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In the shadow of the Sawtooths: these Idaho mountains offer the essential summer vacation—smack in the middle of nowhere - Travel
Sunset, July, 2002 by Jeff Phillips
The region's other great water recreation is river rafting. The raftable section of the Salmon River below Stanley ranges from a white-knuckled maelstrom of class IV rapids during high water from mid-May into June to a tame class II family adventure in July and much of August.
But the area's greatest attraction is its hiking--some 750 miles of trails lie within the Sawtooth NRA. After nearly a week of exploring, we'd barely scratched the surface of possibilities. Most trails go up, and with Stanley sitting at about 6,300 feet, we needed a couple of days to acclimatize.
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By the fifth day of our stay, Jill and I had put ample miles on our boots. We also had driven from Galena Summit to the Yankee Fork, fished the wilderness shores of Stanley Lake, boated on Redfish Lake, and rafted the Salmon River. On our last day, we opted to kick back and enjoy the rustic luxury of our digs at the Idaho Rocky Mountain Ranch.
We caught lunker trout in the stocked pond, tossed horseshoes on the lawn, and spent the afternoon reading and enjoying the incredible mountain views from the spacious porch of the lodge, where hearty meals are served in the timbered dining room. After dinner we drove down to the ranch's private hot spring--fed soaking pool in the valley. Slipping into the steaming water, we stretched our stiff muscles and watched the first stars switch on above the now familiar silhouette of the Sawtooths. "Now this," Jill said, looking up at the moon, "is the kind of evening summer was made for."
RELATED ARTICLE: On the trail
"You can't drive through this country without wanting to get out in it, and the best way is on foot," says Sawtooth National Recreation Area manager Ed Cannady. Cannady urges hikers to start early, and take food, water, sun protection, and layers of clothing-including a rain shell. Afternoon thunderstorms are common in summer: stay off exposed peaks it lightning threatens.
For trail updates contact the Sawtooth NRA (see page 32). An excellent guidebook is Trails of the Sawtooth and White Cloud Mountains, by Margaret Fuller (Signpost Books, Edmonds, WA; 1998; $17.95; 208/5491820). Following are a few suggestions to get you started; note that difficulty ratings are relative to the altitude and terrain of this area.
Titus Lake. A hike into this emerald tarn is a good warm-up; the trail is lined with wildflowers in July.
WHERE: Park on State 75 just south of the Galena Summit, about 33 miles south of Stanley. LENGTH: 3 miles round trip.
DIFFICULTY: Easy.
Fourth of July and Washington Lakes. It's a 1 1/2-mile shady, creek-side climb to pretty Fourth of July Lake, set in a flowery meadow beneath Patterson Peak. Continue up over a ridge to larger Washington Lake, popular with anglers.
WHERE: 10 miles up gravel Fourth of July Creek Rd. from State 75 south of Stanley.
LENGTH: 6 miles round trip.
DIFFICULTY: Easy to moderate.
Alpine and Sawtooth Lakes. A full-day hike. The trail is well marked and relatively gentle up Iron Creek, becoming more difficult the last mile of the four to Alpine Lake, The final mile to Sawtooth Lake is steep, but the payoff is a splendid, mountain-rimmed lake.
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