Star Dust Lake

Drainage: Stillwater
Approaches: Goose Lake Jeep Trail — 1.8 mi one way; 420 ft up. Path to Panhandle Lake, then about 0.6 mi cross-country

Elevation: 9,521 feet
Fish: No FWP data
Coordinates: 45.09834, -109.95169
Bugs: Minimal on our visit

Getting there

Getting to the start is half the trip. The Goose Lake Jeep Trail needs an ATV, an off-road buggy or a genuinely capable off-road vehicle. Nothing standard will make it.

Your driving ends at the turnaround near the Goose Creek waterfall, where you park and shoulder packs. Just before the trail ends near the falls, look for a hard right that points you north. That is where the walking starts.

Check your undercarriage before you leave the machine, and again when you come back. Pine marten are active in this basin and they chew wires and cables under parked vehicles. This is your ride home.

The hike

1.8 miles out with 420 feet of climbing, which makes this the shortest walk to any lake in the basin.

Start on the short, well defined path running north past Wall Lake and Panhandle. Easy walking on obvious ground.

Once you leave the Panhandle shoreline the path stops. From there it is about six tenths of a mile cross country through timber and rock to Star Dust. Nothing technical, but you pick your own line.

Star Dust is small, 0.7 acres at 9,521 feet, the smallest named water in this basin. FWP has no data for it, which means no stocking record rather than a confirmed empty lake. We fished it and did not catch anything.

Anvil is about a mile further north and is the basecamp for everything above.

Tips & safety

• The path ends at Panhandle. Everything past it is route finding through timber and rock. If you want a short walk with no navigation, Panhandle is the turnaround.

• Some maps and books spell it Stardust, as one word.

• Weather: high country with nothing to break a front. Come prepared for sustained cold rain rather than a passing shower.

• Vehicle care: check your lines and undercarriage before leaving the machine at the waterfall, and again before you drive out.

• Fishing: no FWP record for this lake. We caught nothing.

• Camping: Star Dust sits at 9,521 feet in timber below the open bench, so there is wind shelter here. At 0.7 acres the shoreline is very short and there is little room. Anvil, a mile north, is 10 acres and the far better camp.