Sierra Nevada - Piute Pass - Glacier Divide Loop

I had always wanted to visit the lakes in the hanging valleys on the north side of the Glacier Divide that drain into Piute Creek. On September 17, 1983 I drove up to the North Lake parking lot for the night and got an early start up the trail in beautiful weather for a September 18-21, 1983 loop trip.

I was feeling great as I topped the pass and had lunch in the sun. There was a cool breeze on the pass as I headed down cross-country to Golden Trout Lake. Followed the trail past the north side of the lake and crossed the outlet stream with great views of the Humphrey Basin.

Headed for Packsaddle Lake over easy terrain. Got a little higher than necessary so dropped down to the lake. Found a nice campsite at the outlet with a great view.

The next day I continued to contour to the west along the divide. I was headed for Honeymoon Lakes and thought I could go over the ridge. It was a nice hike over to Lobe Lakes. There were some great views along the way. After lunch at Lobe Lakes I headed for Honeymoon.

After a while I found myself high on a ridge overlooking lower Honeymoon Lake with pretty steep rock in between. I checked out several ledge routes and finally decided I would have to backtrack.

After several false starts stopped by cliffs I made my way down below the cliffs and then climbed back up the steep valley side into the Honeymoon Lake basin where I found a nice camp. I took a bath in the creek that night.

Next day I left my camp in place and continued west. I had a pleasant hike up to the top of the next ridge and out to a point overlooking the Piute Creek valley. Great views of French Canyon and Humphrey Basin.

I then dropped down to the upper end of Ramona Lake and then walked down its east shore to a great overlook at its outlet. I then contoured around the end of the ridge and back to camp. A very nice day.

The next day I followed the old horse trail down to Piute Creek, crossed on a convenient log and then headed up the main trail toward Piute Pass. As I reached the pass the clouds were building and it looked like it might storm soon so I headed on over Piute Pass and down to my car.

It was a very enjoyable four day trip. The day after I got home there was a good storm in the mountains so I timed things just right. This is a very pretty area.