Pear Lake, Blossom Lakes ~ Evan’s Gulch Roadless Area (5)

In northwest Montana, tucked in right next to the Idaho border, there is a small roadless area of only 8,059 acres called the Evan’s Gulch Roadless Area and in the northwest part of it there are three lakes fairly close together and connected by one trail; Blossom Lake, Upper Blossom Lake and Pear Lake (which, by the way, is shaped exactly like a pear).

The trail head for these lakes is located at Thompson Pass which is right on the Montana – Idaho border on Highway 471 (also called Forest Road 7 by the Forest Service) about 20 miles west of the small town of Thompson Falls. Thompson Falls is 100 miles northwest of Missoula on State Highway 200.

Of the three, Blossom Lake is the largest and the closest to the trail head. It gets quite a few visitors who are usually quite tired by the time they hike the approximately three miles to it (the trail has a lot of “up” to it) and so the other lakes farther up the trail get very few.

Following are a few photos of Blossom Lake taken on July 23, 2012.

(A small stand of bear grass in bloom on the far slope just above the lake)