Idaho

[alpinista]

Hey all,
It's been such a long time since I tapped into VFTT and since I was a regular poster. Leaving New England a little over a decade ago took me away from my beloved mountains.
But ... I have found a way back -- at least to an area with lots of hiking opportunities and mountain views: Idaho.

I'm struggling to find a community similar to this, or detailed hiking, backpacking, camping and trail information as seemed to be so prevalent in the Northeast.

If any of you happen to be familiar with the Sawtooth Mountains or any of the other mountain ranges in Idaho and could share some sources of information you'd recommend, I'd be very appreciative.

Thanks and hike on!

 

[Hillwalker]

As a former resident of Eagle Idaho, I was always partial to Stanley.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

Wow, blast from the past! Welcome back

Tim

 

[alpinista]

Thanks, Hillwalker! I’m actually living in Eagle!
When you lived here, was there a go-to resource you used for identifying good trails, maps etc?

 

[alpinista]

Thanks, Tim! I have missed getting out into the mountains! I just never wanted to venture solo in Georgia. But I feel safe enough to do it in Idaho.

 

[maineguy]

I stayed in Stanley and hiked up to Sawtooth Lake. Fantastic area, and not crowded. I once read a description of the Sawtooth Mountains as "the Tetons without the crowds" My main reference was a map titled "Sawtooth Wilderness, Hiking Map and Guide" by Earthwalk Press. I think I bought it on Amazon. Very detailed. If you visit Stanley, be sure to visit the salmon hatchery and see salmon as they complete their over 1000 mile trip from the Pacific!

www.rugged-rob.smugmug.com

 

[Hillwalker]

My favorite travel route was Highway 55 to Banks and the Rte 21 to Lowman There is a nice campground at Grandjean with trails into the west side of the Sawtooths which I liked. Many hiking destinations from there. Loved all the hot springs in that area. Only spent 8 months there as work brought me back to NH/ME. Check out the skiing at Bogus Basin. Mucho Telemark skiers In ID

 

[David Metsky]

Welcome back!

 

[Puma concolor]

My only experience in Idaho was on Borah Peak about 10 years ago. Fantastic mountain.

Stumbled across this Idaho mountain forum a few years back and it’s pretty good. Several of screen names are also solid Summit Post contributors. Hope it’s what you’re looking for. Good luck!

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/idahooutdoorsforum/idaho-outdoors-forum-f105717/

 

[iAmKrzys]

My only experience in Idaho was on Borah Peak about 10 years ago. Fantastic mountain.

Stumbled across this Idaho mountain forum a few years back and it’s pretty good. Several of screen names are also solid Summit Post contributors. Hope it’s what you’re looking for. Good luck!

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/idahooutdoorsforum/idaho-outdoors-forum-f105717/

Looks interesting - exploring from this link I landed at http://idahosummits.com/index.php Perhaps it will give me some ideas for future backpacking trips.

 

[marty]

Lisa! Welcome back. Give me a holler if you want to hike, pal.

Marty

 

[alpinista]

Thanks, everyone. Great beta -- as I grew to love and appreciate when I was more active on VFTT!
I'm checking out the various resources y'all have recommended and I think I've plotted my first hike: it'll be a day hike to Horton Peak Lookout tower. Unfortunately there aren't any water sources, so I don't think it'll be suitable for a backpacking trip, but it'll at least be about 2300 feet in elevation gain and a way for me to get my sea legs back.

If any of y'all wanna pop out to Idaho for a hike, give me a shout! I'm living just under 3 hours from the Sawtooth Mountains.

 

[iAmKrzys]

Thanks, everyone. Great beta -- as I grew to love and appreciate when I was more active on VFTT!
I'm checking out the various resources y'all have recommended and I think I've plotted my first hike: it'll be a day hike to Horton Peak Lookout tower.

Usually when I go some place where I have never been before, I start exploring on AllTrails e.g. https://www.alltrails.com/explore/us/idaho/stanley

The other source that I always utilize is OpenStreetMap.org, and the websites & phone apps based on OpenStreetMap data, e.g. https://hiking.waymarkedtrails.org/#?map=15!43.9627!-114.7613 - for better viewing experience click on settings (gear icon at the bottom of the screen) and change base map layer to OpenTopoMap.

Others will also tell you about CalTopo as a great resource for trail maps and trip planning: https://caltopo.com/map.html#ll=43.96216,-114.74929&z=14&b=mbt

 

[Peakbagr]

Long time no see. Welcome back.

 

[rup]

Years ago, my job took me to Sandpoint, a few miles N of Couer d'Alene. One interesting factoid - this is where the dam that held Lake Missoula at the end of the ice age ~12k years ago was located. Its breach scoured WA state. Many theories on that.

On weekends, we hiked Couer d'Alene and Kaniksu NFs. Let me just say that we found it to be creepy.