Hayden: Rainbow Lake, Grandaddy Lake, and Pine Island Lake

Ashley National Forest

(blue-green line, map link)

DAY 1 | DAY 2 | DAY 3

It was icy when I woke, but things thawed quickly as the sun hit them.

026: red leaves fringed with ice — Frosted blueberries.

027: flowing water in a meadow — The creek flowing from Dale Lake to Daynes Lake had spots of ice.

Packed up, I headed back to follow the Four Lakes Basin Loop Trail to join up with the Hades-Rocky Sea Pass Trail again. Since I was heading away from Rocky Sea Pass, I must be heading toward Hades. I was actually headed for a lot of lakes, some of them quite grand. I followed the arrows for Rainbow Lake at first.

030: lake across big meadow — Daynes Lake from a camp along the main trail.

036: meadow with lusher grass down the middle, but all yellow now — A meadow where one of the tributaries of Fish Creek starts. It looks quite lush with the water, but all yellowed with the season now.

032: small lake in the trees — Bedground Lake

The trail is a bit less well maintained than the Highline, but that only translates into a couple trees down on it. Stock are still traveling it.

034: former lake — A meadow, likely once a pond, along the way. More blueberries turning a bit red.

035: creek surrounded by pink — More blueberries along the edge of a stream that isn't big enough to be marked on the map.

037: big lake in the grass — Rainbow Lake

Once I got to Rainbow Lake, I started following the signs for Grandaddy Lake.

039: lake without much color — Rainbow Lake doesn't have much extra color that I noticed.

The trail to Rock Creek looked particularly unused as I passed, but it is signed so easy to find. I was skirting a much larger fire footprint, 2020's East Fork Fire, though I wasn't noticing it.

041: red spots — Wide Fish Creek flowing lazily from Rainbow Lake. It is a tributary to Rock Creek.

044: lake decorated in red — Lost Lake with some particularly reddened blueberries.

045: lake with pond — More of lovely Lost Lake with its slightly split off ponds.

I found a couple trails heading off to Shadow Lake, one looking like it might have once been official.

After passing the junction with the Palisade Trail, the path became much wider and well trod. What had been two distinct footprints being all I'd seen on the trail became at least a dozen very fresh ones all pounding their way to Betsy Lake.

049: water coming down — Another unmarked stream with delightful blueberries decorating.

I'd been generally losing elevation the whole morning. Now I was climbing and the hints of a view were all over. I spotted an orange ribbon and followed a faint trail off to an edge to see that view.

050: grey dome above the trees — Unnamed peaks to the northwest.

051: valley below a cliff — Fish Creek which goes down to Rock Creek and Stillwater Reservoir around the corner.

052: super wide valley — Looking back to Four Lakes Basin across Fish Creek. Much of the right side burned in 2020 leaving some brown patches.

Then I headed over the top to Betsy Lake, where I would find the greatest number of lakes for the day. I also found a great number of people. Most of them likely came over Hades Pass from the Grandview Trailhead just a few miles to the south. There were dogs and kids just old enough to walk those miles and groups of at least a dozen sorting out their spaces for tents a bit closer to the water than 200 feet. It would be shocking had it not been for all the footprints on the trail leading up to it. Actually that was clearly a single group even if big, so all the separate groups were still shocking.

055: wide blue lake with grass flowing along underwater — Betsy Lake

056: island in the lake — More of Betsy Lake.

057: shore line with heather — A look along the shore of Betsy Lake

I headed down to Grandaddy Lake past the junction with the Lamarla Lake Trail. It was tempting to head down that way as far as Lodgepole Lake to investigate a mystery building marked on the map, but I didn't think I had time for that and getting where I wanted to get in the evening. I continued a short way toward Hades Pass for the closest look at Grandaddy instead.

059: lake through the trees — Looking down on Grandaddy Lake

Then I headed back up to the three way junction between Grandaddy and Betsy and turned the fourth way for a use trail. OpenStreetMap claimed I could follow a trail along the west side of Betsy and then over to Mohawk Lake. I passed more well used sites and more campers on the way. One group seemed to be throwing axes at a tree. It was loud and certainly isn't leave no trace but was probably a dead tree and at least they weren't camped too close to the water?

061: lake with peaks at the far end — Betsy Lake again

The trail came and went. I didn't find it at first leaving Betsy, but then found a couple different routes. I left all the people behind as I went although there were certainly a few well used sites at Mohawk Lake.

062: clear trail and meadow full of yellows and reds — Bright fall colors in a meadow along a short clear bit of trail.

I found the Mohawk Trail and took it back to Betsy Lake past a little pond. It also had a camp site that was well used but not occupied. The most massive horse camp I've ever seen was on the far side from Betsy Lake. There were canvas cabins where whole trees were lifted as a ridge pole and teepees and a few less grandiose cabin tents. It also seemed to be unoccupied on this busy day.

067: reflecting water — A tiny pond along the trail

068: lake shore — Back around to Betsy Lake

I turned and followed the Pine Island Loop Trail heading for its namesake. I left that massive crowd behind and got back to seeing absolutely no one.

071: lake with meadow and trees — Fish Hatchery Lake

072: random water — Random pond full of water on the way.

073: nearly empty pond — A shrunken pond just across the trail from the one above.

I reached Island Lake and visited the large site at the south end of the lake. It's not bad, but I was hoping for something better just a little further up the trail. My final day was already going to be long.

074: lake with an island full of pines — Pine Island Lake

076: islands in a lake — More of the islands in Pine Island Lake

OpenStreetMap displays trail on both sides of Pine Island Lake. The one on the south side was easy to find and I made no consultation of the map for it. The one on the north side wasn't there. It just wasn't. It couldn't even be where it was marked. I battled my way over a bunch of fallen trees and found trail further along beside the lake, but not really a camp. I kept pushing along a fairly clear trail to an island with almost a bridge to it.

078: pines on islands — Lots of little pine islands in Pine Island Lake

079: logs and rocks — Logs and rocks make a bridge to one island.

The trail was fading except for a little that climbed. Finally a camping area? Nope. But it did look like there was a very old road up there. I followed it back a while and still found nothing I wanted to make a camp. Travel on it was getting harder, so I struggled my way back down to the trail beside the lake again.

082: lake in shadow — Getting late on Pine Island Lake

I continued back to where a small steam cuts, and I do mean cuts, through a meadow. There had been some camp areas on the east side of it. I found more on the west side that was a reasonable distance from the water. So that would have to work for my camp. I spent a while deciding what was least likely to have trees fall on it. There's a lot of standing dead trees to choose among. It wasn't windy, at least.

same trip, next day ⇒

*Wasatch 2022 photo album*

©2022 Valerie Norton
Written 30 Nov 2022

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