Throwback to the Sawtooth Solo Trip 2016 - Day 3

Smoke woke me up on this day. I kept an eye out for fire.

First crossing of the Boise River was a bit early in the day for my tastes.

The second crossing was a bit scary with the speed of the water.

This rock was a perfect couch to put boots back on after yet another crossing.

The smoke conceals far off mountains.

Flat wooden bridges protected my boots from mud and the bog from my boots.

One last climb before the alpine lake section of my day.

Spangle Lake - the view a bit spoiled by smoke.

The trail was below the level of Spangle Lake.

Spangle Lake from where the trail began to climb above it.

Benedict Peak.

I believe that's Mount Everly, from the other side than the one I usually see it.

This was not my best pitch, but it got me through a very cold night.

Throwback to the Sawtooth Solo Trip 2016 - Day 2

On the second day of my hike along the Idaho Centennial Trail through the Sawtooths, I hiked down Mattingly Canyon. 

Starting the day along Ross Creek, descending.

A nice flat before the climbing starts again.

No lack of ICT signs on this leg.

Here comes the sun.

Heading towards the day's first saddle.

Looking back down.

I won't be staying in this valley for long.

Time to enter the Sawtooth Wilderness. No more motorcycle trails!

I think Mattnigly Peak is up ahead.

Coming down the Mattingly Creek Canyon. 

Slow and cautious rock hop across Mattingly Creek.

It took me a while, but I did find just enough space to erect my tent for the night.

Throwback to the Sawtooth Solo Trip 2016 - Day 1

I realized that I hadn't ever posted any photos here from my 2016 solo trip through the Sawtooths on the Idaho Centennial Trail, so I decided to put some up.

Willow Creek Transfer Camp Trail Head

Thimble berries - though at the time I didn't know I could eat them.

Deer at the hot spring.

I'm on the Idaho Centennial Trail, for sure.

Catching up to the sun.

Plenty of sun.

Heading up to Ross Peak pass, the highest point on the ICT.

I love these flowers (columbine).

Closer to the pass.

Almost there...

View from the pass to the other side. 

Looks a lot like the side I came from.

First night out solo on the ICT. I'm not crying, you're crying.

Sunday Linkin'

The other week I was at the Open Hour at Crossfit and the place was nearly deserted. Something about a less full gym and a coach with no one else to pay attention to got me to trying things. Well, one of the women I was working out with was working on toes to bar, and I have been trying, informally, to link toes to bar.

I'd gotten to the point where I could do a very slow but steady kind of pace. Not really linking, because I paused at the back and wasn't getting a good push with my arms. But before open hour started, I'd tried toes to rings, and something about the swinging, I think, gave my body an idea.

Because when I hopped up on the bar to try toes to bar linked, I did it. I linked two toes to bar together with a nice fast kipping motion.

So then the coach said I had to do it again while she took a video.

And I got five! The first one was a little messy, but I recovered and kept kicking that bar. Now I just need to try for those linked kipping pull ups again and see how far I can get now that I'm improving those linking skills in general.

Scouting Trip

This year's section of the Idaho Centennial Trail covers a lot of actually driveable roads. So the other weekend, my husband and I actually drove those roads that we could to check out how it was going to be. Of course, the part that I'm most concerned about is the part that we can't drive, because that's the part that has the highest elevation and follows a creek closely enough to require multiple crossings of potentially high water.

But the parts we could drive were in great shape. There was a bit of snow on Bennett Mountain Road, but only at the side of the road, not really on it. We did miss the turn off for Cat Creek Road, but only because I wasn't reading the map correctly. I didn't think we needed to turn on Cat Creek at the time, but it turns out that ICT does turn on Cat Creek Road instead of staying on Bennett Mountain. The upside is now I know for sure where to turn.

Castle Rock Road crossed water, but we got our Ford Focus through it without a problem. We didn't go all the way to the Hunter Creek Transfer Camp because we got spooked by someone's private property sign. Though I'm suspicious about their ability to call a forest service road in the national forest private property. I'm not going to worry about that when hiking anyway.

We did try to go around and make it to Hunter Creek by another route. At first, it wasn't so bad, but after we rounded a lake, the road got less and less driveable. We made it past a muddy section, but after that, the road deteriorated to something we weren't comfortable driving a sedan on. We turned back and went to lunch in Fairfield.

After eating, we drove on the Pine/Featherville Highway. There was a detour because of a bridge being out at Pine with a one lane road controlled by a traffic light. It felt really weird waiting for the light to change, especially once a truck pulled up behind us, but it did change after about five minutes. Driving around past Featherville, the ridges and mountains definitely had snow, but I wouldn't be going to the top of any mountain. Just high up a ridge to come down Virginia Gulch. The trail tops out around 7400 feet. this early in the season, snow is pretty likely. The question is will it be so much snow that I can't continue? Or will the creek crossings have too much water to safely cross?

In either of those events, if the answer is yes, then I will turn back. I'm not going to take unnecessary risks just to get the hike done. If I need to turn back, then I'll finish the hike later in the summer. I've already got to do another segment later in the summer or even in September so I'll be ready for next year. I really hope I don't have to turn back, but I'm prepared to do so if circumstances warrant.

And I just won't know for sure until I get there.