Splinter (Sliver) Lake
Drainage: Clarks Fork (MT)
Approaches: Lady of the Lake Trailhead — 6.74 mi as we walked it, on trail to Cliff then cross-country · Goose Lake Jeep Trail — 5 mi, 4.5 on trail
Elevation: 9,482 feet
Fish: Brook trout (FWP)
Coordinates: 45.09068, -109.85363
Bugs: Minimal on our visit
Getting there
Two ways in. FWP routes it from the Goose Lake Jeep Trail at five miles with four and a half on trail. We came from the Lady of the Lake Trailhead, up Sky Top Creek past Cliff, and the GPS put Splinter at 6.74 miles from the car.
The trail effectively ends at Cliff. From there it is under a mile of cross-country northeast to Splinter, and everything beyond is route finding.
The hike
Splinter is 6.4 acres at 9,482 feet, and it is also known as Sliver Lake.
We camped here two nights on a four day thru-hike and it earned its place. Almost everything in the upper Clarks Fork is a day trip from this shoreline. Pneumonia is seven tenths of a mile north and 450 feet up, and past it the whole shelf opens out: Recruitment, Paddle, Production, Stepping Stone and eventually Sky Top. Finger is three tenths of a mile east, Moccasin three tenths south, and Stash two miles northeast when it is time to move camp.
FWP lists brook trout. Finger, a few minutes east, holds them too and is the closer water if you want to fish without leaving camp behind.
Tips & safety
This is the basecamp for the drainage. Carry the weight in once and work the shelf on day trips. Everything above is steep enough that you would not want to be moving camp between lakes.
The trail ends at Cliff. Splinter is the first lake past the end of maintained tread, and it is the last one you reach without real route finding.
Fishing: FWP lists brook trout. Moccasin, three tenths of a mile south, has the sand bottom and the better reputation.
Camping: Splinter sits at 9,482 feet in scattered timber below the open bench, so there is wind shelter here that disappears the moment you climb toward Pneumonia. We camped two nights without trouble.
