Forum Index > Trip Reports > Roman Nose Lakes, Selkirks, Idaho - 9/30/11
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Schroder
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Joined: 26 Oct 2007
Posts: 6691 | TRs | Pics
Location: on the beach
Schroder
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PostMon Oct 03, 2011 4:13 pm 
After spending a couple of nights at Priest Lake, my wife and I wanted to get up higher in the Selkirk Mountains and that seemed to be easiest done from the Bonners Ferry area. The Roman Nose Lakes were only about 12 miles as the crow flies from where we had been on Lookout Mountain the day before but it took almost 3 hours to drive down to Priest River, over to Sandpoint, up to Naples and then 25 miles up the forest road (good road but heavy washboard) to Ruby Pass. Just above Roman Nose Lake #3 was a brand new campground, where we got set up and then wandered a couple of trails around the lake.
camp
camp
interpretive trail above Lake #3
interpretive trail above Lake #3
larch starting to turn color
larch starting to turn color
We were all alone at the campground and heard all kinds of small and large animals wandering through at night. It also poured down rain. When we got up in the morning, we put on our rain gear and then contemplated pulling up camp and heading out. The rain suddenly stopped and we were in totally clear sky about half an hour later. It eventually got to 80 degrees in the afternoon. We decided to put on the packs and head for Roman Nose via Lake #2.
Lake #3
Lake #3
new steel bridge
new steel bridge
Roman Nose
Roman Nose
trail into #2 Lake basin
trail into #2 Lake basin
#2 Lake
#2 Lake
#2 Lake
#2 Lake
Roman Nose
Roman Nose
We reached the north end of #2 Lake and followed the east shore trail to a campsite at the south end and then started traversing talus and brush to approach the mountain from below a small pass. This terrain started to get pretty nasty so we headed back and started up a large talus slope toward an upper bench below the summit cliffs. This also was more tedious than we wanted to do, so we called it quits and started back. We never found any obvious scramble route as described in Landers guide book. Looking at maps when we got back, it appears there was an access road at one time on the south ridge, some distance from the lakes.
larches
larches
larches
larches
larches at #2 Lake
larches at #2 Lake
#2 Lake
#2 Lake
#2 Lake
#2 Lake
heading back
heading back
Map of Roman Nose Lakes:
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joker
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Joined: 12 Aug 2006
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Location: state of confusion
joker
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PostMon Oct 03, 2011 5:49 pm 
Nice. We went up there with some friends from CDA, but did not get to the top of Roman Nose as we had some less able party members along that day. But in any case, one of our friends said she'd been up there with a local hiking club and she made it sound like it was pretty straightforward getting up via the west ridge (I think it's the west ridge - the ridge going off to looker's right from the summit in your photos). Apparently they then travelled the north ridge for a ways and dropped down from there back toward the lakes. Pretty area. But yeah, long-ish dirt road drive...

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Tim Gerlitz
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Joined: 09 Aug 2012
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Tim Gerlitz
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PostThu Aug 09, 2012 10:46 pm 
I'm at Romannose a few times every summer. I hike to the summit each year around my birthday. I have pictures of the tower while it was still standing in the 80's and 90's and had climbed the tower a number of times. The crows nest actually took you out over the sheer headwall cliff...yow! There are a few routes you might consider. My favorite...when you drive into the first lake, take the little spur road that connects you to the primitive campgrounds...go to the end of the road and then begin hiking up towards the south ridge. Once on top, ridge run to the summit...just stay near the ridge edge and you will find your way. The second approach is to use the established hiking trails into the 3rd lake. Go to the end of the lake and then ascend the boulder field to the saddle and then ridge run to the summit. The old lookout was destroyed by a windstorm in 1999 and the reamains are at the peak. see ya!

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