Bernard Lake Backpacking

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Bernard Lake

An excellent fall backpacking trip in the Frank Church Wilderness
September 23-24, 2022
Bernard Mountain (8,202') - Porter Creek Peak (8,238')

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Bernard Lake is located in the southwest corner of central Idaho’s vast Frank Church Wilderness. The remote mountain lake can be reached via a 15 mile round trip hike, starting at the North Fork Elk Creek Trailhead. The trail to the lake leads through many open and scenic meadows, and the grade is gentle for most of the hike, other than the final climb to the lake.

The “Fearsome Foursome” had been talking about a backpacking trip since our Mt Borah climb earlier in the summer. After discussing a few options, Bernard Lake was chosen based on the remote location that none of us had visited. After making the 3+ hour drive from Boise, via Lowman, Cape Horn Summit, and Bear Valley; our hike began at the North Fork Elk Creek trailhead, aka Corduroy Trailhead.

After crossing a big meadow, the trail lead us up a 300’ climb up and over a small ridge. The climb got our blood pumping, and then we descended into Corduroy Meadows. The huge meadow area was easy hiking with great views. The cool fall day was perfect weather as we wandered through the meadows, watching for wildlife as we hiked.

At the 3 mile mark, it was time for a creek crossing. The water was knee deep and plenty chilly, and we decided to stop for a lunch break at a nice spot just north of the creek. After lunch, we explored the creek area for a bit, then hit the trail again and made our way toward the north end of Corduroy Meadow, before hanging a left and heading up into a western corner of the meadow.

The hiking and the conversation was enjoyable and entertaining, and we continued through a lightly wooded area, and then found our way on the edge of Crane Meadows. Beautiful meadows had been the theme for the day, but our attention was turning toward the final steep climb to Bernard Lake. Less than a mile from Crane Meadows, it was time to leave the main trail, and follow a steep unofficial trail up to Bernard Lake.

After a steep climb, Bernard Lake was a welcome sight. The pretty lake sits in a small cirque below the north face of Bernard Mountain, and makes for a nice scenic campsite. And it also offers up some good trout fishing, which we partook of for a while before deciding it was time to set up camp.

While the others were getting comfortable and exploring near the lake, I took the opportunity to tackle a couple nearby peaks. My first goal was Bernard Mountain, about 1000’ above the lake. I went up the ridge above the east side of the lake, then up the northeast ridge to the summit.

The views from the summit of Bernard Mountain were very nice, I could even make out the Sawtooths in the distance to the east. Next up was Peak 8238’ (Porter Creek Peak). I descended the northwest ridge of Bernard Mountain, then side-hilled just below the ridge to reach Porter Creek Peak.

This summit gave me a great vantage point to check out the surrounding areas, including the scenic headwaters of Porter Creek. After a snack, it was time to head down. I retraced my path back to the saddle above the lake, then descended an ancient trail that led me down to the western shore of the lake. Round trip was around 4 miles.

Back at the lake, we all enjoyed some dinner, campfire stories, amazing star gazing, and reflecting back on what had been a great day. But soon enough, it was time to turn in for the night.

The next morning, there were mixed reviews on the quality of sleep, but we could all agree it was great to be out in the wilderness enjoying God’s creation. After breakfast, we made plans for the morning. Rick and I had discussed exploring the headwaters of Porter Creek, and Jerry decided to join us. Lucas was plenty content spending some extra downtime enjoying the beautiful lake. We set a 12noon meeting time at the trail below the lake, and then hit the trail.

After a steep descent back to the main trail, and a log crossing to get a cross the creek, we dropped our packs on the side of the trial and started hiking up Porter Creek. The map showed a trail heading up Porter Creek to a saddle just south of Pilgrim Mountain, with a view of the Deadwood River valley.

But as we started hiking up the trial, it became apparent than following this seldom used trail would be far from a cakewalk. There was a ton of deadfall and brush, and we had to do our best to watch for blazes, cairns, and cut logs in attempts to stay on route.

Because of the lack of trail, we couldn’t move fast, but it was a fun adventure. After about 2 miles of light bushwhacking, we made it to a great vantage point up on a rocky outcropping to check out the views of the headwaters of Porter Creek. One the way back down, we made faster time by staying up on the slopes above the creek, but eventually ended up back on the “trail”, where we met Lucas not too long after our agreed upon meeting time.

After a lunch break, the four of us then made our way back down the main trail. We made good time on the way back, with only occasional stops to clear trail and gawk at wildlife. Along the way we saw elk, moose, Sandhill Crane, and numerous piles of wolf scat.

What a great backpacking trip! The terrain was wild, remote, and we never saw another hiker. And the cool fall weather was perfect. Round trip for the lake alone was 15 miles and 1400’ of elevation gain. Add side trips for peaks and exploring, and the total effort was 23 miles and 2700’ of gain. I’m already looking forward to another outing with this great group of guys.