For Labor Day Weekend, I decided to head over to Hells Canyon National Recreation Area. Since visiting the area last year, doing a large hike has been on my list of things I’ve been wanting to do. With some research, I decided to do the Seven Devils Loop, looping around the Seven Devils Mountains on the Idaho side of the canyon. Along with taking several side trips along the way, I had a difficult but amazing weekend of backpacking.
Category: Journeys
Sawtooth Wilderness : Eclipse Backpacking Sawtooth Lake, Baron Lakes, Cramer Lakes
For “Eclipse Weekend”, I decided to spend 3 nights and 4 days out backpacking in the Sawtooth Wilderness. I planned out a large loop route that would give me a wonderful view of several sites throughout the wilderness, including a great view for the eclipse itself.
Sawtooth Wilderness : Alice-Toxaway Loop Hike
On Last Friday (flashing back to August 11), I drove into Boise for some hiking supplies, with the plan to return to Stanley and go on a long day hike Saturday. Unfortunately, Tivona ended up having problems and I ended up stuck in Boise until Sunday morning. Nonetheless, I drove the loaner car the dealership gave me off to the Pettit Lake area outside of Stanley and ended up doing the full Alice-Toxaway Lakes Loop Hike, as a day hike.
Hyndman Saddle Hike
On Saturday, I woke up early and headed to the trailhead, intending to hike up to Hyndman Peak, the high point of Central Idaho’s Pioneer Mountains. The overall hike ended up being a difficult one, with more constant beauty than I had expected. It has easily become one of my favorite hikes of the year so far!
Sun Valley Boondocking, Pioneer Cabin Hike
Originally I intended to spend a weekend in Yellowstone doing some hiking, but as I had to go find usable internet reception on Friday for work, I gave up and headed to Central Idaho. I found a lovely boondocking site in Sun Valley, allowing 16 days stay. On Sunday, I ended up also going on a hike nearby, to Pioneer Cabin–an historic ski lodge high up in the Pioneer Mountains.
Moving on to Idaho (Red Rock Pass)
Through all of the hiking and adventure in Colorado, I finally decided I had enough of it and moved on this past weekend. With one night at Rabbit Ears Pass outside of Steamboat Springs, I spent Saturday traveling through Wyoming to Grand Teton. After dealing with some unexpected car troubles, on Monday, I finally made myself to a boondocking site at Red Rock Pass in Idaho.
Rocky Mountain NP : Mount Ida Hike
This last weekend, I returned to Rocky Mountain National Park once again to hike to the summit of Mount Ida. Starting at Milner Pass Trailhead, the path quickly climbs above treeline before disappearing in the alpine tundra and rock fields leading to the summit. It proved to be a beautiful hike, and perhaps my favorite that I’ve completed within this park.
Rocky Mountain NP : Nokoni Lake Hike
Over the last week, I was looking at several different hikes in Rocky Mountain National Park. I ended up deciding that trying to do the about 21 mile hike to Lake Nokoni and Lake Nanita sounded amazing. On Saturday, I set out on the hike, finding my way to Lake Nokoni and partaking in quite the adventure.
Rocky Mountain National Park
This last weekend, I didn’t really have any plans. I started out driving over Independence Pass on Friday but finished back in Leadville for the night. Saturday, I made my way up to Rocky Mountain National Park, where I took Sunday to do one large hike in the Bear Lake region of the park.
Million Dollar Highway to Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP
This weekend, I decided to leave my spot near Cortez and head further North. I drove back to Durango and headed up US 550. I found a campsite near the Potato Lake Trailhead, where I stopped to hike to Potato Lake before crossing the Million Dollar Highway on Saturday. Visiting the south rim of Black Canyon of the Gunnison, I stayed the night at the South Rim Campground before heading to the North Rim on Sunday and eventually making my way to camping at Washington Gulch outside of Crested Butte, CO for the week.