A Couple of Last Hikes in Stanley, ID

Stanley, Idaho



Sockeye Campground, NF

 

 

 

As our short week comes to an end there were two hikes we wanted to do.  One is just a few miles south at Pettit Lake and the other starts out at our campground and goes for quite a distance around the Redfish Lake.  

 

We drove into town first to have breakfast at the bakery.  These locals must be hardy folk as they had the doors open and the fans on.  It was COLD in there!  Several coffee cup pours later, and just a meh breakfast, we headed out for our hike.

More smoke over the eastern ridge.  Never did find out what caused these fires.  Even the rangers didn't have that info.

 

On the way to the trail there was a geocache hidden off a side road.  There is a small dispersed camp and behind it off in the woods further people have been having fun enlarging a stick teepee.  It was pretty impressive.  The cacher asks that you add a pole of your own, so we did.

From the Tin Cup Trail several other trails branch off.  Some will lead you to small lakes and others connect to trails that go further in the backcounty.

Pettit Lake was a pretty lake with private cabins on one side.  We hiked back just a bit because we want to spend more time on our final hike back in the campground.

These lakes are so cold, even Hurley won't spend much time in them.  I think he forgets and he'll charge in then just as fast, hops up in the air and rushes back out.  He's no fool!

Back at camp we headed out on Mogul Trail.  We knew we wouldn't even get to the bridge as it's a big lake and it's later in the afternoon.  It gets cold quickly once the sun goes down over the mountains.

 

It was unusually warm(er) when we left as there were no clouds blocking the sun, the wind was calm and the many trees really protected us.

 We never saw another person on the hike.

 The trail starts out very wide and well marked as you follow the lake most of the way.

 I think the inlet and old bridge are down in that saddle in the background.

I liked the various shades of blue over the lake and into the mountains as the sun moves further down in the horizon.

According to a lonely geocache hidden back off the trail, this camp was built by their family who came out here by boat for over 30 years.  They had a cute sign hung over the door.

"Charles"

As the trail progresses it gets very narrow as it moves uphill, away from the lake.  There are a lot of downed trees that had to be navigated over, under and around. Some minor bushwacking was required and it was getting colder.  Our turn-around time was approaching so we chose to head back a little sooner.

 As the sun was setting we picked up the pace as we still had about an hour to get back and there was a pot of homemade Tortilla Soup waiting for us that Steve made.

We have loved our time in Stanley.  It sure would've been nice to fish here but they have so many rules on the Salmon River.  We hoped to see the Salmon (fish) run at some point as we're traveling along the river for a couple of weeks.  What I found out was they have a small early run in June and a much larger run in  August.  Just like when we were in Oregon early this summer, the runs have been very small and disappointing this year. One thing is for sure, the drive along Hwy 93 is gorgeous!!