Coney Island Loop, 07/01/2007
We started hiking up the 4WD road, that starts at the edge of Beaver Reservoir, at 9:57. At Coney Flats we turned left onto the Coney Lake Trail at 11:21, where apparently someone had torn the sign down and there was only a signpost. Near Coney Lake, instead of going down to the shore we headed northwest, up the slope toward the saddle between Coney Island and the Continental Divide, getting there at 13:15. This was the high point of the hike at 11268 feet. From this saddle there was a dramatic rarely seen view of Sawtooth Mtn to the north, and even the summit of Coney Island to our west looked impressive.
From the Coney Island/Continental Divide saddle down to the Buchanan Pass Trail was pure paradise. From the saddle we first headed northeast down to a small lake. This lake has the distinction of having no visible inlet, it being fed by meltwater perculating throw the glacial till on its west side. From the lake we continued northeast crossing the lake's outlet and onto a green ridge of alpine meadow with an abundance of flowers such as the sunflowerlike old-man-of-the-mountains. Continuing down along the top of the ridge, we came upon a couple of deer that were laying under the shade of some stunted conifers. Further down the ridge we had to weave our way around krummholz and willow before reaching the Buchanan Pass Trail and and then returning to Coney Flats. We returned to our parking place at 16:38.
| Place name | Elev [ft] | Accuracy [ft] | Lat/Lon |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beaver Reservoir parking | 9187 | 30 | 40.12131/105.52398 |
| Coney Island/Continental Divide Saddle | 11268 | 20 | 40.12159/105.62063 |