Patient Lake

Drainage: Boulder
Approaches: Approximately 17 miles round trip from the Fourmile trailhead, with roughly 3,600 feet of climbing. No trail above Silver Lake.
Elevation: 9,659 feet
Fish: No FWP data.
Coordinates: 45.37134, -110.3513
Bugs: Never bad.

Getting there

Everything up to Silver Lake applies here first, and Silver is where we camped.

From the outlet the route runs north up the drainage. There is no trail. It is about a mile and a quarter and 700 feet of climbing to the shore, and it took us a little over an hour on day packs.

The grade is gentle for the first half mile along the flat above Silver, then it stands up. Our track picked up 500 feet in the last three tenths of a mile before the water.

The hike

Patient is small, about six acres, sitting at 9,659 feet a little over 600 feet above Silver.

You come out of the trees on the way up. There is nothing at the lake and no firewood, so Silver stays the base.

It is the first lake in the chain above camp, and the ridge on its east side is what you cross to get to Speculator.

Tips & safety

• Navigation: No trail above Silver. North up the drainage from the outlet, a mile and a quarter, with the steep part in the last third.

• Camping: Nothing at the lake. Above treeline, no firewood. Silver has the camping and is close enough to work from.

• Fishing: No FWP data. We did not fish it.

• Bugs: Not bad