Brad, Tim and I set out in my manly minivan to a trailhead that didn't require 4 wheel drive to camp out the night before a more strenuous hike up Centennial 13er Mt. Hope and neighbor Quail Mountain. When we got there, Tim realized he forgot all of his sleeping gear. Fortunately, I brought enough extra gear including extra foam pads, extra pillow, and an extra sleeping bag, all of which I was intending to use for myself. So I shared these items with him, but it didn't really matter as sleeping in a tent is not usually very effective anyway.
We woke at 4:00 am as we knew weather was looking rainy. We hoped to beat the weather at least while we were above tree-line for safety. This trail from sheep gulch is relentlessly uphill. We moved at a steady pace conserving our energy knowing we had almost 5,000 feet of elevation gain today. We reached treelike just as the sun was rising with stunning views over neighboring 14ers Mt. Belford and Huron peak.
We reached Hope Pass and surveyed the route up Mt. Hope. Route descriptions I had read made it sound like most of the route up was on tundra until the top where there was a bit of scrambling. This was inaccurate as the terrain was a mix of steep gravel and loose rock for a majority of the climb and slowed us down a bit. There were a few fun sections, but overall a tad unpleasant. The way down required a bit of route finding, and we had to backtrack a couple times before getting into steeper sections. In general, staying closer to the ridge as much as possible is advisable.
La Plata Peak from the summit
Mt. Elbert
Twin Lakes
Once back down to the saddle, we felt good and the weather was cooperating nicely so we had a good workout up the steep trail to Quail mountain. There are some cool mining ruins up there. While we sat eating second breakfast, a few ptarmigan started harassing us for no apparent reason. maybe they had some little ones nearby where we were sitting? They are some beautiful but loud little boogers!
Ruins with Missouri Mountain (center) Belford (left of center) and Harvard (far left)
Fighting over who gets the hiking polls on the way down
This one was overal a great choice for a day hike. Though the forecast called for possible rain before noon, we were dry the entire time. As soon as we got in the car just after noon, it started raining. Perfect! K's Dariy Delight is now our go to burger stand in Buena vista right on the main road on our way home.
Mt. Silverheels is an off trail hike of 9 round trip miles with 3,500 ft. elevation gain starting from Hoosier Pass near Breckenridge. Though there is no trail, the hiking on tundra is pleasant. I'd hiked Hoosier Ridge and North Star Mountain in the past from this trailhead and thought I was pretty familiar with the area so we didn't study the route very well beforehand. We ended up getting a little bit off and descending a bit further down below the mine which added about 4-500 ft. of unnecessary gain.
We woke 20 minutes before sunrise and made quick work of the short hike to the treeline to catch the dawn. Sunrise was very colorful! No matter how many of these I witness, they never get old.
The rest of the way we went slower and took our time enjoying the views. We reached the summit around 10 a.m. A thunderstorm moved in very quickly from the northwest and we didn't linger long.
Silverheels
360 summit video
Grays and Torreys at center
As we descended, the storm grew closer. We could hear thunder claps right up toward Hoosier Ridge and we considered bailing down into the shelter of the trees to bushwhack down Scott Gulch. Hopefully, we'd find our way back to the highway and then walk up the road back to our car. This would have taken much more time than the direct route up to the ridge and back down. We couldn't decide what to do. So, we said a prayer and made the choice to hike up toward the storm and the standard route with the intention that if it got worse, we would quickly descend back down. The higher we hiked toward the ridge, the more the storm cleared out! By the time we reached the top, the storms had cleared all the way and it was sunny and pleasant. We had a lunch break and enjoyed the rest of the descent back.
We took a casual snowshoe below Notchtop Mountain in the park. The day started out beautiful and slowly became more and more windy and overcast. Fun to get into the mountains again, though technically Springtime, it will still be Winter up here for a few more months!
For anyone considering a trip to the Sawtooths in Idaho, I have a few observations from our recent hikes that could be helpful.
First, early June is too early for backpacking to the higher lakes. The continuous snow began at about 7,500 ft. covering the trails which made route finding difficult without a GPS. Many of the rivers do not have bridges built to cross them and were too high and strong to safely cross (especially with a dog).
Second, if you want to stick to lower elevation areas, then June is an excellent time to go. The entire area was empty. I didn't once encounter another person on any of the trails other than Fishhook Creek. The dispersed campsites (non-pay campsites) were all empty as well. The weather was cool and mosquitoes were not too bad compared to the horror stories from other trip reports. Deer and Elk were all over the place. I would bet that even in the height of summer this area still sees light crowds compared to what we're used to in the mountains near Denver.
Third, The Sawtooth Range is stunning. Hands down one of the prettiest places I've been. The beauty of the jagged peaks rivals that of the Teton Range or anything in Colorado.
The original plan was to hike a loop from Pettit Lake to Redfish Lake camping at specific locations along the way including Alice, Toxaway, Cramer, and Baron lakes. The snow and river crossings made this unrealistic and the new plan was to do day hikes/backpacks to lower elevation areas.
Heyburn Mountain and Horstmann Peak
Pettit Lake
It started raining on the first morning and continued for the next 24 hours with a light dusting of snow. Never fun. There was a flood warning for Stanley that night.
