If you haven’t been to Idaho, you are missing out. Idaho has hit many top ____ lists for years, and for good reason- it’s absolutely gorgeous!
One minute you are in the desert surrounded by the smell of sagebrush and the next minute you are in the most amazing forests surrounded by the smell of pine trees and dirt. It’s incredible!
That’s why we took a camping trip to Stanley. Remember when I mentioned we tried to go to Eagle Creek the first time and were not able to? This is where we ended up.
Scouring for a campsite and setting up camp in the middle of the night. 🙂 But it was beautiful!
We were accompanied by my sister Morgan, and our friends Devandy and Travis. Our hike began at Iron Creek Campground and was about 10 miles roundtrip through the Sawtooth Mountains.
This terrain is incredible. Jagged, raw, and expansive. The mountains were named “Sawtooth” for good reason. The peaks are very jagged and pointy.
Although it is jagged, the scenery changes quickly. Soon we were trotting through a gorgeous little meadow, crossing tiny streams, and surrounded by evergreens.
We stopped at Alpine Lake and played around exploring, watching a Golden-doodle play fetch, and picking mountain berries. We decided to continue on the last trek up to Sawtooth Lake. The last little stretch consisted of pretty steep switchbacks.
About 30 minutes later we made it to Sawtooth Lake. The view was incredible. The lake had this alpine, glacial appearance to it. It had deeper, cool tones and really seemed straight out of a movie.
We made our way back down, opting for a partial run that in hind-sight I would not recommend due to toe-nail bruising (there’s a first for everything). We then headed homeward bound in the pitch black, through windy mountainous roads, almost hitting a baby deer, and listening to podcasts the entire way home. (True story!)