The Anthony Lakes Area west of North Powder, Oregon, provides convenient access to several peaks along or near the northern section of the Elkhorn Range of Oregon. I visited this area on two trips this past July. I used the Anthony Lake Campground as my base camp for hiking and climbing seven peaks, six peaks via the Elkhorn Crest Trail, a short walking distance from the campground, and the seventh peak via the Van Patten Lake Trail about two miles from the campground.
For my first trip I planned to include hikes on the Steens Mountain and in the Elkhorn and Wallowa Mountains. However at that time a large wildfire was burning near Frenchglen, below Steens Mountain, and the thick smoke I observed and reports of fire-caused traffic and camping restrictions near Frenchglen led me to decide to postpone hiking on the Steens and continue on to the Elkhorn Range.
I arrived at the Anthony Lake Campground on a Thursday afternoon, and found a good campsite near a trail leading a short distance to the Elkhorn Crest Trailhead. My plan was to hike five nearby peaks over the next two days, then move on to the Northern Wallowas.
The next day I hiked south on the Elkhorn Crest Trail (ECT) towards Angell Pass and nearly walked into a sleek, white mountain goat who was descending the trail. He quickly turned and went out of view as I retrieved my camera. I continued over Angell Pass below the west face of Angel Peak and on to Dutch Flat Saddle. Here I left the trail and climbed the north ridge of Peak 8525 to its rocky summit.
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