TimberLine

Day 1: Timber Line to Lake Gertrude This trip comprises a round trip of roughly 10 miles and a vertical ascent of about 2,200 feet. Starting from the Timberline trailhead, you’ll embark on a scenic trek of approximately 3.5 miles until you reach the serene Lake Gertrude. Surrounding this beautiful lake, you’ll find numerous excellent camping spots where you can set up for the night. However, during our visit in 2014, we did not have the luck of catching any fish. We didn't spend much time by Lake Gertrude, though; our designated camping location for the night was at Timberline Lake. This site also offers plenty of quality camping spots, but be aware that it is a popular destination, so there is a good chance that you will have fellow campers nearby. For our Independence Day celebration, we found ourselves sharing the area with two other groups. Although the camping experience at Timberline Lake isn’t quite as impressive as that at Gertrude, there are certainly various available spots situated close to the lake. Fishing at Timberline Lake was decent, with most catches averaging around 10 to 12 inches in size. Unfortunately, much of the time during this hike will be spent walking through an old burn area, and oh boy, does it get warm in there.

Day 2 involves rounding the hillside and making your way down into the scenic Silver Run Lakes. At this point, you have two choices: you can either backtrack to find where the trail forks and go up from there, or you can save some time by rounding the hillside directly. This alternative route significantly shortens the distance, and navigating the terrain is not very difficult. There is one particularly challenging creek crossing along the way, but aside from that, the trail generally facilitates an easy expedition. The most strenuous uphill stretch occurs right at the start of Day 2.