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The Selkirks

October 15, 2021  /  Wynword Press

So, while CoVID was raging and I was stuck at home, I spent my time exploring the Selkirks. I’ve lived in Bonners Ferry for 22 years and hardly knew anything about them. It turns out they are absolutely swarming with gorgeous little lakes. Even I, who can barely walk down to the mailbox, am able to reach some of these lakes with braces, hiking poles, monster boots and a lot of persistence. I even dusted off my backpack and took a few two-night trips. I must say, it was tough. My brother, who went with me, has the patience of a saint. In no other way would it be possible to go backpacking with me. Sadly, I cannot hike more than 2 or 3 miles (with a pack on), so I could only go to a few places. Since my brother’s idea of a hike is to scale a 14,000 foot mountain, walk 20 miles and come home by moonlight, all while wearing sandals and carrying 70 pounds of camera gear, he must, to put it mildly, scale back a bit to hike with me. But he was willing, so off we went, and I had a great time finding lakes I had no idea existed in my own backyard. Here are a few of them.

Trout Lake. This one was tough to get to because the last quarter or half mile requires clambering among boulders. This is not something I do well even with all my braces on. Worth it. Only one campsite though, so at your own risk.

This was my favorite: Upper Ball Lake. Getting back from here was a nightmare. We spent 3 nights, and it poured rain the last night. The way down is steep and rocky, and my knees kept collapsing and throwing me onto the muddy ground. From which I can hardly get up with my pack on. By the time I reached the car. I was on my hands and knees. Did I say hiking requires persistence? I think I said that. Even so, I simply adore Upper Ball Lake.

The water of Upper Ball Lake is SO CLEAR! All these mountain tarns are clear, but Upper Ball was clear even in comparison with other, similar lakes. There was a remarkable absence of algae even near the shore. Sometimes it was hard to tell which rocks were under water and which were not. Gorgeous.

The water of Upper Ball Lake is SO CLEAR! All these mountain tarns are clear, but Upper Ball was clear even in comparison with other, similar lakes. There was a remarkable absence of algae even near the shore. Sometimes it was hard to tell which rocks were under water and which were not. Gorgeous.

This is my brother doing what I want to do and cannot at Middle Roman Nose Lake. This was our first or second hike, before I bought my braces, and I simply couldn’t manage the boulders. So instead, I watched my brother wade effortlessly through the lake to catch a view of the upper end, fuming with envy, then I forced him to show me all the pictures he snapped.

This is my brother doing what I want to do and cannot at Middle Roman Nose Lake. This was our first or second hike, before I bought my braces, and I simply couldn’t manage the boulders. So instead, I watched my brother wade effortlessly through the lake to catch a view of the upper end, fuming with envy, then I forced him to show me all the pictures he snapped.

Middle Roman Nose Lake

This is the waterfall coming out of Upper Roman Nose Lake into Middle Roman Nose Lake. After I failed to wade through the lake, I more-or-less (less, really) bushwhacked around the lake to see what was up there, and this is what I found.

Upper Roman Nose Lake near our campsite

This is also Upper Roman Nose, also near our campsite, only looking toward the Origin of it All, Roman Nose, looming in the background above the lake. From this angle, it doesn’t look any more like a nose than about a hundred other peaks in the Selkirks. My brother climbed Roman Nose (show-off). What he found up there was an old fire lookout that had burned down and a ROAD. Yeah, I can’t even climb the stupid thing and there’s a road. Or at least there used to be a road. It is not in good repair because the fire lookout is no longer used.

This is also Upper Roman Nose, also near our campsite, only looking toward the Origin of it All, Roman Nose, looming in the background above the lake. From this angle, it doesn’t look any more like a nose than about a hundred other peaks in the Selkirks. My brother climbed Roman Nose (show-off). What he found up there was an old fire lookout that had burned down and a ROAD. Yeah, I can’t even climb the stupid thing and there’s a road. Or at least there used to be a road. It is not in good repair because the fire lookout is no longer used.

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