I took a sixty mile drive east to the Montana border at Thompson Pass to complete my annual pilgrimage to one of my favorite mountain lakes and as usual took a side trip on the way home to see some big trees.
From the turnout on the state line at the top of the pass, a short gravel road leads you to the trailhead for the Lake Revett Trail. The trail is very well made and easy to follow.
Unlike a lot of these trails that pass through thick second brush with limited views, the Lake Revett Trail quickly brings you to open rock slopes with big views down the canyon.
After crossing open rock slopes, the trail descends in to a mature forest with lots of big trees.
The trees, mostly hemlocks are covered with moss. Thompson Pass is just about the wettest place in Idaho receiving as much precipitation as the southern Appalachians mostly in the form of snow. This little corner of the Inland Northwest is almost a temperate rain forest.
By the end of August all of the snow is long gone and the streams start to dry up. Here the outlet creek from the lake above still has enough flow for a pretty little waterfall.
After crossing the creek, the trail climbs using a long gentle switchback. Somebody spent a lot of effort making this trail many years ago.
The walk to the lake takes less than an hour even with lots of stops to enjoy the scenery. The mountain to the west of the lake is Granite Peak.
To get a better view of Lake Revett I scrambled a little way up the lower slopes of Granite Peak. Going off trail can be rewarding and risky. The worst part is going back down hill. Without a trail the foot placement takes some serious care.
This is about as far as I wanted to push it. The ridge on the other side of the lake separates it from Blossom Lake, another mountain lake with a trail that starts right at the turnout on Thompson Pass.
It was a beautiful day for a hike.
The hardest part of the hike was bushwacking back down to the lake. A rough trail follows the shoreline. This photo shows the effects of snow loads on the trees as they grow. Almost anyplace with a steep slope had trees with curved trunks like these.
It was time to head back to the trailhead while taking plenty of time to appreciate the big views along the open slopes.
Sometimes it nice to check out the little views too.
One last look at the mountain scenery before returning to the trailhead. I wonder what the name of the mountain in the far distance is.
The ratio of effort verses reward makes this one of the best little hikes around. The drive time is well over an hour from my house, probably closer to two, but it is a scenic drive as well.
On my way back down the valley towards my next destination I made a quick stop in Murray, an old gold mining town. They still have a few of the original buildings from it’s mining days. Now the place is mostly a stop along the road for folks seeking outdoor adventures.
I love the old Masonic Lodge building. Murray has not one but two family friendly eating establishments and a museum. It is a great place to grab a meal and a cold beer.
Three miles west of Murray I turned off on Eagle Creek Road. A six mile ride on a road the becomes progressively narrower and rougher brought me to the trailhead for Settlers Grove. On the way I passed through a large area that experienced a devastating wild fire a few years ago.
A footbridge over Eagle Creek leads in to the old cedar grove.
The Eagle Creek fire burned all around the old grove. It took a heroic effort to save the old trees and I’m glad they did. It would have been ashamed to lose these survivors of the Big Burn in 1910. Only a few old growth groves managed to avoid being destroyed from that event.
Walking among these trees is a treat.
It’s hard to convey the size of these trees through pictures without something use for a scale. Some of them are estimated to be over 600 years old.
After walking through the grove it was time to drive back to Coeur d’Alene. Until next time.
