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slave524
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slave524
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PostThu Jul 16, 2009 9:06 am 
Good day all, We are going to go to Wiseman lake this weekend. We have taken a few trips to this area this season to Doreen and Elbow lakes, but I have some questions about the trails in that are and about the route to Wiseman. The white is the way we went. The blue is a lame version of what the map says
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A few years back you could drive up to a trail head that was maybe a mile to Doreen and Elbow, but it is now gated off where the road Ys about 4 miles back, if you take the left hand road (at the Y down to the end there is a trail register for Elbow Lake. You follow that to the bridge and the trail splits (right before the bridge). On the 3 maps I have looked at there is a trail that I believe is called the Bell Pass trail and it meets up with the last 1/4 mile of the now gated portion of the road, crosses it and keeps on going On 1 of those maps it shows another trail that misses the road completely and meets up with the Bell Pass trail near the lakes, this is the trail we took (across the bridge) On the way back we took the other trail (Bell Pass) that spit us out at the end of the gated road but lo and behold we could not find where trail went back into the woods on the other side of the road, so we just walked the road back Questions: at the first trail split before the bridge: Is that the Bell Pass Trail that leads to the road and where does it pop out on to the road? Or: Do our maps just suck? also: the trail we took over the bridge was a really nice trail, but now it is marred by old growth blow downs that make getting around it a pain. How is the other trail? Okay, now onto Wiseman! Anyone been there? Looks like there is no trail, is that true? My hiking partner was there in there 80s and he said no trail but that was a long time ago Here is a pic of the area. The path I drew is what I thought may be the best route
possible route to Wiseman Lake
possible route to Wiseman Lake

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slabbyd
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PostThu Jul 16, 2009 11:55 am 
Thats a beautiful untouched area. I've only approached from the middle fork of the Nooksack so I can't answer your trail questions. The outlet of Lake Wiseman is probably not the best place to camp. Try some meadows several hundred above the lake and to the west or the small tarn even further west. Below treeline I've never found a good trail up there though there are certainly bits and pieces of flagging to help get you lost. Above treeline there are hints of an old path just about where you drew a path in that last picture. I should also mention that is really rugged terrain at the boot level. The brush is very thick below treeline and above the ground is brutally hard and rocky. You'll either encounter no one or a large NOLS group at the lake. Best of luck.
Lake Wiseman
Lake Wiseman
Tarn to West
Tarn to West

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slave524
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PostThu Jul 16, 2009 12:34 pm 
Awesome! It is cool to see some pictures, too Our plan is to camp at Elbow lake and hike up to Wiseman for the day from there, so we don't have to try to haul all our gear up the side of the hill

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Dringo
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PostMon Aug 03, 2015 6:43 am 
Just got back from Lake Wiseman. It's gorgeous! And the warm summer made the water inviting -- I could swim for quite a while without getting chilled. On the other hand, it was extremely difficult getting there. I hiked up the Elbow Lake trail to where it meets Hildebrand Creek, and bushwhacked / climbed from there. It took me five hours on the upper route, over the rockfalls, and five hours back on the lower route, bushwhacking, to cover the one mile from the trail. I don't recommend it to anyone who is not in top shape. (OK, I'm 62 and not as tough as I once was.) A detailed topo map is a must to avoid the cliffs and rockfalls.

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slave524
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PostMon Aug 03, 2015 7:31 am 
Dringo wrote:
Just got back from Lake Wiseman. It's gorgeous! And the warm summer made the water inviting -- I could swim for quite a while without getting chilled. On the other hand, it was extremely difficult getting there. I hiked up the Elbow Lake trail to where it meets Hildebrand Creek, and bushwhacked / climbed from there. It took me five hours on the upper route, over the rockfalls, and five hours back on the lower route, bushwhacking, to cover the one mile from the trail. I don't recommend it to anyone who is not in top shape. (OK, I'm 62 and not as tough as I once was.) A detailed topo map is a must to avoid the cliffs and rockfalls.
We never did make it up there, but it still comes up in conversation as a 'need to get up there sometime' . I think the terrain has been somewhat of a deterrent LOL. Did you happen to do any fishing while you were there?

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Dringo
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PostMon Aug 03, 2015 11:21 am 
No, I don't have the patience for fishing. Has the lake been stocked? I doubt any fish would get up there naturally. Talking to other hikers, I gather that nearby Elbow Lake is a great spot for fishing, and far easier to get to -- two hour hike in on a good trail, from the Middle Fork. Now is a good time to go, as the river is low, and there are a couple of logs across. There's a route from the Baker Lake road as well.

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slave524
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PostTue Aug 04, 2015 7:23 am 
Dringo wrote:
No, I don't have the patience for fishing. Has the lake been stocked? I doubt any fish would get up there naturally. Talking to other hikers, I gather that nearby Elbow Lake is a great spot for fishing, and far easier to get to -- two hour hike in on a good trail, from the Middle Fork. Now is a good time to go, as the river is low, and there are a couple of logs across. There's a route from the Baker Lake road as well.
Wiseman has been stocked with Rainbows, but that was back in '08. Elbow is a nice little lake to fish, also Doreen is in the same area and has some trout in it too. I would love to make it to Wiseman. To see it as much as fish it Thanks!

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Sore Feet
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PostTue Aug 04, 2015 8:03 pm 
Its been a few years since I did this area, but I don't even recall the Bell Pass trail being something that splits off of the Elbow Lake trail near the trailhead. My understanding was you either take the Elbow Lake Trail, or you walk the gated road to the Bell Pass Trailhead, and then go from there. The funny thing is, if it DOES connect, the MBSNF doesn't have it indicated such in their Trails KMZ file, while they DO show a trail to Wiseman Lake (which I don't believe exists). As far as getting up to the lake, I ascended a mostly dry streambed just a little southwest of Lake Doreen to about 4300', and then traversed over the shoulder to the north and around the ridge toward the lake. Ended up camping on the ridge near a snowmelt tarn and never made it down to the lake. Its definitely brushy until you clear tree line, and then there are a ton of big boulders to deal with, but the rock is at least very, very grippy and rather fun to scramble on.

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Chico
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PostTue Aug 04, 2015 10:25 pm 
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Chico
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PostTue Aug 04, 2015 10:29 pm 
Sore Feet wrote:
which I don't believe exists
Perhaps not but it's in their GIS data which I converted to a KML so I could display it using GMap4.

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Groundhog223
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Groundhog223
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PostTue Jun 23, 2020 2:18 pm 
Well, looks like there's no recent trip reports anywhere. Travelled up to Wiseman the other day, a little early in the summer but I'd reckon the snow helped for travel along some of the steep sections. Terrain was pretty easy going the way me and my partner took, were able to get up there in a little over 2 hours from the middle for road. In my picture you can see Wiseman in the bottom right corner, it was completely covered in snow except for a small section at the start of green creek.

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