TR - Silver Divide 7/22 – 7/28/16
Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2016 8:46 pm
My brother, a friend and I arrived at the trailhead around 2:30 after the long and winding drive over Kaiser Pass road. If there is one thing that would keep us from returning to this trailhead it would be that road. 21 miles of 1 lane with bi-directional traffic. Brutal but worth it!
The first day destination was Upper Graveyard Meadow which would give us quick access to Graveyard Lakes the following morning. The views were great along the trail which was mostly shaded. The mosquitos weren’t too bad but still a nuisance. The black flies were worse.
We chose a legal spot above the upper meadow near Cold Creek. It was a beautiful spot with the soothing sound of the creek in the background as we sipped our rum drinks in our hammocks. Paradise!
And then our neighbors arrived… The made camp a couple hundred feet away and proceeded to crank up their music, drink too much and smoke. Oh well, thank goodness for ear plugs and a breeze.
Day 2 – To Lower Graveyard Lake. 3.1 mi, altitude gain 1070.
We took it easy on day 2 as we were still getting acclimated to the elevation. There was a lot of company at Lower Graveyard Lake. There were 6 groups at the lake that night but everyone was pretty quiet.
We camped up on the bench on the Northeast side of the lake. The fishing was good for pan sized Brookies and the scenery was spectacular.
Day 3 – To Peter Pande Lake via Silver Fox Pass. 3.4 mi, Altitude gain 861, loss 830.
Our third day was entertaining with our route taking us by the two lakes above Lower Graveyard Lake and then past Upper Graveyard Lake. All of the lakes held Brookies although we didn’t fish. Upper Graveyard was very scenic and would be our choice over Lower GL next time around. There is a use trail from the lower lakes that is easy to follow.
From Upper Graveyard we ascended the obvious ramp up to the pass. There is an occasional cairn but is definitely a cross country route. Not too difficult if you are experienced. The views at the top were great. (There is Verizon 4G cell service at the top of the pass if you would like to update your weather forecast).
The route down on the North side of Silver Fox pass is steep talus and is challenging. The reward is the beautiful meadow, stream and lake at the bottom on the way to Peter Pande Lake.
Once at PPL we setup camp on the North side of the lake near a beautiful white sand beach. The fishing was good for Brook trout and the views of the divide were beautiful.
Day 4 – Day trip to Olive, Minnie and Anne Lakes. 4.6 mi, 800 ft of altitude gain/loss.
We hiked down to Olive from PPL. The fishing at Olive was very good for Rainbows. The 3 of us caught and released 60ish fish between us (Yes, our barbs were crimped). Size 6 Panther Martins (black with yellow dots/gold blade. Black with Red dots/gold blade) worked the best. The fish were up to 16 inches and fat!
We then hiked up the inlet creek to Minnie and Anne lakes. The meadow below Minnie Lake was really gorgeous. We caught a couple of fish in Minnie but none in Anne. We did not fish Anne hard though as it had already been an epic day. Anne and Minnie lakes are stunning and well worth the climb. We then followed the stream back down to PPL. The breeze was up and that kept the bugs down.