Sawtooth National Recreation Area -- An Outdoor Paradise

We relished our 2 nights in an Idaho Falls Motel.  Especially since outside the thunderstorms and rain lasted throughout the night!  Our hotel had pool, hot tub, breakfast, and hot showers.  What was not to love??

But, it was time to move on and we decided to head towards Ketchum/Sun Valley and then go up into the Sawtooth National Recreation Area.  We didn't know much about the area, but the campground book listed many possibilities.

We stopped at the Information Station and picked up a trail map that included a few facts about the Sawtooth NRA.  The Sawtooth National Forest is 2.1 million acres; within the Forest the National Recreation Area is a mere 756,000 acres; the Wilderness Area a smaller subset of both:  217,000 acres.

The Sawtooth NRA features the convergence of 4 mountain ranges (Sawtooths, Boulders, White Clouds, and Smokys) in a location known as The Cross.  The ranges combine for 40 peaks over 10,000 feet.  1,000 lakes including 300 high mountain lakes beckon hikers.  The headwaters of Idaho's 4 major rivers are here:  Salmon, Payette, Boise, and Big Wood add up to 1,000 miles of stream and river in the NRA.  It seemed that everyone had either a boat, kayak, or a fishing pole at the ready!

Clearly the Sawtooth NRA is the heart of Idaho's majestic outdoor lifestyle.

We arrived and grabbed a tent site on Alturas Lake.  We hiked to Hell Roaring Lake.  We hiked to Titus Lake.  We had coffee by the Lake.  We drove to a few other Lakes (Pettit and Redfish).  We watched the sun arc across the sky and leave the White Cloud Peaks bathed in soft light.  We are making plans to come back here!

(OOPs.  The scourge of the west -- forest fires -- filled the sky with smoke at times.   The fire was miles away; no danger to us.  But it is hot and dry and beetle kill trees are everywhere.)

Name that Lily?

Hell Roaring Creek at a moment of calm & quiet

Titus Lake

Hell Roaring Lake and the Finger of Fate looming above

The Boulder Mountains