8/18-20/08
Day Three
We awoke to very little smoke. We brought enough food for four days but decided three was enough. We packed up and headed back down. One more day trip to a new area sounded better than another day in the basin. With lighter packs and almost all down hill ahead we left Walker Lake. As always the trail down seemed much longer than up. It was another warm day but our early start helped with the heat. We were able to take some more time to enjoy the views out along the trail. The different colored rock is really amazing.
The last two miles we met a number of groups heading up. I was surprised to see half a dozen groups going in on a Wednesday morning. Several groups were headed towards the Boulder Chain Lakes. One group had hiking gear but chose to do the lower trail on motorcycles. One gentleman even had on a University of Washington shirt on. I mentioned Huskies and he thought I was talking about his Lab dog.
It was down right hot when we saw Livingston Mill and slogged the last half mile through sagebrush. There were now 11 cars in the lot. Our timing was impeccable. We had only the one group in the basin for our stay. On the drive back to Highway 75 we had a group of big horn sheep run across the road in front of us. I rolled down the window and Kim took a photo while they posed. Other than squirrels they were the only animals we saw.
We drove back to Stanley and started looking for a campgrounds. Redfish Lake has many but they were mobbed with RVs and kids running all around. Great for many but we wanted a little more peace and quiet. The Sunny Gulch CG provided both. We were far from the highway and behind the site was a short trail down to the Salmon River. Very nice. We went back into Stanley for a real dinner after a few nights of dehydrated and it was a real improvement.
We packed up for a day hike. In the morning we were off to see the western side of the White Clouds.
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We awoke to very little smoke. We brought enough food for four days but decided three was enough. We packed up and headed back down. One more day trip to a new area sounded better than another day in the basin. With lighter packs and almost all down hill ahead we left Walker Lake. As always the trail down seemed much longer than up. It was another warm day but our early start helped with the heat. We were able to take some more time to enjoy the views out along the trail. The different colored rock is really amazing.
The last two miles we met a number of groups heading up. I was surprised to see half a dozen groups going in on a Wednesday morning. Several groups were headed towards the Boulder Chain Lakes. One group had hiking gear but chose to do the lower trail on motorcycles. One gentleman even had on a University of Washington shirt on. I mentioned Huskies and he thought I was talking about his Lab dog.
It was down right hot when we saw Livingston Mill and slogged the last half mile through sagebrush. There were now 11 cars in the lot. Our timing was impeccable. We had only the one group in the basin for our stay. On the drive back to Highway 75 we had a group of big horn sheep run across the road in front of us. I rolled down the window and Kim took a photo while they posed. Other than squirrels they were the only animals we saw.
We drove back to Stanley and started looking for a campgrounds. Redfish Lake has many but they were mobbed with RVs and kids running all around. Great for many but we wanted a little more peace and quiet. The Sunny Gulch CG provided both. We were far from the highway and behind the site was a short trail down to the Salmon River. Very nice. We went back into Stanley for a real dinner after a few nights of dehydrated and it was a real improvement.
We packed up for a day hike. In the morning we were off to see the western side of the White Clouds.
Walker Camp |
Smoke Is Gone |
In Lake Basin |
Reflection |
Interesting Rock |
New Trail |
More Flowers |
Livingston Mill |
Trailhead Sign |
Salmon River |
<< Photo Page
Big Boulder Lakes Report
Trips - 2008
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