This trip was a replacement for a trip to the Wallowas when a red flag warning and high temps made us change plans. There was no line to get in at the White River entrance around 9:30 am on a Monday morning and we were able to get walk up permits for Upper Palisades Lake.
We parked at Sunrise Point and hiked in without any issues. We did see evidence of bears in the lower meadow areas on our way in, including fresh bear scat that had bits of plant materials in it instead of berries (berries aren't ripe yet), and a couple of scratched up trees with the bark removed. Regardless, we never saw any bears.
The trail is in great shape, with no blow downs to go over/under. Wildflowers were at peak everywhere, and we saw more varieties of flowers at Upper Palisades Lake than elsewhere in the area.
We camped for two nights at Upper Palisades Lake in site #2 located next to a stream for water. The bear poles and toilet are a short distance from camp, with the toilet up a steep but short trail from the camp. I love how there are only two campsites here so it isn't overly crowded. : )
The temps were cooler than expected, with highs in the 50s and low 60s, and lows in the mid to upper 30s. Due to this, we didn't have any issues with mosquitoes at camp. The only place we saw many were in the lower meadows on the hike in, but still not bad.
We saw more wildlife on this trip than on most, with a marmot in the meadow by our campsite, tons of pikas in the granite rocks near the stream, and a family of grouse that we surprised on trail. We also saw a couple of deer, and plenty of birds and butterflies.
Even though dogs are not allowed, we saw a couple with an off leash dog at the lake. They were too far away from us to talk to, but I did mention to another person who was hiking in as we were heading out that her dog shouldn't be on the trail. I wish there was a way to let the rangers know when this happens, but I understand that they can't be everywhere at once. It's really a shame since one of the reasons to go to a national park is to have a chance to see wildlife without the influence of dogs in the park.
Overall, this is an incredibly scenic location that was a joy to spend several days in.
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