Sawtooth Lake
A meadow filled with Indian Paintbrush
When I first moved to Idaho, I rarely hiked in the Sawtooths during the summer. I thought that there were too many bugs and too many people. In July and August, while the summer weather was dependable, I would travel to more distant mountains like the Cascades or Sierras or Canadian Rockies. After Labor Day, when there were fine days and cold nights, I would shift my focus to the Sawtooths. By then the bugs had died off and the people stayed home. It was the best time of year for hiking in these mountains.
That started to change when we can back from Singapore. With climate change, forest fires became worse every year. And every year, the hiking season would end sooner because there was too much smoke in the mountains from fires. The last two or three years things had completely flipped. I would hike in the Sawtooths in July and maybe August. Fall was out of the question. But this year has been unusual. It has been very hot, and there have been some large forest fires in California. But for some reason, we haven't seen smoke here in Idaho. After returning from our trip to Washington, I decided that I had to take advantage of the clear air and go hiking in the Sawtooths. Unfortunately I have been having trouble with insomnia this summer, so I missed a few days by sleeping too late. Then one night I happened to fall asleep quickly and then got up early the next morning. This was my chance. I decided to do my old standby, Sawtooth Lake. I've done it more times than any other hike. I grabbed my stuff and took off for Stanley.
Woolly Sunflower growing in rocks above Alpine Lake
I was almost to the trailhead, driving up the dirt road along Iron Creek, when I saw an animal cross the road about a hundred feet ahead of me. I only saw it for a second or two before it disappeared in the brush. My first thought was that it was a fox. Then as I mentally played back what I had seen I decided that was wrong. Foxes have bushy tails. This animal didn't. Foxes have short legs and are low to the ground. This animal was long legged, built more like a dog, like maybe a sixty pound German Shepherd. My next thought was a wolf, but the head was wrong. It had a very pointy snout, which is what probably made me think fox at first. I decided that most likely it was a coyote. I had read that bears were causing some problems in the Sawtooths this summer. Now I could add a large unknown canid to the things that I had to worry about. Not that I was really concerned. I've never had a problem with animals in all my years of hiking in Idaho. And it really was cool to see the coyote fairly close up. But now it occurred to me that maybe it was a good thing that I didn't have Abby with me.
Oblgatory photo of Mt. Regan and Sawtooth Lake
I got to the trailhead at 10 am. Later than I would have liked but still not too bad. I was surprised to see how crowded it was on a weekday. There's space for about twenty five cars and I got the very last open parking spot. At least I didn't have to park way up the road.
There were two young guys packing up in the car next to mine. Actually they were putzing. They were there when I arrived and they were still there when I had changed to my boots, filled my water bottle, adjusted my hiking pole and locked up my car. I figured they were backpackers with a lot of stuff to get ready but it turned out they were just day hikers. I did talk to them a bit. They said they hadn't done the trail before and when I told them I had done it many times, they asked me a lot of questions about it. When I left to start the hike they were still putzing but I figured they would catch up to me later. About half an hour down the trail, they did. They were younger and stronger and faster. I said hello again and stepped aside to let them go by. Later I caught up and passed them again while they were stopped by the side of the trail putzing with their gear. Besides day packs, they were carrying folding chairs. Not small ones like you might buy for backpacking. The lawn chair type you see parents take to their kids soccer games. I thought that seemed like an awkward thing to take on a hike.
Leafy Lousewort (Pedicularis racemosa)
They passed me again on the way up to Alpine Lake. We ended up playing tortoise and hare all day.
Since it was already August and it had been extremely hot for at least the past three weeks, I didn't expect to see many wildflowers. I was wrong. There were lots of them. I have been trying to learn the names of more of the wildflowers in Idaho this year so I was able to identify quite a few of them. Others I took pictures of so I could look them up later. It's a good think digital film is cheap.
On the lower part of the trail I saw a lot of Lupine. Higher up I saw Fireweed, purple and white Showy Daisies, Yarrow and several types of Penstemon. The meadows after the creek crossing were filled with Mariposa Lillies, Woolly Sunflowers and Indian Paintbrush.
I mention the last flower at the risk of having the Dog Blog cancelled some day. Apparently there is a lot of discussion in the botany community about renaming Indian Paintbrush (and some other flowers) because some people consider the name to be offensive. Doing a search on it brought up quite a few articles. Most were by people who mentioned the controversy but said they didn't really have an opinion. Only a few were by people actually claiming the name was offensive and pushing to rename the plant. Interestingly, it was pretty obvious that none of the articles in the latter category were written by Native Americans, because they always referred to them in the third person. Personally I don't see how having a flower named after you is offensive or insulting, especially such a beautiful one, so I'll keep using the name Indian Paintbrush. But then I am an old codger, so what do you expect?
Showy Daisies at Sawtooth Lake
One new flower for me was the Leafy Lousewort, very pretty and with an interesting shape. I only saw a few of them and can't remember ever having come across them before. I took some pictures so that I could look them up and identify them later.
It's not a flower, but another new plant I learned about was the grouse whortleberry. I've often seen them beside the trail while hiking but didn't know what they were. At one point I passed a guy who was picking and eating them. I heard him mention to someone with him that they were whortleberries. After seeing him, I did try one myself later. They are very small and I thought kind of bitter, but I didn't keel over and die. When I got home I checked online and yes, they are edible. I wasn't too impressed by them though. I will nibble on raspberries or blackberries or currants when I find them next to the trail but I doubt I'll add whortleberries to the list.
The hike was pleasant until the hill above Alpine Lake. By then it was hot and the trail was steep and in the sun. There was no breeze and the flies were quite annoying. This section was a grind. I had passed the guys from the parking lot once more while they were admiring Alpine Lake and now they zoomed by me again. I'm a slow hiker and usually I am quite content to take my time but now I was envious of how much faster they got up this hill than me. I have to admit that I was feeling a little queesy towards the end. Once I topped out though I started to feel better pretty quickly.
All I need now is a Corona
When I got to the standard viewpoint the two young guys were already there. I was glad they found it. I had explained to them at the trailhead that you had to go a little way around the lake to get to the best spot but I wasn't sure that they understood. But here they were, sitting in their folding chairs with a can of some drink in their hands admiring the view. They looked pretty comfortable. Maybe carrying those chairs up wasn't such a bad idea after all.
I had to settle for sitting on a rock next to the water. I took off my boots and dunked my feet in the water. There was a steady breeze blowing off the lake. It was wonderfully cool and it kept the bugs away. I stayed there a long time. While I was there I chatted with my buddies in the lawn chairs. One was a student from the University of Colorado on his way home to San Diego. The other was a friend from Baltimore along for the ride. When I told him I had just visited my son in Baltimore who lived in Canton, he said he was familiar with the neighborhood. It was the first time in the Sawtooths for both of them and they said they were definitely impressed.
Eventually I tore myself away and started back. It was hot going down the hill but not as bad as going up, and it was quicker. I passed a lot of backpackers who were on their way in. It's common to leave later in the day when you are staying overnight but I didn't envy them carrying heavy packs uphill in the heat. I was slower than usual and had to admit that I was tired but I made it back to the car ok. I must have been thirsty too. Even though I had been drinking water while I hiked, I drank three bottles of Diet Coke on the drive home.
A great day. No matter how many times I hike to Sawtooth Lake Trail, it's still awesome.
