By JAYSON JACOBY

Baker City Herald

Does pitching a tent in slush sound like recreation to you?

How about hiking a trail where you have to kick footholds in a snowdrift that’s draped across the path at the approximate angle of an Olympic downhill ski run?

Those are the sorts of icy unpleasantries people will encounter if they venture into the high country of Northeastern Oregon even on this first weekend of summer.

The hefty snowpack that amassed in the mountains this past winter has been abnormally obstinate in its resistance to melting.

Trails and campgrounds that were sunbaked and dusty on the solstice a year ago today remain entombed in the remnants of January blizzards.

andquot;It seems like we’re about a month behind,andquot; said Dan Ermovick, recreation planner for the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest. andquot;At least half the (recreation) sites on the forest are still closed.andquot;

That lengthy list includes the three campgrounds and handful of trails in the Anthony Lakes basin, near the summit of the Elkhorn Mountains about 35 miles northwest of Baker City.

Snow still clogs the campgrounds and blocks trails as well as several miles of the Elkhorn Drive byway, said Mike Hall, the recreation, lands and minerals officer for the forest’s Whitman Ranger District.

Although the Forest Service’s guard station on the north shore of Anthony Lake is available for rent, tenants have to walk across snowfields to reach the historic log cabin, Hall said.

andquot;We’re predicting it will be mid-July before things are open,andquot; he said.

The company the Forest Service hired to run the three campgrounds Anthony Lake, Grande Ronde Lake and Mud Lake strives to open the sites by Independence Day.

But that holiday is just two weeks away, and the recent tranquil weather, though pleasantly balmy, is slow in shrinking the snow.

Snow has disappeared, though, from many lower-elevation campgrounds, including those at Phillips Reservoir between Baker City and Sumpter, and several along Highway 26 between Unity and Austin Junction, as well as along the South Fork of the Burnt River.

As for trails, Hall points out that they all andquot;go uphillandquot; from the Anthony Lakes basin.

andquot;I would not advise anyone to go on trails that cross north-facing slopesandquot; which are sheltered from the sun and hold snow longer, Hall said. andquot;Even south-facing slopes are marginal.andquot;

Even the south end of the Elkhorn Crest Trail, which crosses open slopes exposed to the sun during most of the daylight hours, is still liberally laced with snowdrifts starting near its southern terminus at Marble Pass.

In eastern Baker County, snow continues to block the road leading to Fish Lake northeast of Halfway, Ermovick said.

The Hells Canyon Byway, however, including the section through the Wallowa Mountains, is open.

Hikers will have to slog through snow if they intend to climb above about 5,000 feet on trails in the Eagle Cap Wilderness, Ermovick said.

Snow almost certainly will linger until mid-August, and possibly later, in the higher passes including Horton, Hawkins and Glacier passes.

Just a couple of summers in the past generation have started with so much snow still around the region’s mountains.

At Aneroid Lake, for instance, in the Eagle Cap Wilderness south of Wallowa Lake, the snow was 46 inches deep on Thursday, according to the automated snow-measuring station there.

The water content of the snow was 21.6 inches.

Since the federal government installed that station in 1983, the water content on June 19 has exceeded 21.6 inches in only year 1995, when the figure was 25.1 inches.

In 12 of the 25 years there was no snow at Aneroid Lake on June 19.

Recreation Reports

Recreation reports for campgrounds, roads and hiking trails on the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest are available on the forest’s Web site at: www.fs.fed.us/r6/w-w/recreation/recrep/recrep.shtml