forest Service says Blue Lake lies about a mile south of Minam Lake and has limited camping; Hiking Project describes it in a basin around 7,500 feet below a high ridge, with campsites on its east and south sides, and warns that an offset four-way junction on the way has poor signage.

From the south end of Minam Lake, Trail #1661 climbs east to Ivan Carper Pass. Evans counted about 1.5 miles and 1,195 feet of gain through boulder fields with pikas, topping out at about 8,560 feet with views in every direction. The Forest Service calls the trail between Minam and Mirror Lakes steep but passable to stock. The descent drops nearly 1,000 feet in about 1.5 miles past views of Upper, Mirror, and Moccasin Lakes. Evans had about 4.25 miles from Minam to their Mirror Lake camp and took an afternoon side trip on Trail #1810A down to Moccasin Lake.

To close the loop, take Trail #1662 north down the East Fork Lostine. Evans describes a drop of about 500 feet, then a wide, nearly level valley for about 2.3 miles with views back to Eagle Cap, a footbridge, Lost Lake, a waterfall, and a final single-log bridge over the East Fork about a mile from the trailhead. Their last day was about 7.5 miles with just over 2,000 feet of descent.

For the eastern approach to the same basin from Wallowa Lake, see the Lakes Basin via the West Fork Wallowa River.

Tips

Camping

The Forest Service says dispersed camping is available at Mirror and Minam Lakes, with limited camping at Blue Lake. Under the Eagle Cap Wilderness order (06-16-05-25-01, through April 10, 2027), every party needs a permit, no one may camp within 100 feet of any lake or posted wetland, and campfires and wood stoves are banned within a quarter mile of Blue, Mirror, Moccasin, and Upper Lakes, among others. Groups are capped at 12 people and 18 stock, and at 6 people and 9 stock when camping in the Lakes Basin Management Area, which includes Mirror Lake. Evans notes that Forest Service volunteers patrol Mirror Lake for illegal fires.

Evans used bear canisters on earlier trips and now hangs food; no storage rule was found.

Inside Intel: At Minam Lake, Evans Outdoor Adventures scouted for views and privacy and settled on a site just above the lake outlet with no neighbors in sight. At Mirror Lake, they chose a site on a trail leading up and away from the water, with views of the lake and Eagle Cap. Hiking Project’s author favored a Blue Lake site next to the outlet.

Trail facts

The Lowdown

Chilly July nights out of Two Pan:

Evans recorded about 38 to 39 degrees in July on this loop. These side-sleeper tips include adding a foam pad on cold ground and picking a bag your knees can bend in.

See the tips →

Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.