Trip Report
My wife and I have always wanted to visit the lakes in the Lake Creek drainage near Copper Basin. The schedule finally allowed us to do so.
Our plan was to hike into Big Lake so she could fly fish and I could do some peak bagging. On the second day we'd venture over to the other lakes (Rough, Long, and Round) to fish there as well... well, that was the plan.
The trailhead for the lakes is the Lake Creek Recreation Site off the Copper Basin Road. So we headed over to Copper Basin late afternoon on Friday. We grabbed some fancy sandwiches in Ketchum and then drove to a "unofficial" campsite and enjoyed our sandwiches while watching the sunset over the Pioneers.
After a decent night's sleep in the back of the vehicle, we drove about 3 minutes to the trailhead and shouldered our heavy packs.
The 6 mile hike into the lake isn't too bad, but we both agreed we overpacked and were tired when we finally got to Big Lake.
The lake was gorgeous and we found a really nice spot to camp; complete with a picnic table, benches, and fire pit!
After setting up camp and some lunch, Carrie tried her hand at fishing while I looked up at Atlas Peak and drooled. Later that day we discovered hundreds of spawning cutthroat trout in the inlet stream... not just little ones either! The inlet is tiny, so seeing that many fish in that little stream was unique.
Around sunset, we got visited by a very curious doe deer. She sniffed backpacks, our hanging food bag, and anything else left out. Later she would bring a buck back with her. While not shy, he certainly wasn't as careless and curious as she was.
After a long night of animal sounds (hooting owls, menacing deer, unknown grunting animals, and the splashing of spawning fish), we finally got up. We hadn't really talked much about Carrie climbing Atlas Peak with me, but once brought up, she agreed too.
The stats for the peak seemed harmless - 3 miles and 1300 feet (later to find out it was more like 1500 feet and some rough/steep terrain). Based on the stats, we left at a leisurely hour going a leisurely pace.
Getting around Golden Lake and a boulder field to access the ridge that led us to the north ridge proved time consuming. However, soon enough were were heading up an avalanche path, then steep ridge. The footing was decent, but my wife isn't used to such terrain. Eventually we were standing on the north ridge with about 600 feet to go.
After a steep and sometimes loose section, once on the spine of the ridge, the climbing gets better on a sometimes narrow fin with large drop-offs climber's left. We worked our way across the ridge and eventually to the final summit block.
While tired from using new muscles, Carrie was a trooper and enjoyed the accomplishment. We hungout at the cairn and took in the incredible views. We both remarked we were going to be tired puppies once we got back to camp (especially given we had a 6 mile hike with packs after that!).
I must say that Atlas Peak really surprised me. It is a beautiful, prominent and rugged peak when viewed from the Lake Creek drainage. The route was challenging and scenic, with a really cool knife edge section. The views from the top of the main Pioneer crest are stunning, but you can also see the Lost Rivers clearly and even Diamond Peak in the Lemhis. All that said, the view of Muldoon Canyon is must-see.
Back to the trip... after a return to camp, lunch, and packing it was already 3pm. There was no way we could add more mileage or time it would take to visit the other lakes. Plus we both were tired from the hike into the lake and the peak bagging. We were both dreading the hike out, but soldiered on, getting to the car at 5:30pm and eventually to Ketchum where we finally had a meal that didn't require re-hydrating.
What a great weekend in a scenic location... plus we left a few un-visited lakes and peaks as an excuse to return!
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