Alpine Lakes Backpacking Trip 8/10/12-8/13/12

[Holg3107]

Spent 4 days with a few friends in the Alpine Lakes wilderness. Weather couldnt have been better and the meteor shower was second to none. We were planning on doing a loop starting at Foss river and finishing through the necklace valley but due to an ankle injury we decided to backtrack from Chetwoot lake instead of completing the loop. Great time with great friends. Here are a few pics from the trip. Also note the fishing was OK I just was the one catching the fish and didnt take any pics.

[fillthefreezer]

looks like a good trip, nice pics! i had some friends in there the same time.

[poopooheaddad]

great pics I too have been up there, little heart, big, copper, then the necklace, but never have connected the two, thanks for the memories, beautiful place....

[wsucowboy]

Looks like a great time  awesome pics

[Holg3107]

thanks for the comments guys  it truly was one to remember. This was for my friends dads 50th birthday.

[ReformedVeg]

Nice report and great photos.  Thats a looped I've wanted to do for a long time, but have never made the time for it.  Did you get past the end of the maintained trail?  If so, how did it look? 

[Holg3107]

The main trail ends at Big Heart Lake, from there on it is no longer maintained but a decent trail, you do have to follow the cairns in some places but since it is wide open and you have good way points it is very manageable. We hesitated doing the loop because the connector from Chetwoot Lake to the Necklace Valley trailhead is completely off trail with a lot of sidehilling (bad for the ankles) but again since you are completely exposed you have good vantage points to plan out your trails for the next mile or so. There is one kind of sketchy area just past Chetwoot that could be challenging due to a steep ascend in a snowfield with little room for error if you started to fall. This is also the only place where an ice axe would be necessary. 4 days seemed to be about the right amount of time to do the trip unless you are in awesome shape or have lighter packs. The trip from big heart to chetwoot is not an easy 3-4 miles. Feel free to pm me and we can chat about the route more if you would like. Its a great time of year to head that direction. Here are a few pics of where the trail is no longer maintained.

[Harborhunter]

Awesome pictures

[NRA4LIFE]

Very nice.  Which side of Big Heart is the trail on, east or west?  Both sides are pretty steep.

[NW-GSP]

I was up at fisher lake off of tonga ridge for the medior shower. It was my first time seeing one

[Holg3107]

The trail is on the east side of Big Heart. You go right between Big Heart and Angeline Lake. The trail is pretty easy to follow out of Big Heart, its just steep and rocky.

The Fisher / Ptarmigan lakes area looks like another great place to be! laying out on the granite boulders watching the meteor shower made the weekend (notice the citrinella candels in the photos in an attempt to control the bugs).