August 21, 2015
Oh no. My humans are
up early. I know they are gonna leave me
again. I hope they aren't gone all day
like yesterday. I will give them some
stink eye so they know I mean business.
This morning, we are taking a hike up to Sawtooth Lake. It is a 5 mile hike each way. Spouse has not been able to hike for a year,
so this will be a real test for him.
It is 35 degrees, so we dress in layers. Spouse agonized about his ZAB (zombie
apocalypse backpack) all last night. Not
a chance to get lost, cold, hungry or thirsty.
We file our wilderness permit and hit the trail. We are full of energy
and excitement to tackle this trail. It is a dirt trail with rocks and tree
trunks around which to navigate. The fir
trees are tall, lupines are still blooming, but stunted as they try to nab some
of the sun through the trees. There is a
creek on our left. We pass the big boulder that a local told us
about. Turn here and hike that way and
you will find a hot creek. We will check
that out on the way back. We were sworn
to secrecy as this is a local haunt.
After 30 minutes, we shed our jackets as the sun starts
warming things up. We continue
climbing. Rugged rocky crags dominate
the surroundings. It is absolutely
breathtaking. We continue to climb. We cross a creek then start up a series of
switchbacks. The trail is fairly well
maintained. At one point, a hellacious
wind howls through the trees. As we
climb, we hear more wind blowing across the tops of the mountains. After about 4 miles, we crest the trail to
see Alpine Lake. It is a pristine lake
that sits inside what looks like a crater in rugged mountain terrain. We stop to eat some of our lunch and enjoy
the scenery. When some people pass by,
Spouse starts talking to them and tells them about the secret hot creek! Can you believe that? Blab, blab, blab!
We still have about a mile to go to get to Sawtooth, so up
we climb. The switchbacks are more
narrow and they are rockier and steeper.
We go slow, lest we twist an ankle or slide somewhere undesirable! We eventually crest this mountain and come
upon a small lake. Spouse is convinced it
is Sawtooth and plops himself down in a meadow.
I think it is too small for Sawtooth.
To me, Sawtooth is just beyond this lake, and I leave him to check it
out. I was right. Another quarter mile I see a driftwood graveyard! Oooh would I love to haul this stuff
home. A couple of rugged peaks are the
backdrop for Sawtooth. There is a wee
bit of snow in the crevices. The winds
are gusting. The sun is warm but the
winds are cold. I hike around, watching
the howling winds create white caps on the lake, then back to Spouse. After he rested a bit, we both hiked back to
Sawtooth so he could see I was right!
OOOOH, that feels so good! I love the way the wind has twisted the trees. The wood is gnarly and interesting and would be so good for me to mount my orchids...
Now we start our return.
How come it could be 5 miles up, but it is 10 miles back down? How does that happen? You always see different things when you go
in the opposite direction. And down we
go... step by step... don't slide on that rock or trip on that root. Step by step.
Don't stub your toe. Don't
trip. Don't look up without
stopping! I kept waiting to see one of
the marker signs we saw on the way up.
We have to have hiked that far by now.
I know we are on the right trail as I remember some of the unique trees
or some other rock, or creek or bush.
Where is the sign? On we go. I am now leading as Spouse is dragging
behind. I know that sign is right around
the corner... NOT! Keep on... step by
step. Finally, I see the sign, we only
have 1 3/4 miles to go. Ugh... the excitement and energy we had when we saw
this sign going up is long gone! We
continue, step by step. I wait for
Spouse. When we get to the hot creek
boulder, Spouse says there is no way he wants to go back there. He may never get out! So we continue, step by step.
I don't know if I was tired (I really didn't feel tired) or
if it is 'horse pointed to the barn' syndrome, but I kept tripping on
rocks. We both ultimately made it back
to the truck. Ahhhhh.... I do have to laugh at one thing... when we
passed people that were going up, Spouse made it a point to tell them that the
first lake they see is not Sawtooth...
He is now the Sawtooth ambassador!
When we got back to Hannah, Spouse took some Ibuprofen and
collapsed in the recliner. Technically,
his knees and feet seemed ok, but he was truly beat! He then sat outside with Rudy and read. Moving is not his thing right now...
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