Geiger lakes, Carney Peak and Lost Buck Pass hike
Trail report by Bob Hosea
by LibbyMT.com
August 23, 2010
Bob Hosea took another trip to Geiger Lakes in the Cabinet Mountains recently. Even though he did this hike earlier in the year, he wanted to go back up to redo the photos from Lost Buck Pass. "Last September when I was at Lost Buck Pass there was a lot of smoke in the area from fires and the pictures were very hazy. " He also wanted to climb up on Carney Peak so he could get pictures of the lake from a different angle.
Bob usually takes his video camera along and posts a video of each hike on YouTube. His camera decided to take a swim in Fish Lakes on one of his earlier hikes, so he has been trying to get that working again. He took a video of this hike anyway, apologizing for some spots that appear under certain lighting conditions, and it is posted at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcVV0M2MQbs
Bob welcomes comments and questions from people about area hikes. He can be reached by e-mail at: hiking@thebobfactor.com
Here is Bob’s August Geiger Lake hike trail report:
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To get to the trailhead for Geiger lakes #656, turn onto the West Fisher Creek road #231 from Highway #2, which is about 26 miles east of Libby. Drive about 6 miles and then turn left onto the Lake Creek campground road, and then go about 1/2 mile and turn left onto the Geiger Lakes trail road.
The trail is in great shape from start to finish. There are many people using this trail and I saw a total of 8 people during my hike. There were a lot of bugs out, but I didn't have any problems with biting flies or mosquitoes.
Near the lakes there were still many huckleberries and I did see one adult bear near the upper lake that was feeding on the berries. The bear was two-toned brown in color. I also saw many Spruce grouse going in and coming out. I can see why the Spruce grouse has the nickname "fool hen"; because you almost end up stepping on them trying to get past them. They don't have any fear of humans.
I saw many wildflowers along the trail which included Indian Paintbrushes, Pearly Everlasting, Alpine Harebell, Purple Aster, Bird's Foot Trefoils, Cow-Parsnip, Dogbane, St. John's-wort and pink Spirea.
Seeing Geiger lakes is well worth the trip all by itself. The upper lake is just a little over 3 miles, in trail distance, with a 1700 foot elevation gain. From the upper lake you have a great view of Carney Peak and Lost Buck Pass. And, if you go the extra mile to Lost Buck Pass will you will be given the awesome view of Swamp Creek drainage, Buck lake, Wanless lake and Engle Peak. Something that's well worth the extra mile.
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