Stanley Lake has everything for an easy-going, scenic mountain experience

Stanley Lake with McGowan Peak looming in the background.

Hi all,

We went up to Stanley Lake in Stanley last weekend to do a little camping, hiking, swimming and R&R, and we really enjoyed the trip.

I thought I'd share a few tidbits about our trip in case you might want to visit that popular spot in the future.

Stanley Lake is a gorgeous setting on the northwest corner of the Sawtooth Mountains. But there's a paved road to the campground and day use area, so it does get more traffic than a more off-the-beaten-track destination in the Sawtooths. That said, it's not nearly as busy as the Redfish Lake area.

Drew is a trouper ... did the hike to Bridal Veil Falls no problem.

I took Wendy and my son Drew to Stanley Lake as a cool place to swim on a hot weekend, and a convenient jump-off spot to hike up to Bridal Veil Falls on the Stanley Lake Creek Trail. We also planned to camp in a primitive spot on the way to the lake. I had initially planned an ambitious hike to Observation Peak, but decided that a lower-key trip on the well-maintained trail to Lady Face Falls and Bridal Veil Falls would work best for Wendy and Drew.

As things turned out, the hike was great ... it's a 9-mile jaunt round-trip to Bridal Veil Falls, so it's still a substantial hike. It took us several hours to get up there, including a substantial creek-crossing, and about 1.5 hours back. Drew was right on my heels or walking ahead of me the whole way ... it was a good distance for him. Vertical gain is about 500 feet. The trail gradient is very easy until the last mile or so to the falls.

Very well-maintained trail going up Stanley Lake Creek.

Be sure to take the side trip to Lady Face Falls on the way. You can get quite close to that rushing steep rapids, much closer than you can get to Bridal Veil Falls. There is no trail to Bridal Veil, BTW, so it's best to view that from a distance. I hadn't been up to Bridal Veil in more than 20 years, so it was fun to see that water rushing down the mountain from the Hansen Lakes and the peaks above, roaring over the rocks in the image of an arched, white bridal veil.

Last Saturday afternoon, even though we were at 6,500-foot elevation, it was pretty hot in the afternoon. Stanley Lake was a welcome sight after our hike. Time to set up the lawn chairs, go swimming and hang out at the lake! We did that on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon, and really enjoyed hanging out by the water. The water temperature was still quite cold, so Wendy couldn't exactly swim across the bay, like she often might do.

Large beach area for swimming, SUP'ing, hanging out ...

We saw people Stand Up Paddle Boarding on the lake, kayaking, fishing and canoeing. There were maybe one or two power boats on the water ... There are ample areas where you can hang out by the lake on the beach. The Forest Service has moved the campground to the south end of the lake, and converted the north side to day use. There are parking areas and rest rooms for both the Stanley Lake Creek Trailhead and for the Stanley Lake day use area. Both parking lots were full and overflowing last weekend, but there was still plenty of elbow room on the beach.     

Drew and Steve

Watch out for bugs! We had plenty of bug dope, but the no see 'ems seem to have gotten the better of us we noticed after the trip. Little tiny red welts everywhere, and they itch like crazy for a couple of days! Forest Service officials at the Stanley Ranger Station report that bugs have been pretty major by all of the Sawtooth major lakes. Mosquitoes and horseflies are out in force as well. Wearing long sleeves and pants can help! Bring plenty of your favorite insect repellent.

Camping at Stanley Lake - There are several places where you can car camp in self-supportive primitive spots on the way into Stanley Lake. We prefer to do that since we are still tent-campers, and we have all of the self-support camping stuff handy from our river trip gear. These areas are all marked as such by the Forest Service. For camping at the official Stanley Lake Campground, contact recreation.gov to check on availability and make reservations. Grabbing a camp spot directly on the lake would be premium and worth the extra bucks! Camping fees are $18-$36/night.

Photo courtesy IWA High-siding at Howard's Plunge

everal related articles I've seen this week:

• Spokesman Review outdoor writer Eli Francovich article about a 3-day trip in the Sawtooths 
• Escape the heat, go fishing at Idaho high mountain lakes by Roger Phillips for IDFG.  

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The Idaho Whitewater Association is hosting "Safety Saturday" this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the Main Payette River. Sign up at Banks at 10 a.m. on Saturday. See Facebook event page for details ... I highly recommend participating if you need to sharpen up your river safety skills -- always a good thing to stay sharp!

Heading to Stanley for 4th of July? Five rock-solid ideas for hiking and biking in the area

Group at Bench Lakes (courtesy of Knowles Gallery.) 

Hi all,

I sure am enjoying the cooler weather that we're experiencing right now, and it is expected to stay on the cooler side for the 4th of July holiday if you're planning on heading into the mountains. High temperatures are expected to be in the low 70s in the mountains this weekend (60s on Friday), and continuing into next week for the holiday. Perfect weather for hiking and biking!

I did a post recently on some popular and scenic trails that are open for hiking and biking in the McCall area, and so for this week, I'm recommending 5 rock-solid ideas in the Stanley area. These are mostly hikes and one ride. Overall, I am hearing that snow levels are between 8,500-9,000 feet in the Stanley area, creek crossings are high and hazardous (bring hiking poles and a rope for safety), but the snow is melting quickly. 

As you break out of the trees on the Boundary Creek Trail, the views get more and more spectacular. 

1. Boundary Creek Trail in the White Cloud Mountains - The Boundary Creek Trail rises steeply from the valley floor (trailhead is across Idaho 75 from the Sawtooth Hatchery), and for that reason, the trail affords magnificent views of the Sawtooth Valley, the Sawtooth Mountains and Redfish Lake as you climb the mountain. Here's an online map of the trail. It's about 3 miles to the top, and 2,000 feet of climbing. Rated strenuous but worth the effort for the big view! This trail is best for hiking, but hard-core strong bikers could climb it as well.

Bridal Veil Falls (courtesy of Idaho Campground Review) 

2. Hike to Bridal Veil Falls from Stanley Lake - Roundtrip distance is about 8 miles. Only 570 feet of elevation gain. Rated easy to moderate. This is a popular hike for good reason ... it's very scenic at the falls. Here's a nice writeup on the trip with a short video of the falls. 

3. Hike to Bench Lakes from Redfish Lake Lodge - Take the Bench Lakes trail from the trailhead next to Redfish Lake Lodge and hike to one of the lower Bench Lakes. The uppermost lakes are likely to be snow-bound. There are five lakes overall. Here's a nice writeup from the Outbound Collective. Distance round-trip is about 8 miles, depending on which lake you go to. Rated easy to moderate.

Hell Roaring Lake (courtesy of Idaho Campground Review)

4. Hike to Hell Roaring Lake or Imogene Lake in the Sawtooths - It's an easy 5.5-mile hike to Hell Roaring Lake in the Sawtooths. You'll need a 4WD vehicle to reach the trailhead. The trail is pretty flat, less than 1,000 feet of elevation gain. But the payoff is big with spectacular views of the Sawtooths at the lake, and super cool view of the Finger of Fate. See writeup and pics courtesy of Matt Leidecker, author of excellent full-color guides to the Sawtooths and the White Clouds.

Margie and a couple of teen-age boys loved the Potato Mountain Ride ... Quinn wasn't so sure at the time. 

5. Ride the Potato Mountain Loop near Stanley - This is one of my favorite bike rides. The crossing of Big Basin Creek might be kind of gnarley this time of year, but it sure is fun to do the ride. It's about 13.5 miles to do the loop. It starts out kind of steep but once you get over the hill and drop into Little Basin Creek, you're smiling all the way. The trail runs very close to the creek. See full description on the MTB Project site. I took my son Quinn on this ride when he was about 13, and he whined most of the way, but he survived. Several other teen-age kids went with us. So that's an option if you want to take kids.

Have a great 4th of July holiday!
- SS  

It's prime time to head into the Sawtooth Mountains for a hiking or backpacking adventure

Fishhook Creek with the Sawtooths in the background. (Courtesy Matt Leidecker)

Everly Peak in the background, Lake 8696 (Courtesy Matt Leidecker) 

Sawtooth Lake (Courtesy Matt Leidecker)

Hi all,

Several weeks of hot weather has melted most of the snow in the high country, so it's a perfect time to go day hiking or backpacking in the mountains of Idaho.

Here's the audio from Steve's appearance on 94.9 FM The River Friday, July 27, discussing this blog. 

This week I'm going to focus on the Sawtooth Mountains, Idaho's crown jewel. The inspiration for this week's blog comes from Matt Leidecker, a native Idahoan from the Wood River Valley who has created a new guide to the Sawtooths titled "Exploring the Sawtooths - A Comprehensive Guide."
The 144-page full-color spiral-bound guide is hot off the press. It retails for $33.

Leidecker broke into the guidebook business with a full-color guide to the Middle Fork of the Salmon River several years ago. His guide was very well-received. Being a licensed river guide, he could speak with authority about negotiating the Middle Fork's many rapids at various river flows, and provide lots of other helpful information.

I was kind of surprised when Leidecker mentioned that he's been working on a guide to the Sawtooths because that area has been covered quite extensively by other authors. Margaret Fuller published her 5th edition of "Trails of the Sawtooth and White Cloud Mountains" in 2011. Scott Merchant published "The Day Hiker's Guide to Stanley, Idaho" in 2009. There also are rock-climbing guides to the Sawtooths and valuable online sources such as summitpost.org, which has excellent information about climbing peaks in the Sawtooths. 

In the summer of 2011, Leidecker decided that he would try to produce the most comprehensive guide yet published on Idaho's most spectacular mountain range. He and his wife, Christine, spent the summer base-camping out of a motor home with their two young children, aged 2 and 4, and set out to the hike all of the trails in the Sawtooths and climb many of the peaks. They logged 751 miles on the trail, and spent 55 days hiking, backpacking and mountain biking, logging a total of 157,000 vertical feet of climbing and descending. Whew!

The Leidecker Family 

"On the off days, we shared the Sawtooths with our children, playing on the lakeshore beaches, exploring the trails in the foothills, and camping with family and friends. Needless to say, it was an incredible experience," he says.


What's different about Leidecker's guides is that they are in full color inside and out, which makes them more expensive. Among guidebook publishers (I am one of them), the rule of thumb has been that there is a magical price point of $20.00, and you need to stay below that. To do so, the inside pages must be black and white to keep costs down. Leidecker decided that he'd rather produce a book in color and see if the market follows him. At $33, he is really pushing the envelope with his Sawtooth guide from a price perspective, but the well-heeled Sun Valley market is the most likely place where people will pay that kind of money for a guidebook.

Leidecker's guide contains some nifty regional maps for all corners of the Sawtooth Mountains to show the big picture, and then it provides detailed color maps, color photos and written descriptions for all of the key trail and destinations. There are notes about mountain biking in the Sawtooths, but most of the Sawtooths are designated as wilderness (meaning no bikes allowed), and Leidecker notes that mountain biking in the range is very rocky and not as biker-friendly as many other venues.

A colorful guide to wildflowers in the Sawtooths is a nifty component to the book. I've always carried a separate wildflower guide on my mountain adventures, so that's cool to have the wildflower guide incorporated into the guidebook.

I asked Leidecker, after all the research, where are the "hidden gems" in the Sawtooths that no one knows about? As we all know, the mountains are very well traveled and probably the single most popular summertime backcountry destination in the state. He paused for a moment, and then said "If you go deep into the wilderness, you won't see as many people." The trails in the Atlanta side of the Sawtooths, for example, are the least-traveled because it's a long drive to reach the trailheads in that area. I certainly would agree.

I remember backpacking from Little Queens River to Browns Lake one time, and it was fabulous. We didn't see another human for 3 days. I caught some nice fish in Browns Lake with my fly rod. Leidecker's guide notes that this hike is 9.2 miles one-way, it features 3,220 vertical feet of climbing, and it's rated "hard." I agree with that as well.

How about the best trips for kids? Alpine Lake, accessed from the Iron Creek Trailhead near Stanley, is a great trail for kids. I took my kids on a day hike to Alpine Lake last year over Labor Day weekend. We saw an amazing number of families with young kids backpacking into Alpine Lake. I was impressed.

My boys on the hike to Alpine Lake 

It's about 4 miles one-way to Alpine Lake, with 1,173 vertical feet of climbing, and it's rated easy. Sawtooth Lake is just another mile or so up the trail (and 600 more feet of climbing) but there aren't hardly any places to camp there. It's a gorgeous location, though, to be sure! 

If you'd like to day hike to a peak in the Sawtooths, Leidecker's guide has all of the details for you to choose from. I also found a great list easy scrambles to Sawtooth mountain peaks on summit post. The #1 suggestion is Observation Peak, which has utterly spellbinding views from the summit, and it's the only peak in the Sawtooths with a trail to the top. That peak is 8.1 miles from Stanley Lake, with 2,664 vertical feet of climbing, and it's rated moderate. It's a great introduction to climbing peaks in the Sawtooths and getting a taste of what you'll see up there -- a veritable sea of spires and peaks for as far as the eye can see.

No matter how many books and maps you have on the Sawtooths, you'll have to check out Leidecker's guide and compare. Here's a web site where you can pre-order an autographed copy of the guide for just another 5 days. After that, the guide will be available in outdoor stores and book shops in Boise in a week or two. You also could buy it online on Leidecker's book site.

Before you go ... listen to these words from Liese Dean, the Forest Service wilderness manager for the Sawtooths, whom Leidecker quoted in his guide: 

"During your trip you will find that the Sawtooth Wilderness gets into your soul. What you don’t see is as important as what you do see. Climb a peak and you can sense that you are the first. Look up to the sky and see the stars as you’ve never seen them. Know that you’re alive with a dip in one of the hundreds of icy clear lakes. And when you return to everyday life, remember that the Sawtooth Wilderness remains a place where you can find yourself in a way that is not possible anywhere else.

"I have a responsibility to ensure that the Sawtooth Wilderness lasts forever. This responsibility
is not mine alone. With the freedom of wilderness travel also comes responsibility - to care for and to protect the land, the water and the wildlife. As you embark on your visit please take time to think about the fact that the choices you make on your wilderness trip can have far-reaching consequences. With Federal protection, careful management and responsible use, the Sawtooth Wilderness will remain an enduring resource to be enjoyed by all generations."


If you go to the Sawtooths this weekend, be sure to take in the Sawtooth Music Festival!

Here's the audio from Steve's appearance on 94.9 FM The River Friday, July 27, discussing this blog.


Have fun!
- SS

Try bagging Hyndman Peak or Thompson Peak this fall for awesome summit views

Hyndman Peak (courtesy summitpost.org)

Looking back at Redfish from Thompson summit (courtesy summitpost.org)

Thompson Peak (courtesy summitpost.org)

Hi all,

September is upon us, and it's one of my favorite months of the year. The weather is cooler, and usually, high pressure prevails for clear blue skies -- creating ideal conditions for outdoor adventures.

Most people have made their Labor Day plans by now, so I'm suggesting that you try to carve out some time in September to climb 12,009-foot Hyndman Peak in the Pioneer Mountains or 10,751-foot Thompson Peak in the Sawtooth Wilderness.

Thompson is the highest peak in the Sawtooths, so it attracts a fair bit of attention, and Hyndman is the 9th highest peak in Idaho, and the highest point in the Pioneers. So you can count on fantastic views from either summit.

Details on climbing both mountains can be found in Tom Lopez's guide, Idaho: A Climber's Guide, available on amazon.com. There also are excellent detailed reports about climbing both mountains on Idahosummits.com and summitpost.com.

An adventuresome friend of mine, Steve Townsley, took his two boys to the top of Hyndman Peak when they were 10 and 12. Steve says the rapid elevation gain involved in climbing to Hyndman was hard on the boys, giving them headaches and making them nauseous. If you're planning on taking kids, even most 12-year-olds would have a hard time climbing Hyndman. The kids -- and you -- need to be in good shape, and highly motivated to make it to the top.

It's a good idea to camp at the base of Cobb and Hyndman Peaks the day before, and acclimate to the elevation before heading to the summit. Hyndman is located in the East Fork of the Big Wood River drainage. You head up the East Fork, past Triumph, then go left on the jeep trail heading up Hyndman Creek to the trailhead. Follow directions on the Idaho Summits web site on approaching Hyndman Peak. There is a yurt platform in the trees at the base of the mountain peaks where it's ideal to camp.

Thompson Peak is best accessed from the Redfish Lake Trailhead near Redfish Lake, Stanley and Idaho Highway 75. It's 6.5 miles to the summit and 4,200 feet of elevation gain. Again, it's best to hike into the base area of the peak the day before heading for the summit to acclimate to the elevation and to give yourself some time to enjoy the spectacular scenery.

The key when heading to the summit of Thompson is to corkscrew in a counter-clockwise direction toward the west and south portions of the rocky peak so you don't get cliffed out. This is the best way to approach the summit for the easiest but still difficult walk-up route.

Enjoy! - SS