July 31...SNRA (Day 5)

(Kim's Perspective)
Today was the same morning routine. Brrr...it's cold...stay in bed late and just get up when the sun shines in the valley and warms the air.

We got geared up for a nice little hike. I was telling Jonathan a little while ago that everything out here seems to be a backcountry adventure - even when we're hiking popular trails. Just so you can get a feel for the size of this place; the SNRA is a 756,000 acre area containing nearly 1000 miles of rivers and streams, over 1100 lakes, and 40 peaks over 10,000 feet. Within the SNRA is the Sawtooth Wilderness - a 217,000 acre area in the heart of the SNRA. There are hundreds and hundreds of miles of trails around here. In fact, there are so many, it's hard to pick which ones we want to do.

Given that we were taking the Boys, we decided on the Fourth of July hike since it was classified as easy and only 4 miles round trip.

It took seemingly forever to get to the trailhead which was 10 miles back a dirt road and just off of 75 south of Stanley. It was quite bumpy and rutted and the Boys weren't super thrilled with the ride.




The hike started out with the mandatory warning...blah, blah, blah,...



and crossed through the stream in 5 or 6 places.


I gotta tell ya', the trails that are designated as easy around here are not the type of trails that are designated as easy back home. Not that this hike was exhausting or strenuous, but the terrain around here is really rough which is why I'm surprised at the "easy" classification. Sections of the trail were nicely packed and smooth, while other sections were extremely rocky and rough.

The wildflowers were gorgeous and I couldn't keep from snapping off photo after photo of them.






We made it to Fourth of July Lake (an alpine lake in case you're interested) but couldn't linger long because the mosquitoes were in full force. Very pretty though - and quite chilly.



This trail, like nearly all of them in the SNRA, is a multi-use trail. We passed other hikers of course, but also folks on horseback and on dirtbikes. :)

We risked letting the Boys off lead for a bit and let them run back and forth between us along the trail. We put those stupid bandannas on them so they're not mistaken for wolves - which countless people have thought they were. (rolling eyes)




Merlin enjoyed cooling off in the water crossings.





Mommy and Twister self portrait. :)


We took our time ambling back. Though the trail was only 4 miles long, the Boys probably hiked and ran 6 or 7 miles with all the running back and forth they did. There were a few times I couldn't even see Bill because we were so far apart on the trail. Eleven years old or not, Merlin can still run with the best of them. Makes me smile.

July 30...SNRA (Day 4)

(Kim's Perspective)
Today was a rest and recovery day. We felt pretty good when we woke up, but once I got out of bed, I realized my muscles did indeed get a work out from the ride. I wasn’t really sore, but my muscles were really tired - as in it was hard to lift my arms up for any length of time. :)

As is the normal weather for this time of year, it was cold in the morning but quickly warmed up. We made coffee and had a light breakfast of peaches and bananas in milk and sugar. Since the weather was so nice, we yanked out the awning, set-up our little patio area and spent the morning and early afternoon hours reading. Sitting around here is SO pleasant. The weather during the day is always a perfect 70 couple degrees with a light breeze that carries the scent of pine. It’s easy to want to be lazy here. Or, to relax as some people call it. ;-)

Feeling guilty that we weren’t doing something that required our heart rates to rise, yet knowing a powerhike or another bike ride was out of the question, we loaded the Boys into the truck and took scenic route 75 to Ketchum.

The roads around here always yield a fantastic view...



Ketchum is a very cool place. It’s right next to Sun Valley and is a total mountain biker’s mecca. We drove around town and took in the sights.

Some of the homes were incredible.


Clearly, a very active community. Even the lawn ornaments enjoy sports activities... :P


The post office is nice enough to live in.


They have a little mountain bike park for the kids. We watched a little boy hit the jumps on his little BMX bike for awhile. Too cute.


We stopped by a local bike shop (one of a gazillion)

and Bill asked the owner about "Baldy".

Bald Mountain is the local mountain ski area...except in the summer when they let mountain bikers take the lift to the top and blast downhill on the mountain bike trails that crisscross the mountain. This is now on the definite to do list.

We drove around and went searching for the dispersed camping areas that the bike shop owner told us about. Yes, you can camp here if you'd like...



Along the way, we passed some folks taking a carriage ride...


Twister was very intrigued and continued to watch as we drove on by...


What we've found is that our campground at Sunny Gulch seems to be the ONLY campground around (improved or primitive) that doesn't have mosquitoes. I don't know what that's about, but I love it. I'll tolerate a lot of discomfort at times, but I HATE mosquitoes. Much like the sunburns I get, I am exceptionally prone to mosquito bites. Maybe it's the super white skin that attracts them - it's like a neon sign for mosquitoes that declares "prime-all-you-can-eat buffet". Maybe they like me more because I'm tastier - all natural and organic and all. :) I don't know what it is, but like I said, I get chewed up something fierce by the wretched and hateful critters.

As we drove back to Stanley, we encountered a bit of rain. We were in the truck - who cares. By the time we got back to the campsite, the storm had passed and we were simply left with the lingering smell of a summer rain and a beautiful reminder of God's amazing grace.

July 29...SNRA (Day 3)

(Kim's Perspective)
We got up this morning, and upon the recommendation of the campground host of local things to see and do, we went to the Sawtooth Fish Hatchery. Cool, but eh, it's a fish hatchery, so not much to talk about...







Bill's been dying to go mountain biking, so after returning from the hatchery and getting a quick bite to eat, we geared up, jumped on the bikes, and rode towards the trailhead at the Redfish Lake campground area.

We figured that the 3 miles from our campground to get to the trailhead would be a good warm-up for us. FAIL. The trail was nice singletrack for the first 30 yards, and then at the trail fork, we headed left and encountered a seriously rocky trail that twisted and slowly climbed through dense forest. Both of us were having issues breathing. For me, that's not surprising with the asthma and all, but Bill got a taste of what it was like to not get enough oxygen to your muscles during a workout. Welcome to elevation.

We encountered an entourage of horseback riders who commented that this was a particularly rocky trail to be riding mountain bikes...you don't say???!...and after we had to stop for a rest and were passed by hikers who had previously moved out of our way, we both decided that we weren't having much fun and we should try going counterclockwise and take the other trail. Done and done. This was much easier and much more fun...until we saw another trail marker for Marshall Lake and jumped on that. The trail climbed, and climbed, and climbed some more. It was extremely rocky and we were off of the bikes more than we were on. We'd ride 30 feet, encounter an especially rocky section, dismount, walk, ride some more, repeat.

We met a woman on the trail who was happy to also be pushing her bike up the path. She said her husband is hardcore and since she wasn't having fun on the other trail, she told him she was going to go do something else and then meet him at the beach. Pretty cool, but if this trail is your idea of the easy trail, I'd hate to see what your husband rides. :)

The climb to the top resulted in about a 1000 foot elevation gain (per our topo map). Not major considering most of the climbs around here, but we hadn't covered any real distance so it was a butt kicker. In some sections, it was hard to get enough traction to push the bikes on foot. Once at the top, it was worth the discomfort getting there.


(Notice Redfish Lake at the bottom...that's where we started...)






I was so focused on riding and getting to the top that I hadn't noticed that my sunburn from kayaking a few days back was worsening and resulting in blisters. Ow. I can't tell you how many times I've had sun burns that resulted in blisters. This is why this pasty white girl usually avoids the sun like the plague. Most folks seem to think that I exaggerate about my aversion to the sun - which is why I'm happy to share this pic and say "pasty white's not so bad after all, now is it??!!?". Keep your tans and your melanoma...


Sections of this trail reminded me so much of the rock gardens at Gambrill and the Watershed. It's been a long time since I've done that stuff, and my skills were a little rusty and my confidence was lacking bigtime. Fortunately, when we took the Alpine Way trail down the side of the mountain, I quickly regained said confidence. The downhill section totally rocked (pun intended) and I was grinning the whole time I was bouncing from one rock to the next. I LOVE downhills. I mean, I REALLY LOVE them. Flying through the trees wondering at what point you're going to wreck and giggling the whole time is just a lot of fun. I don't enjoy all the work it takes to make those few minutes happen, but man is it a great payoff.

At the bottom of the trail, we were so stoked and having such a great time we decided to go finish the trail that we had jumped off of. It was a great, rolling, pleasant piece of singletrack that ended at an open meadow at the Wilderness boundary.


Bikes aren't allowed in the Wilderness area, so this was our turnaround point.


We chatted with a couple who was hiking the trail for quite some time. When the woman noticed my blisters, she came over to take a look. She said she couldn't help herself - she was a nurse. Her husband, who was a doctor, came over and looked too. He said "I've never seen anything like that" - which made me really happy once I found out he was an OB/GYN. Uh, yeah...good thing you've never seen anything like that before....EEEK!! ;)

We raced, yeah...we're competitive, so what...back to the trailhead and were laughing and smiling at each other the whole time. We were cranking along, hitting some jumps, and just jamming through the forest and along the creek. It was a GREAT ride that kept smiles on both of our faces the whole way back to the campground.

Overall, we did about 15 miles. Good for the knee, good for getting used to the saddle (ouch), good for building up the leg muscles, and good for getting my confidence back.

Ah...I love it here. :)

July 28...SNRA (Day 2)

(Kim's Perspective)
Haven't updated the blog in a few days and I don't recall what our early morning was like on the 28th - probably something like "brrr...it's cold out there, let's go back to bed" - but I do recall us checking out the town of Stanley and looking for a laundromat. Stanley, with a whopping population of 100 (yes, 100) offers a fair amount for its dinky size: the post office, the general mercantile, several gift shops and outdoor stores, a couple lodges and hotels, a handful of restaurants and of course, saloons.

In need of some clean drawers, but no available washers at the Stanley Laundromat, we talked to a local and asked about possible dirt bike or ATV rentals in the area. No go there - it's more of a mountain biking and fishing town, but we did get a recommendation (once she learned we had a 4x4) to take a scenic dirt road to Lower Stanley (the original town of Stanley that got ousted). We thanked her for the advice, jumped in the truck, and went searching for the scenic drive.

Wow.










Most everywhere around here, the cattle roam freely...


Mooooove, get out da way, get out da way....ha ha ha ha hahahahaha!!






We found a side road off of the main dirt road and drove to investigate...



It's hard to tell from the pictures, but it was freaking steep.



My view from inside the truck...I really wasn't certain we'd make it...


Since all I could see was the sky as we drove up, I felt like I was on an amusement park ride that was going to launch me into space...


Fortunately, the RAM (and truly, the tires) performed flawlessly. It was pretty incredible at the top. I have a kickin' video, but it's too big to upload. :(


We encountered a little rain, but the storm rolled through pretty quickly.


After the scenic drive, we took the Boys to a wilderness area trailhead to romp in the water...



They signed in like any responsible user should...


And enjoyed themselves immensely...






The Boys were beat from playing...




...and another storm brought some additional light, sporadic rain so we decided it would be the perfect time to go get that laundry done. ;)