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Fault Lake (1)

Statistics

  • Date - 10/30/1999
  • Elevation - < 7,000'
  • Route - Trail No. 59
  • Miles - 10.5
  • Elevation Gain - 2,220'
  • ACME Mapper - Link
  • CalTopo - Link
  • Partners - Not Applicable

Description

Unfortunately, the results of the Fault Lake hike were very similar to that of the Two Mouth Lakes hike from earlier this year.  I didn't have any statistics on this trail, I simply found it on the map and headed out.  The trailhead is located approximately 14 miles up the Pack River Road which is north of Sandpoint, Idaho.  Just as with the Two Mouth Lakes hike, I never made it all the way to Fault Lake.  I know I was on the right path because surprisingly, there were a couple of trail #59 signs along the way.  I hiked up McCormick Creek, over Deerslide Creek and Gunsight Creek, and felt as though I should have been standing right in Fault Lake.  I was in the bottom of a bowl, so I either needed to go over a saddle, hike around to one more drainage, or the lake mysteriously disappeared.

I arrived at the trailhead at 12:00, and because of the late start, loss of daylight, and less than spectacular weather, I gave myself a 2 hour and 30 minute turn around time.  I was somewhat frustrated by not reaching the lake, and could tell by my location that 15 more minutes was not going to get me much farther so I headed back after 2 hours and 15 minutes.  The scenery had changed significantly over the previous weekend.  The weather had turned colder and the snow line was at about 4,900'.  The colors were still nice to look at, the snow covered peaks were beautiful, and the creeks had several small water falls to view also.  One other appealing characteristic of this hike was that you could see the trail ahead of and behind you on several sections of the path.  Because of this, it was easier to judge your progress.

Even though I didn't reach my destination, I still enjoyed this hike a lot.  The views were excellent and it was only about 25 total miles from Sandpoint, Idaho.  Since I fell short of the lake on this hike and the Two Mouth Lakes hike, I will most certainly return to these two trails in the summer of 2000 to complete them.

Photos

Area I was hiking to.

Snow-Covered Mountains

James