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The
trail climbs a scant 400ft in 1 1/2 miles to trout lake without
too much difficulty. After that, the hard work begins. You proceed
to climb 2000ft in 2 miles up to Copper Lake. The trail is actually
not that bad. It is ver gradual with lots of switchbacks and a few
very scenic views of the falls coming out of Copper and Malachite
Lake. The trail continues on along Copper Lake's southern shore
and gain about 300ft in a mile before coming to Little heart lake;
another picturesque gem of a lake. It is a very good idea to fill
up on water at the outlet stream from Little Heart, because there
is no more water for another mile. The trail from Little heart ascend
a steep 800ft in one mile to the to of a ridge that offers and incredible
view of Trout, Delta, and Otter Lake. Then the trail drops another
300ft to Big Heart Lake. Inexperienced hikers should stop at this
point. Big Heart is a beautiful lake with plenty of room for exciting
exploration and fishing.
From
Big Heart the trail becomes more difficult to see and much more
difficult to traverse. It takes you up and around one ridge top
on a very steep hillside and then up another knoll before descending
down again toward the end of Big Heart Lake. From here, climb a
rockslide up to about 5300ft to the top of a ridge. Altogether the
climb along Big Heart results in about 2 miles. From the top of
the ridge you can see Chetwood Lake. Drop down about 400ft to the
lake, there are several great campsites at the east end of the lake
by the outlet stream. This is really and incredible area with lots
of great day hikes. The evenings are especially beautiful when the
sun casts an iridescent orange glow on the rock walls that encircle
the lake. This is a great hike and well worth the effort.
Contributed by: Jason Lange
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