The disheveled but content-looking creature peered around the rock and stared at me, as if curious as to just what the hell I was doing at its idyllic home in one of the most remote mountain ranges of Oregon.

It was just one of many mountain goats we would see on our 11-mile hike into the Twin Lakes Basin of the Elkhorn Mountains in the northeast part of the state.

Mountain goat babies slowly followed their parents up the loose rock around the lake, while other goats lay in the shade. It was an unforgettable scene in perhaps the most spectacular area of the Elkhorns. One goat walked toward my hiking partner as he waded in the lake, as if pondering a swim with a human.

Often overshadowed by the dramatic Wallowa Mountains farther east, the Elkhorns offer a vast, unspoiled setting for hikers, mountain bikers and anglers in the summertime in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest.

In the wintertime, Anthony Lakes Mountain Resort (7,100 feet at the base and 8,000 feet at the summit) on the north end of the Elkhorns offers a small ski area with one chairlift. In the summertime, the resort features downhill mountain biking trails and nearby Anthony Lake Campground provides access to myriad hiking and mountain biking paths.

Last month, my friend Jeremy and I made the five-hour drive from Bend to Anthony Lake Campground for a four-night camping trip filled with hiking and mountain biking — and mountain goats.

We secured a tent site just above the lake and were immediately swarmed by mosquitoes. But bug spray and the campfire kept them at bay.

Our first day included a short 2-mile hike to Hoffer Lakes and a mountain bike climb to the top of the ski hill and down the Broadway Flow Trail.

The Hoffer Lakes trail, which starts from the campground, took us past granite slabs of rock and led to two small, picturesque lakes, lined by green meadows and rugged, granite peaks.

After the quick hike, we got our mountain bikes from the campsite and started our climb up the ski hill. The climb up the dirt road was 2 miles and took about 40 minutes. The Broadway Flow Trail features numerous sweeping banked turns that took us down the mountain in about 10 minutes. The trail was not incredibly technical but did have a few rocky areas. But riding over smooth granite is much easier than negotiating the Cascade lava rock of Central Oregon.

Dutch Flat Loop hike

Our next day we planned an 8-mile hike along the Dutch Flat Loop. We started at the Elkhorn Crest Trailhead right next to our campground.

The rocky trail took us past mounds of granite as we climbed 1,000 feet to Dutch Flat Saddle, where we looked down at Dutch Flat Lake. We made a right turn onto the Crawfish Basin Trail and followed the ski hill road back to Anthony Lake.

The 8-mile hike took four hours and included 3,100 feet of elevation gain.

Twin Lakes Basin hike

Hiking into Twin Lakes Basin would be a much more difficult endeavor, logistically at least. First of all, we had to make a nearly a two-hour drive south through Baker City and then back up into the southern portion of the Elkhorns. The road from the outskirts of Baker City up to Marble Pass was extremely rough and requires a high-clearance four-wheel drive vehicle.

Jeremy’s Toyota Tacoma got us up to Marble Pass and we started the hike along the Elkorn Crest Trail, which runs 23 miles from Marble Pass northwest to Anthony Lakes at an elevation of about 8,000 feet. Mountain bikers can ride the challenging trail as well, although a short stretch of it runs through the North Fork John Day Wilderness, where bikes are not allowed.

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Obsidian Trail hike leads to scenic, glacier-covered base of Middle and North Sister

We would stick to hiking along the exposed ridgeline, and we were treated to dramatic views of Baker Valley to the east and endless rolling peaks to the west.

Wildflowers dotted the trail and after about 4 miles we arrived at the junction to Twin Lakes. The trail took us down the basin along steep switchbacks. When we arrived at lower Twin Lake, I spotted mountain goats on the far side. We hiked through a lush, green meadow to the upper lake and enjoyed the incredible scenery of craggy granite peaks, clear green lakes and friendly goats.

We saw about five other hikers and one mountain biker during the entire trek — and maybe 30 goats — which totaled 11 miles in just over 5 hours and included 2,700 feet of elevation gain.

More mountain biking in the Elkhorns

Aside from the Elkhorn Crest Trail and Broadway Flow, the Anthony Lakes area includes about 8 miles of singletrack for mountain bikers. Trails cut through meadows and granite rocks and offer fun, short outings accessible from Anthony Lake Campground.

Our escape into the Elkhorns was a memorable trip not just for the scenery but for the sheer remoteness of the place — a place where mountain goats can outnumber humans.