Autumn in Idaho, 9.22.19 - 9.28.19, Part 1 of 4
Danny says we gotta go
gotta go to Idaho
but we can’t go surfin’
‘cause it’s twenty below
“Danny Says”/The Ramones
After last year’s success traveling in September and October, Bob and I agreed we have to get out every fall and take the RV’s somewhere to see fall colors. But where to go?
I have subscribed to Backpacker magazine for many years and from time to time they feature hikes in the Sawtooth Range of Idaho. The photos included in these articles made me drool with the desire to see these mountains for myself. Neighbor Greg and I have long wanted to do a backpack trip into the Sawtooths. These same articles mentioned that a small town called Stanley was the “gateway to the Sawtooth Wilderness” so I was naturally extremely pleased when it was agreed upon that we would base ourselves near Stanley, Idaho and see what we could see.
Leaving in the wee hours last Sunday morning, we watched the sky over Snoqualmie Pass turn pink to orange as the new day dawned. We had smooth sailing as we drove down through Yakima and onto I-84 in Oregon. Dana spotted something called the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center a few miles off the interstate so away we went. The road in was actually part of the Hell’s Canyon Scenic Byway which is an entire trip on our to do list. The Interpretive Center was really cool and was built right over a stretch of rough open range with the old wagon ruts still visible. The Center really did a great job of portraying what life must have been like on the Oregon Trail and we’re glad we stopped in. On a side note, we got into the Center for free with my new Senior Pass which I was using for the very first time!
Dana, Bob and Bridgit at the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center
Hitch up the Chuckwagon
Back on the road, we came to our stop for the night called Farewell Bend. I found out at the Interpretive Center that this was a historical site. Many people tried to use the Snake River as a means of travel in the days of the pioneers but if you didn’t say “farewell” at this bend in the river you would head into Hell’s Canyon and may not live to tell the grandkids about it.
Farewell Bend
We caught a little rain that first night but it cleared up by morning. We continued southeast on I-84 to the town of Twin Falls, Idaho. We planned this stop to see Shoshone Falls. A short drive through the city got us to the parking area and the falls were beautiful! The water levels are low at this time of year but it really made for many individual waterfalls combined into one impressive sight. It must really be cool to see it with the spring runoff.
Shoshone Falls
From Twin Falls we headed north catching Hwy 75 towards Sun Valley. From the town of Shoshone all the way to Stanley, this section is known as the Sawtooth Scenic Byway. After a day and a half of mostly driving we were getting kind’ve eager to get to Stanley so I don’t have a lot of photos along the way. Not much to see in the beginning. The road just heads north in a straight line from Shoshone. We could see peaks way way off in the distance and we slowly got closer and closer. I’d say that things really started to change when we hit the town of Hailey. The walls began closing in and sage had turned to pine. I was a bit concerned that we may have been a couple of weeks too early for great fall color but once we left Sun Valley the drive along the Big Wood River up to Galena Summit just got more colorful with every mile. Just over the summit was a pullout with a glorious view down into the valley of the headwaters of the Salmon River, the entire Sawtooth Range towering over it to the west. By this time it was almost dusk so there wasn’t much in the way of good light, but we definitely got the idea as to why they’re called The Sawtooths. The summits along the valley stuck up abruptly from the valley floor and jagged pinnacles lined the top of the range along the highway. Near the end of the range we arrived in Stanley, a very small town with a population of 69. Here we left Highway 75 and turned west onto Hwy 21, known as the Ponderosa Scenic Byway. Four miles out of Stanley we came to the Stanley RV + Camp, our home for the next four nights.
The next morning was a bit cloudy to start the day so we couldn’t see the peaks as we drove back into Stanley. We turned left at 75, drove through lower Stanley and followed the Salmon River through a spectacular canyon rich in fall color along the banks and on the hillsides. This leg from Stanley to Hwy 93 is known as the Salmon River Scenic Byway so we were getting a good sampling of the Idaho Scenic Byways. At 93 we turned south and drove along the Lost River Range which includes Idaho’s highest point, 12,667’ Borah Peak. Sadly, though we could see that these were some big mountains, the summits were obscured by cloud cover most of the way. As we drove down 93 we were surrounded by open range, nothing but sage brush as far as the eye could see. Further and further we went until it seemed we were about as far from anywhere as you can get until we arrived at Craters of the Moon National Monument (“Got a Senior Pass? C’mon in”!).
Here was another place I’ve always been curious to see but as stated, it’s not really on the way to anywhere and as a result it is a long drive from anywhere. And what a cool place! The seven mile loop road has various offshoots and trailheads. Bob and I opted for the North Crater Trail, a one way trail that Bridgit and Dana would meet us at the other end of with the car. It was a really bizarre trail, pounded into the sand of old volcanic eruptions. Rather than being the result of one volcano, Craters of the Moon was formed by lava bubbling up to the surface over a broad area known as The Great Rift. Our hike took us up, over, around and even under debris from all this activity including craters, lava flows, plugs and lava tubes.
North Crater Trail over lava flow
Bob at lava tube entrance (this one dead ended)
Me at one of the many crater rims
Another crater along the trail
Near the end of the North Crater Trail we came to a high point looking down across a volcanic wasteland. Several little volcanoes called spatter cones were lined up along a fissure in the rift. One even had a trail leading up into the cone.
Spatter cones
After that thoroughly enjoyable hike we drove further along the loop to the Broken Top Trail. This trail led right into the heart of an incredibly jumbled mess of volcanic debris of all shapes and sizes. Weird patterns formed when molten lava squeezed through harder rock and then cooled.
Lava flows
About a half mile into this hike we came to an entrance to a lava tube. We came prepared with headlamps so we climbed down into a dark hole in the rock. It leveled out about ten feet down and in places you could even stand up (not saying much in my case). The tube went in a couple of directions. One had a block in front of it but we followed another around a corner and then climbed up and out a different hole than the one we had entered. Cool stuff!
Lava tube entrance
Inside the lava tube. We exited the hole above me
All in all we enjoyed Craters of the Moon very much. Leaving the monument, we continued around our loop of the day, connecting back to Hwy 75 at Hailey. By now it was around 3PM so we stopped in Ketchum/Sun Valley so Bridgit and Dana could shop while Bob and I found a nice sidewalk table for a beer. We then had a nice meal at the Pioneer Saloon before driving back over Galena summit and back to our camp above Stanley.
Stay tuned for Part 2!