Date: 2007-09-17
To: Sawtooth Mts Idhao
Miles today: 0.0

The Idaho after action report: 12 Hikers (don¢t count too closely) Tracy Nikki Chelsey Carolyn Mary Nic Stella Isaac Faith Greg Tammy Caleb Lydia And our adventure dog, River A general layout of our week: By Saturday August 4th all of the group had arrived in Stanley, Idaho. We had arrived in small groups with a variety of travel plans. Saturday evening we are all making camp at Petite Lake primitive campground just south of Stanley. A Potluck camp meal was shared by all. Sunday we decided to take a day for regrouping, sorting and preparing our packs. We began the day with a worship service and a little singing. Lydia forgot her harmonica and Greg wasn¢t about to carry a guitar with us, so we were accapella. We piled into the cars and headed north of Stanley in search of a ghost town we had heard of. First stop was by an old Dredge that was set up as a museum. We looked at the outside but decided not to spend the $ for tickets for the tour. From there we continued on to find the ghost town. Making a wrong turn we ended up at a graveyard for the town of Bonanza¢¦. Read some really interesting stories of the people buried there. Finally got back on track and found the ghost town, Custer, which was converted into a museum. Took a tour with a wonderful guide named Jennie. Fascinating place! By the time we finished it was getting late in the day. (Late in the day means getting cold.) We headed back to camp, regrouped and decided to have dinner a little further south in Sawtooth. Steaks were wonderful! ¢¦Trout not so much.   Monday, up early and getting on the trail. Slower¢¦ I mean ¢two mile an hour¢ hikers started out first. Within thirty minutes Caleb and Isaac were taking the lead with Nikki joining them and Carolyn not far behind. Lydia, Tammy and River followed for awhile until Chelsey and Faith sped past. Coming up behind were Greg, Nic and Stella followed by Mary and Tracy. We kept generally the same pace hiking throughout the week. Our plan the first day was to hike to Edith Lake, which would have meant a seven-mile, somewhat strenuous hike. By the time we reach Farley Lake, five miles in, we stopped for a lunch break and evaluation. Some of us were really feeling the altitude and need to rest and adjust. As we ate our lunch various members of the party lost all sense and jumped into the icy cold glacier-fed lake. After much gasping and shivering the adults retreated to find shade and take a nap, leaving the teenagers on their own to come up with wild and crazy plans. With Tracy as monitor of the wild and crazy plan¢¦ it was executed. The four teenagers with Tracy in tow swam across the lake to a small island where they attempted to thaw out their limbs while pretending that that wasn¢t the silliest thing they had ever done. Common sense returning they decided it best to return via a shorter swim to another shore. This however, left them on a distant shore with a walk of about a quarter mile barefoot. Carolyn being the wonderful servant she is, saw the situation and started gathering shoes to take to them. Upon return to the lunch picnic spot the teenage scouting party reported finding a wonderful campsite on the shore where they had exited the water. As would be the regular routine for the next few days, we adjusted our hiking plan and decided to put off Edith lake for the next day and camped on the shore of Farley Lake. Tuesday morning we were up again early, packing and getting on the trail. The plan was to hike just three miles to Toxaway Lake, set up camp and those who would like could take the side trail up to Edith Lake in order to take a dip in an un-named alpine lake. After arriving a Toxaway and sitting back to enjoy the beautiful view of the mountain lake no one showed any interest in climbing up any more mountains. A few did gather up the energy to scout out the trail around Toxaway in search of a good ¢jumping rock¢ without success. Others sat at the designated ¢kitchen¢ relaxing, playing scrabble (yes, Isaac carried a scrabble game!), reading Patrick McMannus, and snoozing. Wednesday after studying the maps we decided that our one down day would need to be at Twin Lakes rather than Toxaway as originally planned. Some of the group planned to do a side trip to summit Snowy Side Peak and the trail for it was out of Twin Lakes. This meant that our tough day of hiking over the pass would be today. We started early and took it slow and steady. The terrain changed as we reached the pass. The pine forests we had been hiking in changed to dusty, rock-filled switchbacks. Finally making it to the top of the pass, the view in both directions was stunning. We stopped for lunch and group pictures, then most of the group headed down the pass toward Twin Lakes. A few stayed behind and climbed to another peak nearby¢¦. Just to say they did! The camping a Twin Lakes was still more awesome than the last. We saw more wildlife than at any other camp. The squirrels and chipmunks were especially offended by our presence and let their opinions be known. We identified a Nutcracker and early in the mornings saw deer in the meadow near our camp kitchen. This was also an excellent swimming spot, though extremely cold. Thursday we stayed put. All of the crew except Nikki, Tammy and River headed up Snowy Side Peak toward the summit. Those left at camp watch in awe as 11 tiny dots worked their way up the side of the mountain. For those who made the trek it was quite an amazing adventure. Arriving back at camp the adventurers decided to try out a great jumping rock they had found on the hike. Unfortunately it turned out to be a bit shallow and we ended up with a few scrapes and bruised bottoms from hitting the bottom of the lake. Quickly they regrouped and headed back to the camping area swimming hole. River had been quite exhausted after crossing the pass. Hot rocky paths are especially tough on paws. But after a days rest, by dinner time on Thursday she was full of energy and running circles around us all. Friday arrived and we were all about ready to head back down to Petite and search out a shower and laundry. Packing up early we headed out knowing we had seven miles of down hill ahead of us. First walking still through the high rocky talus trail¢¦ dusty and dry, crossing streams as we moved down in altitude. At one point I thought I was going to have to hold Tracy back to keep her from scouting out an incredible climbing spot. As we passed Alice Lake we noticed how many groups were camped there and were grateful we had chosen Twin Lakes instead¢¦ especially when we realized part of the crowd was a group of TWENTY boy scouts. The leaders looked wiped out. The farther down we hiked the more and more hikers we met hiking up into the mountains for the weekend. We realized we might have a hard time finding a campsite back a Petite Lake. Caleb and Isaac were sent ahead at their teenage boy speed to grab a site. Moving down further in altitude we came to a beautiful field of purple flowers.   Looking back the view was¢¦ I¢m running out of adjectives¢¦ more amazing than the last amazing!¢¦?   It was incredible¢¦ the purple flowers and behind that the green pine trees and beyond that the tall majestic mountains¢¦ it was breathtaking. Now we entered a deep, green pine forest. The path became softer, filled with pine needles, walking first along a stream and finally coming to a mile long undulating path beside Petite Lake. Meanwhile, the boys had not been able to find a campsite at Petite¢¦ it was full. As we all made our way into Petite Lake the search was begun for a campsite for the night. After much debate and driving back and forth, Nic and Stella located a site large enough for our group at Casio Creek Campground. Though it wasn¢t a beautiful campsite, it turned out to be very handy the next day. As Nic and Stella searched for a campsite the rest of the gang headed to the showers and laundry. Showers feel especially good when you REALLY need them! After everyone was clean and tents where set up, we all headed to Redfish Lake Lodge for celebration dinner. Food was good, desserts were yummy, but best of all the conversation was priceless. This is what memories are made of! Saturday we woke to a freezing morning, but continued with our plan to spend some time paddling down the river in Duckies. Before heading out we said our sad farewells to Mary who drove herself into Boise to prepare for her trip home. Then we headed into Stanley to the River 1 Outfitters. By 11:00 we were all loaded up and cruising the river¢¦ including River, but not Carolyn. Carolyn had her own adventure. We enjoyed cruising gently down the river until be came to our pink HikerChik bandana tied to a tree limb marking our campsite. Carolyn had filled a cooler with cold drinks for us and left them at the river bank. When we climbed the bank to the campsite we were greeted with hot fresh pizza for lunch. Did I already say what a servant heart Carolyn has? We were thrilled!! Then to top the surprise off, for dessert Carolyn brought out cake with birthday candles. All of our kids¢¦ Faith, Lydia, Chelsey, Caleb and Isaac have birthday¢s coming up soon, all within six weeks of each other. So we had a spontaneous birthday celebration together. Soon afterward we loaded back into the boats and headed on up the river. We had decided to take the boats past the ¢easy¢ section of the river and try out some of the rapids. At first it seemed like a great idea. Then not so much. When things started going wrong we finally banked the Duckies, came out of the water and returned the boats to the outfitters. While Greg and Tracy returned the boats the rest of the gang headed on down the road to the hot springs. Finding the pool with just the right amount of hot springs water (scalding hot) and river water (freezing cold) was quite a trick, but when worked out turned out to be a lovely relaxing way to end the adventure. That evening we did dinner at a local burger place and had a great time¢¦ though we were almost too tired to hold our eyes open. Sunday, everyone packed up and headed out in their own directions.