Reading Time: 30 minutes

I had heard that Halls Lake was not worth the effort to see, but I found that to be a pack o’ lies! Status: Not yet proofread!

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➤Quick Facts

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⤷Introduction

Relive ‘Halls Lake and Sonnicant’

The weather was set to be decent in the beginning of September and I had a hankering to check out Halls Lake, and then maybe re-check the Sonnicant area. I figured I could go for 4-6 days depending on my level of interest and perhaps explore Europe Canyon or Photo Pass rather than Sonnicant…I would let my whims guide me, but would also pack enough food for an extended outing. If I decided to head out early, I’d have the blessing of being able to spend some time playing tabletop games with my family.

I drove up to Pinedale on the 4th after work and got a room so that I could get an early start the following day. A mild illness that had started on the 3rd would accompany me on this hike, and weirdly had for its constellation of symptoms GI distress (always fun when hiking) and mild, intermittent dizziness (more concerning).

Lastly, I used the hike to compare my Darn Tough socks with the cheap, perhaps suspicious company WillowAce, and the much more reputable–if oddly named–Creepers. To be up front, I no longer use Darn Tough (great for many, but painful for my feet), like WillowAce, and LOVE Creepers.

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⤑Day 1: All-Day Hike to Halls

I was on the road by 0745, which was two hours later than planned. Unfortunately it had been an absolute, cold downpour (44F on the valley floor), so the early start was somewhat pointless. I got to the trailhead at 0830 and was on the trail by 0900. Since I’ve talked about the trail before, I won’t go into such detail again.

The clouds cloaked the mountainside well below the Bonneville flats. I made pretty good time, but a guy behind me was catching up fast and I wanted a sip of water anyway, so I pulled off into a cliffy area around 9150 to let him pass, only to find that he had vanished. That was fine, because it could also be a time of breakfast until he passed. As it turned out, he got the same idea as me and camped out beneath me for about 15 minutes, then finally departed. At least I got some food!

I ascended into the clouds around 9300 feet and the trail was absolutely soaked. It was in many areas more like a pond of infinite length and comparatively infinitesimal girth. My feet became utterly soaked as I moved along. I reached Little Divide Lake at 12:20 and leapfrogged the guy from earlier who was sitting down and seemed to be miserable with his feet. As I made my way around the side of the lake (following the trail this time, as opposed to the last time I think I went through the area) I had two people pass me going the opposite direction. They said they’d been snowed on like crazy the previous night.

Below: Toboggan Lakes to Little Divide Junction

The hike to where the flats reveal themselves always seems to take for-stinking-ever (and I am always tempted to cut across through the lumpen masses and marshes as I pass the Lightning Lakes and see the field that sure looks inviting, but would cut off miles while adding hours), and this was no exception, but I got there just an hour after leaving Little Divide Lake. In the distance some snow was left on the mountains, but most of it had melted as the flakes had turned to cold water. My feet remained soaked, so crossing the South Fork Boulder Creek was easier as I just walked through it. The unmaintained Crescent Lake Trail (which I usually take) was a muddy affair until the uphill section, where it was drier and I found a hat.

Below: Lightning Lakes to Crescent Lake.

A use trail cuts off from the Crescent Trail, so I took it toward Bobs Lake and was blessed to see some fussy mountain bluebirds. I never found Highline Trail 7094…strange the trails that are official and the ones which aren’t. I got to Bobs Lake at 13:30 and had a very cold lunch, then made my way down to Sandpoint Lake after hopping the creek beneath Bobs. Even the lakeside was foamy from all the rain.

Below: Use trail to Bob’s Lake. Bob’s Lake, then Sandpoint Lake.

At Middle Fork, I once again simply walked through the water and followed the trail up toward Middle Fork Lake while listening to Joe Rogan talk with the “Rich Men North of Richmond” guy. He sure vanished quickly! The trail went vaguely uphill and through the trees, past a pond, through a field, back into the trees, and then back out into a second expanse. It was around the 10,000 contour that I branched off and followed a little drainage for a bit, sticking to the easier grasses and avoiding the forests, and then passing by ponds at 10,100 feet and 10,133 feet. The second pond sat mysteriously on a ridge from which I had to make my way down to a creek, and the creek brought me to the idyllic Lake 9987 (or 10007 on Google Earth). The lake had an amazing place to camp and had fish as well, but I still had places to be, so I plotted my route up to Halls. To the NW the main creek (Halls Creek) enters, but along the way a separate drainage can be ascended, and that’s what I did, partially to avoid the extreme riparian bushes, but also to just avoid a rather steep, narrow creekbed that I didn’t feel like boulder-hopping my way up.

Below: Middle Fork Boulder Creek to Lake 9987.

The creek up to Lake 10180 was over smooth granite and quite picturesque. Lake 10180 and the tiny streams around it had tons of trout, and the lake also had a cute, little island. I passed by the west side of the lake and then climbed up a cool cascade (listening to, I believe, Ice T on a podcast, whoever he is) before popping out at the next lake, which was on a much less constricted flat. From here it was easy to go west and rejoin the original drainage, but it seemed better in my sight to go east and up to the next lake, not only so that I would keep to my steady, uphill climb, but also because I expected I’d be able to gain the ridge over Halls and observe the best spot to camp, whereas I predicted that most visitors to Halls would likely use the main outlet stream and end up at the same place. (I would be proven right later.)

Below: Above Lake 9987 up to Lake 10180.

I crossed the wide mouth of the lake via boulder-jumps and then passed east before crossing yet another creek (they are all over) and heading uphill to Lake 10390. This lake was much shallower but also quite pretty and had a number of places to camp. I ignored it, passed another pond, and then followed the inlet creek uphill. At 10,500 feet the unlet creek area became steep and bushy, so I turned east and climbed a rock pile, eventually popping out at a couple of awesome overlook ponds. The view was so great that I was tempted to camp there, but it seemed better to continue on, so after some running around with my pack off, I made my way over the ridge an beheld the beauty of Halls Lake. I didn’t want to ruin the view for people, so I walked back and forth on the ridge for a bit first, looking for a nice place to park myself.

Below: Lake 10390. Further details in captions.

While I was up on a high point, I called my beloved wife to let her know I was safe, and then I got a call from my brother DustBin in Atlanta. DustBin told m that a computer I gave him had a rattle in it. I told him to fix the screws which probably loosened in shipping. Then a bear walked by the other side of the lake, so I let him go and returned to my nearby pack.

I ended up staying on a little overlook that was very flat and about halfway between the pretty ponds and the lake itself, just to the west of the small, finger lake near Halls. Like a cat unsatisfied with a piece of carpet, I moved my tent’s footprints in circles until the desire arrangement was achieved, then set it up under the alpenglow. The temperature dropped like lightning and I ended up having a very frozen tent and little desire to eat, so I didn’t. Thankfully, I stayed VERY warm overnight. It briefly rained and sleeted, but I remained untouched; the important gear remained mostly dry in the vestibule.

Below: Halls Lake Views.

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⤑Day 2: A Rest Day/Hike to Europe Canyon Overlook

I had thoughts of hiking Europe Canyon as I woke up, and I swapped my Creepers for my Darn Toughs, but I didn’t head out until almost 12:30 given that I wanted to let all of my stuff dry out. The temperatures were pleasant enough, being neither too hot nor too cold. I zipped on toward the unnamed pass to see what I could see, skirting the western edge of Halls Lake and then crossing the outlet, then making my way along a creek up to Shoestring Lake, where I then veered east, taking the path of least resistance. A bizarre little creek runs down the eastern side of the main ridge going up to the pass, connecting to nothing rather than to Shoestring Lake, and it was tiny but filled with trout.

Below: The outlet, Shoesting Lake, and views on the way up.

It was an easy enough climb, if a little tedious. You can go up some ledgy granite or more toward the west where it’s scree and grasses, but I mostly stuck to the ledges going up, only getting to the scree at the top. I felt a little fatigued and water didn’t like staying inside, if you know what I mean, but I reached the top of the pass 90 minutes after leaving camp, which I guess was ok for hiking 2.75 miles. My feet were HOWLING from my Darn Tough socks, though, which for some reason compress my pinky toes like mad. I was also a bit dizzy.

Below: The pass to Europe Canyon.

From the pass I saw that one could safely descend to Europe Canyon or easily enough pop over to Milky Ridge and the associated areas. I made my way along the boulder piles and thought about going down, but I really only wanted to see Long Lake, which seemed a bit of effort if I weren’t going to stay there. It also popped into my head that I should do a hike along the flats in the future and camp at the base of each of the drainages, using one day to hike them, then another day to move camp and relax, followed by a rinse/repeat. It seemed to me that I should save the Canyon for another day, especially as right now I was more reminded of the unnamed canyon I hiked by Graves which I didn’t particularly care for. Then there was my Darn Tough foot agony, and my dizziness, and the butt problems…so I decided to make the best of an untenable situation and spend a few hours reading, which I rarely have time to do given other obligations. That was a GREAT decision, and I got to relax my to my heart’s content. A brief bit of cell service revealed that a man was lost to the northwest of me, but given the conditions and when he’d gotten lost, I knew he had perished somewhere in the forest, perhaps not to be found for decades, if ever. The news also popped up that a man had died in a fall near Spider Lake while alone. I wondered if it was the Spider Lake near Sonnicant (at one time called Sam Kant Lake) or the one near Angel Pass. Angel Pass seemed benign, but one can fall and die basically anywhere, especially if you are of Presidential age.

Below: Views from the Pass.

I left at 4PM (having seen no one on either side of the pass the whole time) and hiked the ridge/spine to the west for a ways. It was plenty doable but a lot of effort, so I didn’t go too far before returning and heading back toward my camp. On the way back down I took the scree piles and found them to be stable, though I would not prefer them as a route going up.

Below: The pass and back down. I got water at the creek and watched the fish.

Passing back by the outlet of Halls, I came right up on a big Big Agnes tent! As I had thought, people indeed would camp right by the outlet. Human habits are great when you want to avoid people, because you know what they’ll do. I passed by quietly so as not to disturb them, and arrived back at 1730, listening to Clint Russel of Liberty Lockdown debate some mashed-tatter bodied being, either Vaush or Destiny…I think the former. He didn’t do as good of a job as I’d hoped, as he was rather placid and entertained the man’s nonsensical rants for what seemed like hours on end. This made my return seem longer than it was.

Camp was all ordered as it should be and things were well, so I collected some more water and had two meals by PackIt Gourmet, this time their Pizza Margherita and a Texas Mesquite Chicken Salad (note that I am not an influencer and don’t get paid for any of these links, so you’re getting my honest opinion on things). This cut down a lot on pack weight as it eliminated the bulk of the meals and the BYOBs I used to make them. Both meals were just OK. I don’t care for the magherita profile by nature, but I ate it all without any resentment. The ranch chicken was a little dry and needed more mayo, but the new recipe (guess I shouldn’t buy in bulk) no longer has the microtrash mayos and now has it in powdered form. The taste was ok, but again, not out-of-this world, and the claim is that the taste is the exact same. I will have to eat all my remaining ones before I can give it another go. Not having extra creaminess was its main downfall, though. After I was done I climbed to the overlook and called my wife to let her know I was back at camp and well.

Quite a ways away from my campsite I found an old fire, and being pretty gross I lit a new one and washed carted some water over, then washed in the frigid air. Talk about being invigorated. My breath froze around my naked body, but boy was it beautiful. The scenery, not my body. I was back in my tent before complete darkness, an unusual event for me. I didn’t mind given that it was chilly and I had no one to socialize with.

The night was peaceful and I slept without waking.

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⤑Day 3: An Easy Day Over the Hump

It was a chilly morning when I woke up, but I exited the tent 10 seconds before 7AM, then got some water and heated it up for my morning orange, carbonated beverage. Today was a short hiking day, so I had a breakfast of no-kidding donuts (and even a piece of cake my wife had packed…and she’d packed 5!!!), if you’re wondering what a strong back I have.

By 10am I was heading over to Kagevah Pass. It seemed best to follow the little finger lakes out and then slowly descend to the 10400 contour toward the Kagevah/Bewmark Trail, so that’s what I did. The walk away from Halls was quite easy and I only had a couple of episodes of slight climbs to stick with the easiest path. Little ponds (and decent creeks) along the way allowed me to get water, though I didn’t need it. At Lake 10530 I followed the outlet down to 10477 and then east to the trail proper, which was only about 1000 feet away. I recached it without having done any sidehilling or boulder hopping! It was worth the loss of a few hundred feet of vertical.

Below: Scenes going to Bewmark Trail.

I had not been on the Bewmark Trail before and ended up finding my previous route preferable, though in this case it would have made no sense. I was still testing out my new battery packs, and boy did I have a lot of charge, so I stashed one pack well off trail where it couldn’t be found without some moving of rocks.