The hike to Aneroid Lake is one that you can do as a day hike but you will be submitting yourself to a 12 mile round trip hike with almost 3,000 feet of elevation gain. I chose to make this hike since I wanted to hike far into the Wallowa wilderness in order to get some photos of the mountains hiding deep in the park. The hike itself starts at the Wallowa lake campground and it's easy to find and get to. However, several horse tours take the exact same route so you will encounter a lot of horse manure along the trail. The trail itself is very rugged with lots of rocks and several switchbacks. The hike offers almost everything that you would expect when visiting the Wallowa mountains. Roger lake and Aneroid lake is your main destination and the best spot to return to the main trailhead. There are several meadows with dozens of wildflowers dotting the landscape with the rugged mountains as a backdrop. There are endless amounts of creeks and raging rivers that thunder through the wilderness with several creeks passing over the trail. There is no shortage of water and you will not ever have to worry about becoming dehydrated. The elevation at Aneroid lake is 7,560 feet but the lake itself is fairly warm and offers a great spot to go swimming. There are a few campgrounds along both lakes and I would highly recommend staying the night. The views are absolutely awesome and I was overwhelmed with the beauty of the area. The entire hike took me about 9 hours but I did stop numerous times to take photos as well as gawk at the views. You will want to be sure to pack lots of snacks and maybe some survival gear in case you get into trouble. Thunder storms can pop out of nowhere so you may want to bring along some rain gear, just in case.
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