Two Mouth Lakes

It’s good to get away. Sarah and I are both 65 and every time we are able to backpack into wilderness we realize what a gift it is to still be able to do these things. 

Two Mouth Lakes has become a favorite destination. The trailhead is not too far beyond Bonners Ferry. We usually bring our Rich Landers’ book 101 Hikes in the Inland Northwest in the car with us for directions, but this time we left the book behind and just used the All Trails app. That was a big mistake. It took us to a trailhead about five miles away from where we needed to be. I had downloaded the topos so we were able to navigate to the correct start. This isn’t where the trail used to begin. Last year about a mile of really dreary logging roads were cut off by moving the trailhead up the hill. It’s a pretty steep climb to connect with the old section of the trail but totally worth it - cedar groves and small bridge-covered streams.  All in all it’s almost a 2000 foot climb in just under three miles before you drop down for another three-quarter mile hike down into the lakes. There is an upper lake and a lower lake. We always camp at the lower lake. 

Sarah and I were both backpackers before we started dating back in 1990. It was great that we had this in common and a lot of our early dating time was spent in the mountains, especially in the Selkirks. The Selkirks have so many great backpacking campsites. Beehive (not too far from Two Mouths) was always a favorite. It is emblematic of the Selkirk mountain range - campsites along a flat ribbon of meadow at one end of the lake and a towering cirque of mountains along the other. It is a common setting you will find at the end of many a trail.

What makes Two Mouths different is that you hike down into a larger valley. There is no cirque around the lower lake, just a big open sky and some of the strangest and most beautiful rock formations I've seen. The huckleberries are plentiful and huge. The quiet is curative. Sometimes the clouds come through the campsite and it gives you a sense of flying and a little taste of heaven. 

If you are up for a hike, I really recommend it. A couple of years ago, I painted this "Trite Words at Two Mouths."