Heart Lake, Superior, Montana
Heart Lake is hike 27 in 100 Hikes in the Inland Northwest: Some backpackers consider this a model mountain trek. Hike into an area proposed as part of the Great Burn wilderness and camp at the largest alpine lake in this western Montana portion of the Bitterroot Mountains. Walk a reasonably east 3 miles to a high lake, make camp, and behold the opportunities for scenic side trips to the lofty, rocky ridge above without the heavy pack. The trip can be extended to visit Pearl or Dalton lakes or made into a loop…Continue past Heart Lake through lush vegetation about 1 mile to Pearl Lake, which is perched on a mostly open bench with an outlet campsite. The trail skirts the length of the lake, and around the far end, it climbs through wildflowers toward a saddle overlooking Dalton Lake.
This is one of my favorite hikes, and if I had the time to ignore the long list of trails I have not yet seen but want to see, I would repeat this hike often. Almost everything in Montana is pretty damn magical, and that impression is strongly reinforced by this trail.
Barbarian Scientist and I chose to hike this trail on a very rainy summer day. It was perfect. The rain meant that we didn’t have to share this location with other adventurers; it felt magical. Heart Lake and Pearl Lake are about 8 miles with a little over 1,700’eg, but it is so peaceful and stunningly beautiful that the miles seem to go by effortlessly and too fast. Even in the rain, we wished we had backpacked and were disappointed when we returned to the trailhead.
Without rain
Nothing grows
Learn to embrace the storm
Without rain
Nothing grows
Learn to embrace the storm
Writing about these trails I’ve navigated from 100 Hikes mostly brings me joy. Sometimes it is a bit sad to look back on these experiences and think of how long I was sick before finally seeking answers. It is always very sad when I think of how these easier things are now challenges and that I do not know if they’ll ever be easier again. Does that matter? Yes… But I think maybe it shouldn’t. I don’t know. Today involved a lot of crying. New procedures. New surgeries. More sacrificing my plans and goals. It’s hard to embrace the storm.