Upper and Lower Granite Lakes

[Jim Welch]

Upper Granite lake (4543) is at a lower elevation than Lower Granite lake (4679). Does anyone know the real background on this seemingly faux paux?

[Chris Wilson]

I don’t know the real story but a likely scenario I can come up with is that lower granite is the first lake you get to when you hike in so that you have to go “up” to get to upper granite.

[Jim Welch]

That would make sense if they were 2 lakes on the same trail, but the pathway splits at Lake Number 1.

[Brian Curtis]

See Wolcott p. 360 and p. 368. He has Big Granite (#4, Upper) at 5000′ and skinny Granite (#3, Lower) at 4500′. So as recently as the late 50s, at least, it was thought that Upper Granite was higher then Lower Granite. I don’t know if old maps were wrong at that point, or if it hadn’t been mapped yet and Wolcott was working purely from aerial photos.

[Jim Welch]

Ah! I knew someone here would shed some light on this.

Now how did the name change from “Skinny” to “Lower”?

Was there some policy at the USGS to give names to lakes via their relative elevations?

[Brian Curtis]

Skinny has never been more then a colloquial name for the lake. USGS used Wolcott for a lot of the names on their maps. And Wolcott got many of the names he used for high lakes from the Trail Blazers. That’s how a lot of Trail Blazer named lakes show up on USGS maps. Now the process is more formal.

[Jim Welch]

I like the name “Skinny Granite” lake, makes it a more unique name. There are tons of UPPERS and LOWERS but no Skinny’s and Fats.

The last time I was at (Fat) Granite (aka Upper) Lake (which is lower than Skinny-aka Lower- Granite Lake). I used my old nylon pack raft (still have it). I was using my sandals as paddles, there was a pretty good breeze blowing against me. It was really hard to paddle and fish at the same time, as soon as i stopped paddling, the breeze immediately blew me back to where I started. So I thought I would stop fishing, paddle hard up the lake and let the breeze push me back down the lake.

I paddled and paddled and paddled for an hour and a half. Finally got to the other end…and the wind shifted 180 degrees.

I was so pissed, I just walked back to camp and fished from shore the rest of the day.

[Art Jackson]

With the wealth of map resources and aerials we now have available, it’s difficult to imagine how poor the sources were prior to the mid ’60s. My dad had several USGS quads reprinted in the mid-50s that he actually used for trip planning. Big Granite lake isn’t even shown on the Glacier Peak quad (from 1899, no less).
http://kaga.wsulibs.wsu.edu/zoom/zoom.php?map=topo013
The new USGS series that came out in the mid 60s was light years better than the older maps, but were pricey. Some of my earliest off trail experiences were still done utilizing Forest Service flat maps. At least those showed most of the lakes.

[Tom Bentzen]

I like referring to them as the upper large lake and the lower large lake. The names are of course reversed.

[Sandy McKean]

The names are of course reversed

Double reversed??

[roger]

Last fall I was able to find and fish the Upper Granite Lake but couldn’t locate the trail to the Lower.
(1) Are there online maps that are reliable to use to help this next time?
(2) Anyone try to get up there yet and if so is the road clear of snow?

Thank you

[Brian Curtis]

@roger wrote:

Last fall I was able to find and fish the Upper Granite Lake but couldn’t locate the trail to the Lower.
(1) Are there online maps that are reliable to use to help this next time?

There are good topo maps online like this one (You might have to change the map to MyTopo once you get there). There probably isn’t a map that will show you a trail in that area. You’ll probably have to navigate cross-country.

(2) Anyone try to get up there yet and if so is the road clear of snow?

I haven’t been up there, but this year is so late it seems likely it is still too early to go up there.

[roger]

Brian… That’s a big help. Thank you for taking the time… Roger

[Joshua Cowart]

Snow level is at 3500 ft in the shade in that area. Just got back from that drainage.

[Boss .300 winmag]

@roger wrote:

Last fall I was able to find and fish the Upper Granite Lake but couldn’t locate the trail to the Lower.
(1) Are there online maps that are reliable to use to help this next time?
(2) Anyone try to get up there yet and if so is the road clear of snow?

Thank you

Follow the stream/ water falls that floes into Lake #1 it will lead you to the lower in elevation granite lake.

As for the higher one go to lake #1 and look up the hill from it facing south east in the clear cut which I’m sure is grown at least 20′ high reprod know then find a way trail up to the lake. Haven’t been there in years but love the area.

As you hike up the logging road and look up to the north west there is a water fall the creek that feeds has trout in it as we’ll.

[caveman]

The trail is to the left 100 to 200 yards before lake #1

Adam

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