Our original plan was to hike the Wonderland Trail around Mount Rainier. Too much snow caused us to brainstorm other good through-hikes we'd like to do. Plan B was to hike Enchanted Valley in the Olympic Peninsula for a second time and cross Anderson Pass. Again, too much snow. We asked around for some other ideas, and we decided to drive to Idaho to hike the Sawtooth Mountains. Neither of us had been there, and you can basically hike from lake to lake. So on the afternoon of June 30th, we packed up the car and headed east.
We made it to Ellensburg the first night without any issues and a brief stop in Leavenworth for beer and brats. The next day was a long one, driving through the desert of Eastern Washington and the flat lands of Idaho. Finally, gaining altitude and greener forests we arrived in the Sawtooth National Park to phenomenal views of grassy plains and jagged mountain peaks. The campground at Pettit Lake was full, but it didn't matter because there is dispersed camping available all around the park. We found a cozy spot a little off the beaten path that was a short distance from the trail head. Just behind our campsite was a little ridge with a lovely view of the mountains. We hiked up to the top at sunset and the next morning for sunrise. The colors were incredible.
Our goal was to hike to Redfish Lake from Pettit Lake. From Pettit lake there is a loop that passes Alice, Toxaway and a few other alpine lakes, and we could head over a pass to get deeper into the mountains. We ran into a few issues, and had to move on to plan C and D. The first was a very rough river crossing a few miles in toward Alice lake. The river was above the waist, very rapid, and became much worse about 100ft downriver. Crossing was frightening and not a risk we were willing to take. So, we turned around and decided to hit the loop from the other direction.
It was a beautiful trek through a sparse forest, over a far better river crossing, and across an alpine meadow with enormous boulders dispersed throughout. We encounter a few people on the trail who informed us that Toxaway Lake still had a lot of snow, and the pass was impassable due to high snow levels and avalanche danger. So, onto plan D. We decided to stay at the next closest lake to Toxaway and hike back into civilization the next day. We had a lovely night a Farley Lake. We were surrounded by high ridges dotted with trees and snow that steeply sloped into a dark lake. The lake was rimmed by cliffs, and an island or two could be seen poking out of its center. Up the trail a river noisily flowed into the lake, and down the trail you could see more mountain peaks and a valley in the distance. There were a lot of mosquitoes and it was awfully hot, but it was blissful and quiet.
Since snow was preventing us from backpacking multiple days into the mountains, we spent a few more days camped on the edge of Redfish Lake and exploring some of the day hiking trails nearby. There is a wonderful ridge trail that circles the whole lake, which we thoroughly enjoyed.
We had explored much of the accessible parts of the Sawtooth National Park, and we still had a lot of time left in our vacation, so we made the decision to travel a bit farther east to see Yellowstone. We drove east through wide open plains of Idaho, checking out the occasional sight along the way. This included stops at a few thermals spewing steam, a completely random ghost town, a raised fault line in the middle of nowhere, and a vast lava field called Craters of the Moon.
Finally, we made it to Yellowstone. It was a bit too late to find a campsite, so we found a hotel in West Yellowstone at an extraordinarily high price. Nonetheless, it was nice to have a burger for dinner instead of freeze dried food. In the morning we woke up bright and early to find the best campsite and ended up near the north end of the park at Indian Creek Campground. This was the best choice, we discovered, because it was shaded, close to Mammoth Hot Springs, and no generators allowed. From here we were able to see the highlights of the park and get in some good hiking to Fairy Falls and Bunsen Peak.
As lovely as Yellowstone is, it is also one of the most popular tourist destinations in the U.S. This on top of it being the weekend of the 4th of July made crowds and parking unbearable. While we had a great campsite, it became too much at times, so we made the decision to move on again. This time we headed south toward Bryce Canyon. It took us two days to drive through southern Idaho and Utah to the park with a great visit to Salt Lake City in between. When we arrived, we were greeted with cooler temperatures and much smaller, tolerable crowds. For the next few days, we spent our time exploring the rim of the canyon and a couple of trails under the rim. My favorite hike, by far, was the Fairyland Loop. It was gorgeous as it wound in and out of interestingly shaped rock formations. The colors transitioned from red to pink to white to yellow and back again. The views from the rim were also spectacular. Bryce was definitely the highlight of the trip.
After a few days in the park we decided to head home a little early. It took us two days to drive home from Utah. Our trip home had a bit of unplanned adventure and excitement as well. We originally planned to stay in Twin Falls, Idaho, but quickly discovered that all hotels and campgrounds were booked through to Boise. We found a last minute, over-priced hotel, which was unsavory at best. So, we had to call and search around for the last possible, decent hotel in the city. Thankfully, at 1am someone had a room with a clean bed and doors/windows that lock properly, unlike the previous place. A late night meal at Denny's and a comfortable, clean bed was all we needed to get back on the road and home.
We had some changed plans, but overall we made the best of it and had a wonderful time exploring some National Parks we have not seen yet. We still managed to get in 70 miles of hiking and a couple of days of back-country hiking. The risk of not making solid plans for a trip is that we may be turned around and end up in the not so great sleeping arrangements, but it allows for the flexibility to be whimsical and explore what we wouldn't have before. Until the next great adventure....