After an epic trip to Derrick Lake last summer, we decided to go in search of other off trail lakes. This time we set our sites on Sylvester Lake off of Icicle Creek Road.
I had done my research and heard about an old fishermans trail that climbed steeply up to the lake. With some trial and error and a good map, we were able to locate it. Make no mistake I use the word "trail" very loosely here. It was tricky to follow in places and we hit a lot of very rocky steep areas in the process.
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| Daniels and Hinman in the distance |
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| Harding and Bootjack Mountains |
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| Ingalls, Hawkins, Harding, and Bootjack |
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| Almost at the lake |
Eventually we made it to the lake, both feeling a bit tired and ready to unload our packs. Camping sites at the lake were a little minimal, but we found a spot pretty close to the shore. The unfortunate thing about this trip was the mosquitoes. They descended upon us pretty quickly making it hard to enjoy our private lake. Luckily we brought our raft and were able to find some solace out on the lake where the mosquitoes apparently don't travel.
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| Sylvester Panoramic |
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| Grindstone Mountain |
We spent most of our evening on the lake until we were ready to turn in. The next morning we went for a paddle to check out the other shores. This lake a has a dramatic setting with grindstone peak looming above, but it lacks the open shoreline that many of the areas alpine lakes have. Reluctantly, we packed up camp and headed back down the long steep slog to the car. We ran into another man heading up as we were coming down. It never fails to surprise me that even in some of the more remote areas we run into other folks.
Overall it was a nice trip, but I wont put it on the same level as Derrick Lake.
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| Approximately where we went |
