The route leading to Legore Lake, while strenuous, offers spectacular views of the Eagle Cap Wilderness at all points along the trail. (Josh Benham, The Observer)

The old proverb states “the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.” That accurately described a recent journey I tried to make to Legore Lake.

In late June, my parents went on an excursion from the Midwest to visit me. In anticipation of their visit, I began researching possible day hikes to take them on. Both of my parents have aged well, like wine. They’ve remained active with exercise and still get out when they can, just not at the frequency they did in the past. But they have aged nonetheless, and I wanted to bring them somewhere that captured the beauty of the Eagle Cap Wilderness, but also didn’t leave them in convulsions on the side of the trail (kidding, mom and dad).

I found an obscure jaunt that looked extremely intriguing – Legore Lake. It’s proclaimed as the highest lake in the Wallowa Mountains, and some sources list it as the highest one in Oregon. The latter point could not be verified, but it still looked like a great hike. It was four miles to the lake, and I thought, “How brutal could a four-miler be?” Famous last words.

For the complete column, pick up Friday’s edition of The Observer.