Last Dance
McGown Peak from Stanley lake
I didn't do much hiking this summer. Instead there was a lot of non-mountain travel. There were also a lot of home improvement projects. But the main reason that I didn't hike much was that I was having pretty serious problems with arthritis in my left knee. To add insult to injury, there was almost no smoke from forest fires all season. It was probably the best year for hiking out of the last ten. It made me think hard about getting the knee replacement that my doctor has been recommending, even though I have been resisting it for the past several years.
The weather this fall has been beautiful. Then we had a storm come though for two days, which caused rain in Boise and snow in the mountains. After that, the weather was forecast to be totally clear for a few days. I thought I might have one more chance to get a hike in. I looked at the Sawtooth webcams carefully. There was a lot of snow up high but only a little bit in the valley. On the last Sunday of October I woke up and decided to go for it. One more chance for a hike. One more chance to test my knee to see how well it would do.
Mickey's Spire, Thompson Peak and Williams Peak
The forecast for Stanley was clear skies but low temperatures. The high would only be in the mid-thirties. Usually I try to leave as early as possible for day trips to the Sawtooths. Not this time. I wanted to let it warm up a little bit (and I use the term "warm up" loosely here). I threw some warm clothes in my day pack and left home at 8:30 - a lot later than I would normally leave for a day trip. I figured that I would make good time since it was a Sunday and I didn't expect much traffic. That didn't mean anything to animals though. I had to stop while driving through Horseshoe Bend while a line of about ten turkeys took their time crossing the crossing. It made me wonder, so why did the turkey cross the road? They probably saw the calendar and knew that it was getting close to Thanksgiving. And besides the turkeys, which were unusual, I had to stop for a deer crossing the road somewhere around Lowman. That happens on pretty much every trip up to the Sawtooths.
Snow-covered Sawtooth range from Little Redfish Lake
The Sawtooths are impressive looking mountains, but they are primarily rock peaks. There are no glaciers and only a handful of small, permanent snowfields during the summer. But after the storm a few days before, the peaks were all plastered with snow. It was quite a different look than I am used to and very beautiful. I stopped at several viewpoints to take pictures. I was hoping that would be able to get to Stanley lake, because it is one of the prettiest spots in the Sawtooths. I was surprised that the spur road to the lake was totally clear. And when I got to the lake, the view did not disappoint. McGown Peak was coated with snow. Because it was so cold, there was a mist over much of the lake, as the warm water evaporated and then condensed into fog after rising a few feet. It was a neat effect.
I also stopped at the ranger station south of Stanley and at Little Redfish Lake, two standard spots for fantastic views of the mountains. The road to Redfish Lake was clear of snow but there was construction going on. Parts of the road were completely torn up. It seemed awfully late in the season for that kind of work as any day heavy snow could come and compeltely shut things till next spring. I hope whoever was planning the work knew what they were doing.
Snow but it's still possible to follow the trail
When I reached the trailhead I was surprised to see that there were three cars parked there. One guy was starting out just as I pulled up. He was totally decked out with high tech gear. He looked like he had just stepped off the cover of an REI catalog. I wasn't that sophisticated. Rather than dig out all my layers and fill up my pack, I just had on a sweatshirt, winter jacket and warm hat. No fancy space-age fabrics for me, but I wasn't worried since the sky was completely clear and I was only doing a short hike. Even though my car said the temperature was in the low twenties, it was bright and sunny with no wind and didn't feel that cold. I decided to ditch the sweatshirt before I started out and didn't even carry my pack.
I met up with the super hiker a few minutes later at the sign in box. He said that he was going to Bench Lake. That would be a great hike on a day like this with some incredilbe views, but with snow on the valley floor and the end of the trail 1200 feet higher, I wondered if the trail would be buried in the snow. I was being more conservative and just doing the Fishhook Creek Trail. It's only 2.25 miles, but more importantly, only 200 feet of elevation gain.
Fishhook Creek - that water looks cold
While I was signing in two women came down the trail along with three dogs. I guess everyone was taking advantage of the late season good weather. Since the dogs all came over to say hi and sniff me, I was just hoping Abby wouldn't smell them when I got home. She would be mad enough at me for going hiking without her. If she found out there were other dogs on the trail, I would be in big trouble.
After the traffic jam at the sign in box, I didn't see another person all the way to the end of the trail. The hike was easy. About thirty percent of the trail had snow on it but it was tramped down and the trail was easy to follow. The weather was awesome. After half an hour I was warm and had to open my jacket and sometimes even take off my warm hat for a while. It only took me an hour to reach the end of the maintained trail at Fishhook Creek Meadow. A climbers track continued further up the valley but I stopped here and enjoyed the view. On the far left were Mt. Heyburn and Mt. Iowa. Ahead was the valley of Fishhook Creek, with Horstman Peak on the left. To the right were Thompson Peak, highest in the Sawtooths, flanked by Williams Peak and Mickey's Spire. Straight ahead, far down the valley, was Baron Peak. These are beautiful peaks and quite remote even thought they are not far from the road. No trails approach anywhere near them. Many years ago I had made two attempts to climb Horstman and never even managed to reach the bottom of the mountain.
The end of the trail at Fishhook Creek Meadow
The best part was that I could enjoy the view in peace. I've been to this spot several times and the bugs have always been pretty bad. This late in the season though, bugs were definitely not a problem. I had the spot to myself. No bugs. No people. Pretty cool.
On the way back I did pass three different parties. More people than I expected to see but not exactly crowded. I was back at the car after only two hours total elapsed time. The bad news was that my knee gave me a lot of trouble for such a short, level hike.
When I got back to the car their were nine cars parked at the trailhead. Again, more than I expected but not really that many people. I took the short drive to the lodge. There was one car there and two people on the dock looking around. Still, it was weird to see the place so deserted. The floating docks were all gone, the outside pavilion was taken down and the lodge was boarded up. A little different than the last time Sandy and I had been here at the end of June when there had been hordes of people.
Redfish Lake Lodge - all closed up for the winter
By then I was pretty hungry so I headed into Stanley for a late lunch. My preferred stop is always Papa Brunee's because if Abby is with me, they allow dogs on their patio. The two of us love to share a pizza after a good hike. I thought that they stayed open late in the season but when I got there, a sign posted on the door said that yesterday had been their last day and they were now closed for the winter. Drat! The only restaurant open was in the Mountain Village Lodge. Not my favorite but I was pretty hungry, so a pulled pork sandwhich and fries disappeared pretty fast.
After eating I tried going to River1, an outdoor shop that always has cool tshirts. I was disappointed that they were closed for the season too. Their website said they were open May to October and so I should have still had three days. At least the other shop in town, Sawtooth Spirit, was still open. When I talked to someone there, she said that they switch over to cross country skiing stuff and stay open all winter. Impressive. They must be tough because it gets really cold in Stanley in the winter. I was just glad they were open because not only was I able to get in one last hike, now I was able to buy one last tshirt.
After that, I had an easy drive home.
