Yesterday, Somewhat Birding Vida and I went for an 11-mile hike up to the Squaw Divide, which divides (duh) the Squaw Creek (or Storm Castle as the new name) drainage from the Hyalite Basin. This is a hike that I’ve wanted to take for quite awhile. Many times I have stared at the route and thought about all the times that I had hiked to the basin and not attempted to make it to the ridge top. It is quite a haul with more than 2800 feet elevation gain and a top elevation of over 9800 feet. The Squaw Creek Basin is outstanding with many American Pipits and several Gray-crowned Rosy-finches. I even heard a Pika that called from directly beneath my feet as it hid in the jumble of talus. We had to traverse across a large snowfield, which was alternating between slick but stable to total postholing up to the crotch. The wind at the top was, well, outstanding; I had a couple of visions of sailing over the edge and down a 1000 feet to Hyalite Lake.
This is a great hike that doesn’t appear on hardly any guide books or websites. Maybe that’s a good thing, in that we had the trail to ourselves. The sun and snow made for some good sunburns, just ask my arms and Vida’s back. There are an absolutely ton of switchbacks as you ascend into the basin. The distance and elevation gain makes this one a good challenge while completely enjoyable.
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