LIFESTYLES
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Fogerty’s old
home/3C
Explore a
mansion in
Astoria/4C
WEEKEND, AUGUST 13-14, 2016
Out of the Vault:
Fire destroys
fl our mill/6C
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Minam River Lodge owner Barnes Ellis unloads supplies off a plane at the Minam River Lodge airstrip. All supplies for the lodge must be fl own in, often from
La Grande or Enterprise.
By TIM TRAINOR
Ƈ
East Oregonian
M
ost people reach the Minam River Lodge by air.
3ilots gXide small planes, oXt¿ tted Zith oversi]ed
tires, that alloZ them to toXch doZn in deep-rXtted,
Xneven landing strips. They stay Ior the ZeeNend or MXst Ior
breaNIast.
,t¶s a 10-minXte À ight Irom La Grande, a little longer Irom
Enterprise. %Xt Zhat the À ight lacNs in length, it maNes Xp
Ior Zith scenery. The WalloZa-Whitman National )orest
spreads oXt beloZ, roaded and logged and beaXtiIXl, Xntil it
hits the Eagle Cap Wilderness. There it becomes less roaded
and logged and even more beautiful. The Minam River is
a straight chute running northeast, Zater dropping from its
source in the mountains doZn a high canyon toZard the
toZn of Minam and the river¶s conÀ uence Zith the WalloZa.
It’s not an easy place to land a plane. The canyon is a tight
one, and the 2,000-foot-long airstrip begins a stone’s throZ
from the river. It doglegs right and pilots try to ¿ rst maNe
contact Zith the ground on the right Zheel, letting the plane
bounce a time or tZo on its Zay toZard three-point contact
Zith the ground.
Most parN their plane ne[t to an open-faced barn that
serves as the hangar. It is ¿ lled Zith a tractor, nails, barrels
of fuel and chopped Zood. At the top, a hand-painted sign
reads: Minam Regional Airport elevation 3,600 feet.
Not all arrive by plane, hoZever. Some hop on horsebacN
at Moss Springs Trailhead, outside Cove, and ride roughly
. miles. 2thers throZ on a pacN and ZalN the same trail.
No one arrives by car. There are no roads.
The Minam River Lodge is a relic, its 127 acres purchased
by Mert Loree in 1946 to serve as a base camp for hunting
e[cursions into the WalloZa Mountains. With his Zife,
Erma, the Lorees built a lodge, barn and Zashrooms from
1950-1951. Horses and mules brought in the lumber. The
Lorees poured concrete septic tanNs and built a Zater system.
2ver the ne[t half-century, intermittent construction added
cabins and outbuildings.
But the lodge’s remote location made it hard to maintain.
Erosion and old age began to ZorN aZay at the buildings.
The Zhole comple[ fell into disrepair and Zas sold at auction
in 2011. It has been closed all year for a multi-million dollar
reconstruction. )or more on that process, see today’s 3age
1A. Ne[t year, it Zill reopen as a different Nind of lodge.
Area in
UMATILLA
82
204
82
LL
A
.
Joseph
MO
84
Enterprise
OW
er
nd
eR
3
WA
82
Elgin
iv
Mina m R
FOREST
Grand e R o
NATIONAL
Wallowa Wallowa detail
R.
ORE.
UN
237
IN
S
Site of new
Minam River
Lodge
Wallowa
Lake
TA
La Grande
350
EAGLE CAP
WILDERNESS
WALLOWA-
N
10 miles
WHITMAN
237
84
203
NATIONAL
FOREST
EO Media Group graphic
More online
For more photos and
video of the landing at
Minam River Lodge visit
www.eastoregonian.com
Staff photos by E.J. Harris
ABOVE: The Minam River runs through the 127-acre
property where the Minam River Lodge is being rebuilt.
BELOW: Wooden slabs mark a trail that runs along the
Minam River near the Minam River Lodge construction
site east in the Eagle Cap Wilderness.