Lake Caroline (6,190') is located 5.1 miles from Eightmile Trailhead in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. It sits just below treeline at the head of Pioneer Creek. The Eightmile Trail runs 2.65 miles to the Eightmile Trout Creek Trail, which splits NW on a steep, 2.45 mile climb to Caroline in the adjacent valley. Eightmile Lake (4,641') is located .6 miles from the split in a large, rocky bowl framed by Jack Ridge and the Stuart Range.

Lake Caroline lies in a high subalpine bowl topped by an unnamed 7,057' peak

Ponderosa pine trees are well-suited to survive periodic, low intensity fires primarily due to their thick, corky outer bark; deep roots insulated by soil and surface debris can also withstand fire and remain functional

The Alpine Lakes Wilderness covers approximately 394,000 acres accessed by 47 trailheads and 615 miles of trail

Large meadows on the west side of Little Caroline Lake are an ideal place to find solitude, blueberries and wildlife

The Eightmile-Trout Creek Trail climbs 1,917' in just 2.3 miles to a ridge with panoramic views across high peaks in the Enchantments; from here it drops sharply to Lake Caroline

Little Caroline Lake is located .75 miles from Caroline Lake off a short spur; though the lake itself is small and shallow, the vicinity is open with mild terrain ideal for exploration

Fire regimes are influenced greatly by climate, vegetation types and by topographic and geologic features that either facilitate or restrict fire spread (Agee 1993, Camp and others1997, Taylor and Skinner 1998)

Hairy Woodpeckers are common in mature forests with mature trees, but are also drawn to burn areas where food is easily exposed

The trail passes Little Eightmile Lake (which is more of a pond) just before reaching the Eightmile-Trout Creek Trail split at 2.65 miles

A spur trail leads past Little Caroline Lake into open meadows, a diverse composite of marsh, oxbow inlet streams, grassy swales and blueberry patches

Iconic peaks in the Enchantments nudge over the tall ridge framing Eightmile Lake; you'll have great views of these on the rapid climb to Caroline

Eightmile Lake is located in a large, rocky bowl under Jack Ridge (west); this area has been hit hard by fire, slides and blowdowns in recent years

Lake Caroline is ringed by timber that limits access to just a few points, but better views can be had from high outcrops on the NW side

High, thinly treed subalpine slopes above Eightmile Lake were largely unaffected by recent fires

The trail continues past Caroline across high open slopes and ridges to Windy Pass