Trio Lakes and Crater Mtn: On Monday August 11 I started out at Hoodoo Pass near Superior, MT and hiked the stateline trail #738 to the high point past Dalton Lake. Just down the trail from that point (1/3 mile) I dropped off into the basin containing the Trio Lakes via a primitive trail. The trail is good for a while but eventually becomes hard to follow. I angled down to the Middle Trio Lake coming in from right side. This is just the 2nd time I have been to this lake. The last time was early June in 1980, just a week after Mount St Helens blew; over 45 years ago. The closer to the lake I got the worse the brush and deadfall got and it was steep in places. Getting around the lake was very hard with all the brush.
I took a break at the outlet and then it was up the hill to the ridgetop and then down to the Lower Trio Lake. The climb out was exceedingly difficult: Steep, no trail, lots of bear grass and huckleberry bushes. Once on top I found a good primitive trail on the ridge and proceeded to the Lower Trio Lake. The drop into the lower lake was horrible. There was head high brush and lots of deadfalls to navigate; plus lots of bear sign. I fully expected a cursory visit at some time during my stay, but no one showed. It took me almost 15 minutes to make the last 100 yards to the outlet and camp.
I started the day at 9 am at Hoodoo and made the high point around noon. I didn't get to the Lower Trio Lake until past 4:30; the last couple miles just totally beat me down. If I were to do this again I would do the following: I would still drop into the basin as before but head to the Upper Trio Lake, that route is easier as there is less brush and not as steep. There is a trail from the upper lake to the middle lake over the low saddle between the lakes. I suspected that and I hit the trail (still primitive) just before I got to the lake. I would then go back to the upper lake and take the trail to the lower lake, a very easy walk. I will amend my descriptions for the Middle Trio Lake to reflect this. I was done for the day; camp setup, dinner and bed.
The next morning I was up at 5-ish and was on the trail early for Crater Mtn. I took the same route as last year across the ridges, but continued beyond the place I headed up Crater Mtn. My goal and route was to use a primitive trail that shows on 2014 Google Earth Imagery that would take me across the southwest side of the mountain and into the hanging valley below the summit. I have had really good luck using that imagery for much of my off trail outings the past couple years. Alas, that luck ran out this time. As I got into the trees, I found that the trail would either disappear or be so clodded with small trees that I would have to go around and find it again on the other side. I did this for an hour in the heat and didn't make much headway so I bagged it and headed back to camp, still a hard hike. I was so wasted from the 2 days and suffering from the heat that I threw up my lunch. Spent the rest of the afternoon (after a swim) in the tent trying to recover for the hike out the next day. I was able to eat about 1/4 of my dinner that evening and about the same amount in the morning.
I originally planned to hike to the Upper Trio and then head up the basin to the stateline trail. But I was so tired from the previous 2 days that went over to Goose Lake and took the stateline trail from there even though I knew what a grind it would be back to the high point, nearly 1,400 feet. I have a ton of milage under my belt so I actually did well dispite the lack of caloric support that I continued to endure. I ended up hiking over 22.5 miles over the 3 days with 30% being either completely off trail or primitive.
Ward Peak Lake: On Thursday it was our daughter Michelle's birthday and she want to go on a hike to a lake. I thought we could make Ward Peak Lake. The trail is a little gnarly but doable at just over a mile. As it turned out Kathy's surgically repaired foot and ankle didn't like it much and we had to turn around before getting to the lake. I did make a quick trip to the lake to take a couple pictures and let Skye get a swim in and then caught back up with Kathy & Michelle. Maybe we can all get there together at another time.
