Pneumonia Lake

Drainage: Clarks Fork (MT)
Approaches: Goose Lake Jeep Trail — 5.5 mi, 5 on trail with the last half mile off-trail; 1,200 ft up, 600 ft down · From Splinter Lake — about 0.7 mi north-northeast, 450 ft up

Elevation: 9,863 feet
Fish: No FWP data
Coordinates: 45.09745, -109.84403
Bugs: Minimal on our visit

Getting there

Pneumonia is the last lake up this drainage the trail gets close to. The Goose Lake Jeep Trail reaches it in five and a half miles with only the final half mile off trail, climbing 1,200 feet and losing 600.

We came on a thru hike that started at the Lady of the Lake Trailhead and exited at the Clarks Fork end of the Beaten Path. Two vehicles, one dropped at the exit before we started. Without a shuttle you are walking the whole thing twice.

The hike

This is where day two starts. We broke off from the Splinter camp on the second morning and followed the drainage straight up, which makes the navigation simple even where the ground is steep. It is about seven tenths of a mile north-northeast and 450 feet of climbing, and it took us a little over half an hour.

Pneumonia is 3.5 acres at 9,863 feet. The Cathedral Spires stand above the valley from here with nothing in the way of the view, which is the reason to stop rather than walk straight through.

Above Pneumonia the ground opens onto the shelf. Recruitment, Paddle and Production sit clustered a third of a mile east-northeast, and from there the day carries on up toward Stepping Stone and Sky Top.

Tips & safety

• Weather: this lake sits high in an open drainage with nothing to break a front. Layers matter here more than the short walk from camp suggests, and weather comes over this shelf fast.

• Fishing: FWP lists no species for Pneumonia.

• Navigation: following the drainage up from Splinter is the simple part. Past this lake the shelf opens out and route finding starts in earnest.

• Camping: Pneumonia sits at 9,863 feet in an open drainage, right around the upper limit of timber, so wind shelter comes in scattered pockets rather than a stand. The ground is rock and thin cover. At three and a half acres the shoreline is short, and the exposure that makes the Cathedral Spires view work also means nothing breaks the weather. We came through on the second morning without scouting sites, so take this as terrain description rather than a report on what is available.

• Thru hike logistics: this is point to point, not a loop. Your ride has to already be parked at the exit trailhead.