11 replies to this topic

[MaizeEagle]

I know there have several who have gone from Lion Lakes to Thunder Lake for the return trip back to the trailhead. I've read Iceberg's and ScottO's report of when they did it in 2010. Dragon and I are heading out in a couple weeks ( 2 days of driving for 2 days of hiking- seems reasonable doesn't it?).

Does anyone have any GPS coordinates of the route? I'm not a great route finder and wouldn't try it without a good set of coordinates.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

[iceberg]

I know that neither Scott nor I use GPS. It really isn't difficult to figure out. From Lion Lake #2 it's a fun fairly level trek across some beautiful easy to stroll on terrain that is all above treeline, so you can see where you are going. Head southwest across it.The closer you get towards Thunder you can see it from a distance so it gives you a mark & a general direction to head for. You need to stay west of the lake, then work your way down. The only tricky part is finding a way down some steep terrain to get on the same level as Thunder. Scott & I went down a short steep grassy area, followed by a longer steep talus field, neither one difficult to negotiate. Then you enter into the woods & continue heading south, crossing over various streams that all flow into the west side of Thunder. By continuing to head south you will run into the trail that heads to Lake of many Winds, then just turn east & follow the trail to Thunder. If you have any questions feel free to pm me & I will try to help you the best I can.

[John]

I did it with Aaron and Glenn. We can't even find our way out of a Walmart parking lot and we had no trouble.

[Aaron]

John, on 05 September 2011 - 11:46 AM, said:

I did it with Aaron and Glenn. We can't even find our way out of a Walmart parking lot and we had no trouble.

Well said.

--Aaron

[mirak]

I've also done this hike, but I don't have a GPS track for you. I do not recall ever seeing a footpath, but the forest is not too dense. Follow Lion Lake 1 along the west bank until you get to the outlet stream, then keep that stream to your left as you descend into the trees. Stay as close as you can to the stream because it is the most useful guide towards Thunder Lake, and also because you don't want to miss Thunder Falls. In fact, I would find the coordinates for Thunder Falls somewhere on the interwebs and use that as a target. Occassionally, you'll need to wander a bit away from the stream to avoid some tangles. As you get closer to the Thunder Lake, I recall that the stream branches out and gets pretty marshy. You'll want to just aim straight for the east end of Thunder Lake at that point, while crossing the various little streamlets as you can. You'll hit the Thunder Lake trail eventually. This is a good route because it saves a lot of distance and you get to see a really impressive waterfall. I think I posted a trip report on this, but it would have been summer of 2008.

[MaizeEagle]

Thanks for all the info. Now it looks like we can follow Iceberg and ScottO's way or Mirak's. Mirak's does seem pretty straight-forward to follow the outlet stream down from Lion Lake #1.
I guess time and whether we end up with a sense of adventure will tell.

[mirak]

Oops, good thing I went back and re-read my old trip report. Here's what I said about the route after Thunder Falls:

Quote

We made a mistake in attempting to follow the stream further south beyond Thunder Falls. While this is the surest way to rejoin the trail to Thunder Lake, it is a longer, steeper, and trickier descent. You'll find the trail faster, and have better footing, if you head directly towards the east end of Thunder Lake.

[mirak]

Also, I don't have many pics of this route, but here is the inlet stream just beyond Lion Lake 1 as it heads into the woods.



And here are a few of Thunder Falls!

[MaizeEagle]

I'm glad you re-read the report too. We tried to find it but couldn't.

[cardinal]

iceberg, on 04 September 2011 - 11:54 PM, said:

I know that neither Scott nor I use GPS. It really isn't difficult to figure out. From Lion Lake #2 it's a fun fairly level trek across some beautiful easy to stroll on terrain that is all above treeline, so you can see where you are going. Head southwest across it.The closer you get towards Thunder you can see it from a distance so it gives you a mark & a general direction to head for. You need to stay west of the lake, then work your way down. The only tricky part is finding a way down some steep terrain to get on the same level as Thunder. Scott & I went down a short steep grassy area, followed by a longer steep talus field, neither one difficult to negotiate. Then you enter into the woods & continue heading south, crossing over various streams that all flow into the west side of Thunder. By continuing to head south you will run into the trail that heads to Lake of many Winds, then just turn east & follow the trail to Thunder. If you have any questions feel free to pm me & I will try to help you the best I can.

This sounds more like Fan Falls route. Would that be correct?

[mirak]

cardinal, on 07 September 2011 - 06:37 AM, said:

This sounds more like Fan Falls route. Would that be correct?

Yes, that's what it sounds like to me. I've never been to Fan Falls myself, but according to the topo, descending to Thunder Lake near Fan Falls is significantly steeper than descending closer to Thunder Falls. If you've got a topo map on your GPS, I would suggest you just use that, since I don't think you're going to find a footpath anywhere. Check out Thunder Falls, then head southwest, away from the outlet stream directly towards Thunder Lake. That's your best bet.

[cardinal]

mirak, on 07 September 2011 - 12:05 PM, said:

Yes, that's what it sounds like to me. I've never been to Fan Falls myself, but according to the topo, descending to Thunder Lake near Fan Falls is significantly steeper than descending closer to Thunder Falls. If you've got a topo map on your GPS, I would suggest you just use that, since I don't think you're going to find a footpath anywhere. Check out Thunder Falls, then head southwest, away from the outlet stream directly towards Thunder Lake. That's your best bet.

I have done this route both ways. Coming from Thunder up to Fan Falls I hiked up the east side of the stream. Go as far as you can up to the falls and then head east. I found an openning about 50 yards east of the falls. When I went the opposite way (coming from Snowbank actually) I tried to find that same openning and couldn't find it so ended up going down the west side of the falls. That was a little tougher going but either way was enjoyable.