Little Johnson LakeOne Way 5.3 miles, 1650 feet
A moderate hike to an unusual lake for the Pintlers, since most lakes are in cirques a bit higher elevation. It's a shallow lake, I don't think any fish, surrounded by a few grassy areas and forest. Very pretty destination. 90% of this trail burned recently, so it is no longer a forested, shady climb up the drainage. Thankfully, the fire spared the lake. Start early and bring plenty of water.
Description
From the Middle Fork Rock Creek trailhead the trail heads towards Phyllis Lake and Bitterroot Pass. The sign at the trailhead says 6 miles to each. Little Johnson Lake is half a mile below Bitterroot Pass. Most of this trail burned in (I think) 2017.
The first part of the trail is gentle and quickly crosses the creek on a sturdy bridge, then starts to climb after crossing a few recently constructed boardwalks to keep the traffic out of the muck. On a hot day, take your canine down to the creek at the bridge - the next water is a little over a mile in.
The trail leaves the creek and climbs up the shoulder of the gentle ridge to the left, and then for the next few miles steadily grinds up to the junction with the Hi Line Trail. Over this span there are 3 or 4 nice little streams crossing from uphill, giving your pup an opportunity to cool off and drink.
The trail in the middle section in this area is poor by Pintler standards. In places it is very rocky, deeply rutted, and not well routed. I wonder if the trail was quickly re-routed after the fire and if management is still catching up. The early part of this trail shows commitment to improvement.
About 3.7 miles from the trailhead the trail finally flattens out and leads to the base of a nice sized meadow. This is the junction with the Hi Line trail which heads east toward Phyllis Lake and west toward Little Johnson Lake, Bitterroot Pass. This small fork crosses the creek, enters green forest for a bit, then climbs steadily over a few small ridges until the trail straightens out to the approach to the lake, where it slightly drops down to the shore.
On August 2, 2020, as we approached the lake we saw a side slope of thick Paintbrush, and as we walked around the lake we saw a spectacular display of Lupine. Years ago we climbed the pass about 1/2 mile beyond the lake. It’s a good climb, but worth it - the views are spectacular. If you go over the pass, you drop down into the access for Kelly, Ripple and Hidden Lakes.
Getting There
From Phillipsburg drive 6 miles south on state highway 1. Turn right onto highway 38. Drive about 6 miles, after mile marker 46, then turn left onto Moose Lake Road. Drive 15 miles up this good gravel road to the trailhead. You will pass Moose Lake on the way. The trailhead has plenty of parking, horse facilities, and an outhouse.