Heart Lake: It has been a couple years since I went into Heart Lake up Big Creek. The last time was with my brother during 2020. I was looking to do a shorter hike and some fishing without having to drive for hours, so Heart Lake fit the thought process. I wasn't in a big hurry since it was cold and I needed to wait until the sun hit the lake. The trail in is still as ugly as always; steep, rocky and slick. I saw a couple hunters camps on the drive up Big Creek but nobody at the lake.
I got there around 10:15 with the sun about 3/4 of the way on the lake. The lake was last stocked in 2019 and my brother and I caught several 10-12 inch trout back 2020, so was hoping for some improvement in size. The trail around to the right side of the lake wasn't in too bad of shape, but the left was really brushy. In the end, I fished about half of the lake and caught three 14-15 inch Cutthroats, a definite improvement. They stocked 300 fish in 2019, so it is getting to the end of the effective stocking timeframe.
The campsite at the lake was a little more beaten down so there has been some visitation, but I would still think the odds are good not to have to share the lake. The hike back down is treacherous as there are lots of loose rocks in the upper reaches and its slimy / greasy by the outlet stream.
Mink Peak & Lower Oregon Lake: On Friday, I decided to take the motorcycle to the Big Flats and then up to Mink Peak which over looks Lost Lake. This is the road to the right that heads down to The Big Flat at the junction for Missoula Lake and Oregon Lakes on the far side of Charlie Miller Saddle up Cedar Creek. So, I loaded up the bike in the truck and drove over to my brother's in Superior that morning. It was really cold and I saw 28 degrees on the other side of Lookout.
It was really cold riding up through the bottoms of Cedar Creek, but once I started heading up towards Charlie Miller Saddle it started to get warmer. Now, I haven't been up this road for a very long time and I always remembered it as being steep and rocky; a very hard drive. Much to my surprise, it was in really good shape. There were a few small stream crossings and some rocks but overall any SUV can make the drive; I would even say a Subaru won't have much of a problem. I imagine that the advent of side by sides and those type vehicles have helped keep the road in good shape.
I rode the bike down to the point where the road ends and the trail begins to Lost Lake, then returned and drove to the top of Mink Peak. There are some good views of Lost Peak and the stateline; you may also climb up from the end of the road to the stateline or around a ridge and view the Bonanza Lakes. This is the road we took when we went into the Bonanza Lakes for the first time way back in the 1960's. At the end of the road there were a bunch of burn piles as someone (Forest Service) has been doing some work in the area.
On the way out I decided I wanted to eat my lunch at a lake. So back the junction, I went up to the Oregon Lakes trailhead and hiked into the Lower Oregon Lake a distance of 1/2 mile. I sat of the rock outcrop, took a few pictures and ate lunch. By this time the weather front that was scheduled to come in was well on its way so I headed back to the bike and Superior. It was a very fun day on the bike.
