Photo Diary: A Weekend in the Sawtooth Wilderness

In late August Alex and I went on a road trip through Idaho and Wyoming to complete a few of our bucket-list backpacking trips. Our initial plan also included Glacier but the Howe Ridge Fire closed the west side of the park and we had to cancel our backpacking trip there. 

Our first stop was the Sawtooth Wilderness located in central Idaho. We set out on a spectacular three day variation of the Alice-Toxaway Loop, staying at Imogene Lake on night one and Twin Lakes on night two. Both spots were perfect for camping with many established sites tucked away in the trees. The second day of our trip was overcast, with an obvious storm brooding above us. The only question was when it was going to unleash its pent up water on us. Turns out, it was right after we ate dinner and settled into our tent for the night. It rained on and off all night and by morning the rain had transitioned into a chilly sleet. We packed up our tent in the cold dark and hiked back to the trailhead as quickly as we could. 

Despite the frigid rain that accompanied our trip with I thoroughly enjoyed the Sawtooth Wilderness. The region was peppered with the oranges and deep reds that mark the changing of the seasons, the bugs had already left, and the air felt crisp. Also, while this is a popular route we didn't run into many other backpackers and the ones we did run into were respectful and considerate. It was a nearly perfect backpacking trip!