Easy way to gyrfalcon lake

Easy way to gyrfalcon lake

Start at packer's roost trailhead and take maintained trail past flattop campground. The secret of this easy route is to find the abandoned McDonald creek trail that runs from 50 mountain camp through Kootenai pass and along west flattop mt.  One mile SW of 50 mt camp are the remains of an abandoned park campground.  The old campground is at 6080 feet elevation.  48 degrees, 50 minutes 45.24 seconds--113 degrees, 52 minutes, 32.65 seconds.  A faint trail goes from the old campground to the maintained Flattop mt trail.  The faint trail meets the maintained trail at 6260 feet elevation, 48 degrees, 50 minutes, 37.29 seconds--113 degrees, 51 minutes, 56.58 seconds.  This faint trail can be seen on google earth.  

From the old campground follow Kootenai creek west untill about 6000 feet elevation.  Continue west SW until arrival at Kootenai pass at 5700 feet.  Try and find the old trail as it goes west from the pass to west flattop mt.  Go SW along west flattop mt.  Stay just north of point 6770 and cross the small pass NW of lake 6330.  There is a small pass north of 7702 trapper peak at 7280.  Go through the pass.

You can get to Gyrfalcon lake by going north of point 7282(lake 6525 is a beautiful spot with fantastic stromatolite fossils).  But this north route has some very steep spots,

Take the route just north of trapper peak.  From the 7280 pass head west to the 6542 lake.  From the 6542 lake follow the continental divide to Gyrfalcon lake(hike just west of lake 6100).

Use USGS 1970's topo maps to locate the elevation points and lakes listed above.