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| Backpack | 15.16 Miles |
3,080 AEG |
| | Backpack | 15.16 Miles | 2 Days | | |
| 3,080 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | This was a nice little overnight trip into the headwaters of Sheafman Creek along with a little cross country travel in the backcountry.
The hike up Sheafman Creek is pretty standard for the area with the usual talus slope traverses, occasional fords, thick forest and rushing water, although, it should be noted that the creek levels were pretty low at the time of this backpack. In spite of its similarities to neighboring trails, the Sheafman Creek trail can boasts some unique attributes, due to the elevation of its trailhead, which is 1500 or so feet higher than most of its neighboring canyons. A five mile winding road gets you to the trailhead around 5,500 feet.
The hike in was pretty smooth for the first 3.8 miles, however, there was a mile, or so of deadfall that followed. Nothing was overly impeding, but there was a lot of stepping over dead trees until we hit the 5th mile of hiking. After that, it was pretty smooth sailing through what appeared to be a healthier section of forest that was apparently less prone to deadfall. Garrard is a small but pleasant hike with a classic apron of granite serving as its backdrop and several chunks of exfoliating granite creating a talus slope that ringed the lake's backside.
After rotating in and out of the tent and hiding from bugs all day, we headed cross country to the saddle that sits above the north end of Knaack Lake. From the saddle, we took a steeper route up a crumbling granite ridgeline to the top of the formation that overlooks Knaack Lake. Easy cross country travel took us to the small, but scenic Aichele (Ike-el-ee) Lake. We spent a decent amount of time at the lake and having fun in the lingering snow of the adjacent basin and then we headed back down for camp and hiked out the same way we hiked in.
Another excellent overnight trip into the Bitterroot backcountry. The mosquitos were pretty rough at this lake, terrible near final light and after first light. |
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