Curtis & I spent 4 days with some family members and nature last month. It started with us heading off early one morning towards Atlanta, Idaho with Rob in the Jeep and Ryan, Sabra, Rin, & Jackson in an SUV not far behind. The washboard dirt road gave us a newfound appreciation for pavement. And we discovered that even little towns with a population of 3 can have speed bumps on a bumpy, windy road to slow you down. After about 60 miles, we took a hard left right before Atlanta on China Basin road and soon thereafter found our trail head. We then got our packs strapped on and ventured off into the wilderness of the Sawtooth's where our real adventure began.
The landscape altered back and forth between shady forest and open meadows while the sun pounded us with it's rays. We forded many creeks and even came across a part of the river that we had to cross with pant legs rolled up and water shoes on (and may I note...as hot as it was outside, the temperature of the river could turn you into an instant icicle).
The hike carried on up and down hills, by waterfalls...and did I mention that it carried on uphill?! We hiked almost 10 miles that quickly careened up 2000 ft in elevation. The steep uphill soon became somewhat daunting with 40 lb packs on our backs, but we made it. And was it worth it?! We hiked in to the second of four of the Scenic Lakes. We camped, cooked, and hung out right beside a beautiful (and, yes...cold) mountain lake. Curtis, Rob, Ryan, & Rin cliff dove (I of course, took pictures and video - the freezing cold water was much less tempting to me)...and Curtis summited the surrounding mountains with Rob, finding a cool snow cave that they later tried to destroy.
When it came time to leave, we packed up our camp and set out the same way we hiked in. Our packs were lighter and our energy reboosted. The daunting steep uphill turned in to beautiful downhill slopes that took half the time to get down as it did going up. And at the very end, we dipped our bare feet in the inviting, yet freezing mountain water for a while, then packed up the cars for the bumpy ride home.
All in all, it was a great adventure! The Sawtooth's are beautiful! And we really enjoyed the time we got to share together.
The landscape altered back and forth between shady forest and open meadows while the sun pounded us with it's rays. We forded many creeks and even came across a part of the river that we had to cross with pant legs rolled up and water shoes on (and may I note...as hot as it was outside, the temperature of the river could turn you into an instant icicle).
The hike carried on up and down hills, by waterfalls...and did I mention that it carried on uphill?! We hiked almost 10 miles that quickly careened up 2000 ft in elevation. The steep uphill soon became somewhat daunting with 40 lb packs on our backs, but we made it. And was it worth it?! We hiked in to the second of four of the Scenic Lakes. We camped, cooked, and hung out right beside a beautiful (and, yes...cold) mountain lake. Curtis, Rob, Ryan, & Rin cliff dove (I of course, took pictures and video - the freezing cold water was much less tempting to me)...and Curtis summited the surrounding mountains with Rob, finding a cool snow cave that they later tried to destroy.
When it came time to leave, we packed up our camp and set out the same way we hiked in. Our packs were lighter and our energy reboosted. The daunting steep uphill turned in to beautiful downhill slopes that took half the time to get down as it did going up. And at the very end, we dipped our bare feet in the inviting, yet freezing mountain water for a while, then packed up the cars for the bumpy ride home.
All in all, it was a great adventure! The Sawtooth's are beautiful! And we really enjoyed the time we got to share together.
