Mallard-Larkins Mules
Mallard-Larkins (Mules)
American Fly-Fishing Magazine | November - December 2020
Barely manageable for pack-carrying bipeds, the trail into Heart Lake finishes with a steep and rocky descent. Applying scores of combined experience, life-long friends, Erick Cummings and Kenny Moore would get our four-man band of riding and pack stock safely in and back out of Heart Lake.
Heart, the third lake of our four-lake tour, rests at nearly 6,000 ft. and is the largest of 38 lakes favored with names. Heart harbors voracious Rainbow’s, some better than pan-sized. Heart is one of several individual cirques sprinkled along a westward spine of the scenic Bitterroot Range. Separating the Clearwater and St Joe river drainages, this area of approximately 260,000 acres in the northern wilds of Idaho is the Mallard-Larkin Pioneer Area.
Often, hikers choose a route from the Clearwater (south), our late July adventure began on the St. Joe River side from St Maries to Avery, Idaho. There, we made a brief stop at the Idaho Fly Fishing Company (208-245-3626) to visit with owner, Dan Mottern. It is the last/best opportunity to stock up on advice, flies, and delicious huckleberry shakes! From Avery we continued east to USFS road NF509, to Pineapple Saddle and the Table Meadows Trailhead. The trail from Table Meadows to Mallard Lake has a moderate rise and was well maintained.
Mallard Lake is a mildly impressive pond of water that was occupied by a happy fisher setting a hook on a feisty cutthroat. Oncorhynchus clarki lewisi is the Latin-cramped label for the Westslope Cutthroat trout native to our region. These trout, however, are planted by the IDF&G and are occasionally re-stocked due to the lack of suitable spawning habitat. (Use the IDF&G Fishing Planner website for maps and fish stocking data - https://idfg.idaho.gov/ifwis/fishingplanner). Mallard apparently provides perfect habitat for clouds of mosquitoes so, we bade a distant farewell to the fisherman, landing a second cuttie, and continued on.
Our first evening was spent at 5,900 ft along beautiful Fawn Lake. Spritely diminutive, Fawn Lake offered good camping and plenty of famished cutthroat trout. Generally lacking a specific hatch to hold their attention, the trout were not discriminatory in their feeding. A #14 grizzly-hackled Adams provided ample trout attraction. Like most lake fishing, the challenge is to track the direction of feeding trout and lightly settle the fly in their path.
Along craggy ridgelines, the morning ride to Heart Lake provided the most breath-taking views and, some, technical riding. On foot, hikers can expect a well-managed trail with occasional rocky ledges and climbs. Which brings us back to the beginning of this article. Wishing to avoid the moniker, “Members of the Heart Lake Mule Tragedy”, we chose the easier seven miles from Northbound Lake, trail #111 up to Sawtooth Saddle, for our return trip.
Sawtooth Saddle, on NF-395, is an excellent launching spot for hikers that wish to minimize travel and maximize fishing. Using Northbound as a base, Heart and Skyland lakes are within a few miles, west and east, resp. Waiting until later in July, as we did, increases the chance that the trail has been cleared of fallen trees and, of course, snow.
Averaging a bit larger, the Northbound Lake cutthroat aggressively pounded top-water flies! Silt laden, clear watered, shallows along the lake’s northern edge make locating fish easier but, without wading or small water craft, the brush-lined margin will require roll-casting or similar techniques.
After descending to Sawtooth Creek, crossing it a few times, we began the ascent to the similarly named saddle. It’s a tedious back and forth climb across sun-drenched, south-facing, slope. In that final climb of 2-plus miles and 16 switchbacks – we counted them – there were a few opportunities to pick huckleberries from our saddles or shaded rests.
At the trailhead there is a stream of pure crystal, cold water piped from the mountainside to fill empty water bottles and parched livestock. With a hay crib for the animals and water for everyone, it’s a sanctuary of collective repose.
The lakes of the Mallard-Larkins Pioneer Area are accessible from mid-summer through mid-autumn; the trails are generally clear of snow by late July. For details to plan a trip, see www.summitpost.org/mallard-larkins-pioneer-area/288752 and www.fs.gov/recarea/?recid=82518; and contact Idaho Panhandle National Forest, (208) 765 - 7223.