- THE place to camp at Island Lake. What a view you will have of the mountains at the west end of the lake. Walk over to the log jam at the outlet and watch the trout swim by.
- Standard alpine lake log jam at Island Lake's outlet stream. Wonderful spot to relax.
Island Lake outlet 9,240'
I reached the outlet to Island Lake where there is an outstanding camping spot (center left in photo), then hiked down the north shore until steep cliffs blocked my way. This photo is taken looking back at the outlet.
Island Lake is full of trout (8-10"). Long slender and built like torpedoes, they patrolled the perimeter of the lake and could be seen in 20 feet of water in this alpine lake's clear cold water.
The photos in this photo set are from two day hikes:
1. Livingston Mine trailhead to Island Lake.
Idaho. White Cloud Mountains. 12 miles round trip. TH elevation =
7,160’. Island Lake elevation = 9,240’. Elevation gain on hike =
2,080’. Time on hike = 7 hours. Saturday 9.11.2010.
2. Pettit Lake trailhead to Snowyside Pass.
Idaho. Sawtooth Mountain Wilderness. 16 miles round trip TH elevation
at Pettit Lake = 6,996’. Alice Lake elevation = 8,596’. Snowyside
Pass elevation = 9,400’. Elevation gain on hike = 2,404’. Time on hike
= 7.5 hours. It took a little under four hours to reach Snowyside Pass
where I had lunch and a little under 3 hours to hike back down from
Snowyside Pass to the Pettit Lake trailhead. I had enough time to
complete a loop hike by going over Snowyside Pass by Toxaway Lake and
Farley Lake then a link trail back to Pettit Lake. I chose instead to
retrace my route.
On September 1st, 2009 I took my first day hike in the Sawtooth Wilderness:
3. Iron Creek trailhead to Sawtooth Lake up to the ridge saddle on
the trail to McGown Lakes. That hike starts at 6,710’ and climbs 1,720
feet to Sawtooth Lake and another 334’ up to the ridge saddle where
you get spectacular views of Sawtooth Lake and all the way to Stanley,
Idaho in the distance. Here is the link to the photos I took on that
hike and that trip:
www.flickr.com/photos/12150532@N04/sets/72157622098698663/
Once again I would like to personally thank Fred (Sawtoothphoto on
flickr), for making me aware of the hiking opportunities and the
beauty of this area. Fred is a professional photographer and his
photographs are stunning. If you get a chance look at some of his
photos in his “Sawtooths” photo set. They are the finest photographs I
have yet seen on Flickr::
www.flickr.com/photos/sawtoothphoto/sets/72157606249891601/
The 2010 hiking season in the Sawtooth and White Cloud mountains is about over for this year (it has been getting down to 27 degrees at night in Stanley, Idaho and fresh snow has already fallen at the higher elevations). I hope to do more hiking in the White Clouds and Sawtooths in 2011 and will start my list of hikes I want to take after the first of the year.
I hope you find a few photos you like from these two day hikes and better yet, I hope the photos encourage you to hike the area yourself, if you haven’t already, just as Fred’s photos and help encouraged me to do so. OldManTravels September 2010.
Comments and faves
Mojumbo22 (Matt) (21 months ago | reply)
Fantastic! Love the colors and reflections
jimgspokane (21 months ago | reply)
Pretty incredible!!! Makes my fly rod itch!!
jimgspokane added this photo to his favorites. (21 months ago)
mswyni (21 months ago | reply)
Lovely, lovely!
Coop Photography added this photo to his favorites. (21 months ago)
Coop Photography (21 months ago | reply)
Wow! This is a beautiful lake OMT!
I love these high alpine lakes.
Gypsy Mom on the road (21 months ago | reply)
This is beautiful. Love the reflection.
oldmantravels (21 months ago | reply)
Matt - Thanks. The air is clear and cool at 9,000 feet. A wonderful place to "invest" some of life's precious time. I sure enjoyed it. OMT
oldmantravels (21 months ago | reply)
Jim - the trout ARE there! I saw them. I always prefer stream fishing when casting about with a dry fly, but in a setting like this I think I could flip a fly all day long and have not a care to what I did or didn't catch. Look at the scenery! OMT
oldmantravels (21 months ago | reply)
Barbara - - If the water hadn't been about 2 degrees above 32 degrees - a swim would have been tempting, but not wanting to risk cardiac arrest, I just enjoyed the landscape with a camera. OMT
oldmantravels (21 months ago | reply)
Cooper - Island Lake is just a "starter" for what alpine lakes reside in the White Cloud Mountains. One could spend a lifetime here and enjoy every minute. OMT
oldmantravels (21 months ago | reply)
Thanks Trudi. I'm glad the wind let up for most of my visit to this lovely alpine lake. The backpackers I talked to, who had spent Friday night at the lake said the wind really roared through their camp at times. The narrow outlet to the alpine bowl made it a wind chute. OMT
curtisirish (21 months ago | reply)
I would like to catch and eat some of those Trout in that high mtn. lake, as I have in the past.
I love the beauty & quiet of these pack-in lakes, that is until some idiot packs in a boom box and destroys the quit solitude, and chucks beer cans into the lake. CURT
oldmantravels (21 months ago | reply)
Curt - - I think there is an inverse relationship between how far and how hard it is to get to a place (like this) and how many idiots there are. To a person, the people I met on both hikes were polite, friendly and courteous. I didn't find ONE campsite on either of the two hikes with so much as a candy wrapper. Unfortunately (always), it takes just one moron to ruin what a hundred thoughtful people have left as should be. When you see a place like this you don't see how anybody could possibly be disrespectful. OMT
pixie1339 (21 months ago | reply)
Beautiful! I love the color of the water.
oldmantravels (21 months ago | reply)
Lisa - - When water (lake or stream) is inhabited by numerous healthy trout, it says a lot about the quality of water. This would make a lovely lake for a swim in August. OMT
red9hagar and mayukoron added this photo to their favorites.