Near Toxaway Trailhead

Idaho is such a great state to live in for so many reasons, mostly for the outdoor enthusiast.   As a life-long resident of this beautiful state, I am continually humbled by the immeasurable beauty of the landscape.  On a recent camping trip I had the opportunity to lead a small group on a couple of very short but beautiful hikes in the Sawtooth Wilderness, which is part of the Sawtooth National Recreation Area in south-central Idaho.

The Sawtooth Mountains (referred to as ‘The Sawtooths’) are a collection of mountains which are home to at least 39 high mountain lakes.  The most well known of these are Stanley, Sawtooth and Redfish Lakes.

Along Parks Peak

The 12.5 mile hike began only 8 short miles from our group campsite, at Pettit Lake.  At 7000 feet with crystal clear water and stunning views of beautiful McDonald Peak we headed West along Pettit Lake quickly making it to our first of several creek crossings.  I found it was much easier (and safer, wearing trail runners) to simply wade across these streams rather than hop on slippery rocks.  The trees eventually give way to a dense rock field about 1.7 miles into this hike.  Full exposure to the sun and incredible vistas dominated the hike to Alice.  The trail conditions were fantastic considering the number of people making this hike even on the day that we visited.

Distant White Clouds

Around the 4 mile mark, we got to a final switchback with a great view of the White Cloud Mountains to the North-East, and proud, El Capitan (9,901 ft) to the South.  Once to this point, it was a very short hike to Alice Lake, which sits at approximately 8590 feet above sea level.  When we “turned the corner” and got our first glimpse of Alice Lake, I was struck by it’s crystal clear, bluish green color and the majestic backdrop of jagged, glacier carved mountains surrounding the lake.

El Capitan near Alice

Alice Lake marked the turn around spot for this moderate day hike.  We made our way back along the same path we had taken to Alice, and was a much faster trip due to it’s gentle 9% grade from the 8600 foot high-point.  Before escaping to the vehicle for the short drive back to camp, I took time to take in the beauty of Pettit Lake one last time.  This hike was just the beginning of several more years journeys back to this beauty of a mountain range.

Pettit Lake, goodbye for now

TJD

I have had a few email requests for printable maps of some of the hikes I have gone on lately.  From the main page of my blog at http://NWEoutdoors.com, you click on the Maps tab.  A direct link is http://nweoutdoors.com/maps/

I hope you find them useful.  Check back from time to time, as I am still building the library.

-TJD

In my quest for useful paperless Topo maps, I downloaded another app from the Apple App Store, Topo Maps App. This application, like others, attempts to augment the need for compass and paper quads by making use of online free USGS map quads. I recently reviewed another app, Topos2go which had similar function and ease of use. What made Topo Maps App stand out are the availability of higher quality maps and an improved method of downloading them to my iPhone and Ipod Touch.

When you load the application you are presented with a satellite view of the United states. The user then uses the standard swipes and pinches to navigate the map and zoom in on an area of interest. As you zoom in, a yellow grid appears which has the names of the quadrangles which cover the area you want to dowload. With a simple half second press on the screen, you have an opportunity to rapidly download the map. If you have previously downloaded the map, the grid will have been filled in with a green fill. Pressing on the green area will automatically load that particular map. If you have previously downloaded the map and you are at the trailhead, pressing the find location button will automatically open the map which covers your current position.

In addition to the standard navigation you can expect from any of these maps, the feature I really enjoy are the shadows. Along with the map, bump maps are downloaded which overlay the quad which give it some depth. You can even configure the sun’s position so perhaps you can plan your hike to keep you shaded as much as possible.

As for the glaring omission in this app, it would be the inability to import or place waypoints. The developer is working on this functionality. I look forward to that feature! I would consider this app a good buy for the outdoors oriented people out there. It is not a street navigation app, so it’s purpose is somewhat limited.

Tjd

– Post From My iPhone

Last night I picked up another really cool app for my iPhone which allows me to take high quality 1:24k maps with me. The application is called Topos2go, and get this, it was only $3.99 in the app store. What’s so great about this application are the high quality USGS quads you can download on the Desktop computer, or directly to the iPhone itself. The quads you download are high resolution scans of the actual Topos which have been geocoded and saved as geotiff images.

For fun, I downloaded the quads for all my major hikes coming up and loaded on the iPhone to have a look. Trinity mountain is what you can see in the above sample. It allowed me to import ( or easily create my own) waypoints from my desktop route planning software. They landed in the correct positions, thankfully. I also downloaded the quad for my part of town and drove to the store. I turned on the internal GPS tracking. It followed the road as printed on the quad perfectly! Naturally, you can zoom in or out to get the view you want to see.

With all the quads I wanted to have downloaded on the device, I can hit the locate button. The program then automatically reorders the quads on my device by their distance from my current location. This makes it really easy to find the right quad when you arrive at the trail and are ready to navigate.

Topos2go is a wonderfully simple app which performs a task only available on the most high end of dedicated GPS receivers at a very minimal investment under $4. The iPhone still doesn’t replace my need for a dedicated navigational device, but it’s a welcomed addition to my pack each time I head out on a hike.

TJD
– Post From My iPhone

Trip stats: Table Rock
Trail: Hiker, Runner, Mountain Bike
Gain / Loss: 1800 feet
Length: 6.2
Time: 3.5 hours

Table Rock is a landmark for Boise. With the big “B” on the side and the cross at the top, it’s seen from across the entire valley. At just over 900 elevation gain, it’s a moderate hike but depending on the route taken, an easy one for just about any level of hiker.

Due to the early rise in temperatures here in Boise, I prefer to do the entire loop early in the day, early in the season. This trail system is very popular due to it’s proximity of a couple minutes from downtown Boise, as well as access to the historic“old penn”.

I prefer to take the scenic route, rather than heading straight away for the steep climb to the top. Rock Gardens has single track for mountain bikes, and takes you out to a ridge where you can overlook the Warm Springs Golf Course and the highway up to Lucky Peak.

As you progress along the trail, I encourage you to take the Table Rock Quarry Trail #17. Here you will see an active sandstone quarry working it’s way along the back side of the mountain.
Stay on this path and you eventually meet back up with the trail to the top of Table Rock where you are treated to grand views of the Treasure valley. You should also explore the “caves” below the top and take some pictures.

Now – for the video:

– Post From My iPhone