For this first post, let me take some time to catch everyone up to speed on the places we have already explored, and hope to explore some more. Our first big trip, as a couple, took place during the month of August, 2006. Our daughter Lisa was about 11 months old at the time, and we were lucky enough to have a friend from my work with BYU-Idaho Food Services offer to watch her. We spent 3 days and two nights hiking in the Sawtooth Mountains of Central Idaho. We woke up at about 3:30 am and drove about four hours from our apartment in Rexburg, ID to the trailhead in the Sawtooth Recreation Area just north of Ketchum, ID. We started our hike at the Pettit Lake
trailhead at about 8 am. We spent our first night at Toxaway Lake, and our second night at Alice Lake. I brought a small collapsable spin casting rod with me on the trip and tried my luck at a few of the many lakes that we came across. I was pleased to discover that Toxaway Lake actually has a fairly large population of brook trout inhabiting it. The largest brookie was about 12 inches, but for a brook trout that's not too bad! As far as I could tell Alice Lake seemed to be completely devoid of fish. During our night spent at Alice Lake we were privileged enough to have an encounter with some of the wildlife. We camped on a fairly rocky spot of ground about 200 feet away from the lake. We were sitting in our tent, and were just about to turn in for the night, when we heard the sound of hooves clicking on the rocks near our tent. I wasn't sure if it was a moose, deer or elk, so I carefully opened the door of our tent and took a peek. About 15 feet away from our tent was a good size mule deer staring right at me. We checked each other out (Susanna saw him too) and after about 45 seconds of staring at each other the deer decided it was time to walk away.We had a great trip. The weather was clear the whole time, although it was a little windy during the second night out. The Toxaway-Pettit loop is about 18 miles total. We completed the loop in three days and had a great time doing it. It was a great trip to begin our backpacking obsession.
Our second big trip together took place place during the last week of July, 2007. My family was planning a trip to Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, and convinced us to come along. We decided this would be a great opportunity to take advantage of some free babysitting, and hike some of the trails near Truckee, CA. My grandfather owns a house that he built in Truckee, so we took advantage of that as well, and drove up to Truckee on a Thursday evening, stayed the night at the house, woke up at the crack of dawn, and drove about 15 minutes to the Castle Peak Wilderness Loop Trailhead. The trailhead was located right off highway 80 near Boreal ski
resort. We took the Pacific Crest Trail, and had a wonderful first night at Paradise Lake. On day two, we took a cross-country route over the saddle east of Paradise Lake until we arrived at Warren Lake. We especially enjoyed the challenge of descending on the other side of the saddle down to Warren Lake. This was our first cross-country route that we had taken together, and we really felt a sense of accomplishment afterwards.
We went on our third big trip together later that summer during the month of August, 2007. My sister Debra was kind enough to watch Lisa 
for the four days that it took to complete our trip into the White Cloud Mountains of Idaho. The trip consisted of a 28 mile loop with a couple of difficult passes. We started at the Fourth of July Trailhead, which is located just a few miles east of the Pettit Lake Trailhead that goes into the Sawtooth Mountains. We completed the trip as a loop, spending our first night near the Chamberlain Lakes, our second night at Lodgepole Lake (one of the Boulder Chain Lakes), and our third night at Quiet Lake. The trip into and out of Quiet lake is a cross-country route that really tried our strength and skills, but it was well worth it. Quiet Lake is by far my favorite lake in the White Cloud Mountains.
Well, It is now May of 2008, and we have already been privileged enough to go on another big trip together. Back in March, 2008 Susanna planed a spectacular trip in the Big Sur Area of the California Ventana Wilderness. We spent four days and three nights backpacking along the Pine Ridge Trail towards the Sykes Hot Springs. We had a great time soaking in the hot springs and taking in all the greenery. We met a few more people along the trail than we were used to, but we enjoyed every minute of it. We also took some nice pictures of the beach near Monterey, CA off Highway 1.
So, where shall we escape to this coming summer? Initially we had planned to hike the Teton Crest Trail, but unfortunately we were unable to secure a permit. They do have some available on a first come first serve bases, but we have decided to wait till next year for that adventure. Some thoughts that I have for this coming summer include The Bighorn Crags in the Frank Church Wilderness of Idaho, or maybe a return trip to the White Clouds. If anyone has any suggestions feel free to comment.
for the four days that it took to complete our trip into the White Cloud Mountains of Idaho. The trip consisted of a 28 mile loop with a couple of difficult passes. We started at the Fourth of July Trailhead, which is located just a few miles east of the Pettit Lake Trailhead that goes into the Sawtooth Mountains. We completed the trip as a loop, spending our first night near the Chamberlain Lakes, our second night at Lodgepole Lake (one of the Boulder Chain Lakes), and our third night at Quiet Lake. The trip into and out of Quiet lake is a cross-country route that really tried our strength and skills, but it was well worth it. Quiet Lake is by far my favorite lake in the White Cloud Mountains.
Well, It is now May of 2008, and we have already been privileged enough to go on another big trip together. Back in March, 2008 Susanna planed a spectacular trip in the Big Sur Area of the California Ventana Wilderness. We spent four days and three nights backpacking along the Pine Ridge Trail towards the Sykes Hot Springs. We had a great time soaking in the hot springs and taking in all the greenery. We met a few more people along the trail than we were used to, but we enjoyed every minute of it. We also took some nice pictures of the beach near Monterey, CA off Highway 1.
So, where shall we escape to this coming summer? Initially we had planned to hike the Teton Crest Trail, but unfortunately we were unable to secure a permit. They do have some available on a first come first serve bases, but we have decided to wait till next year for that adventure. Some thoughts that I have for this coming summer include The Bighorn Crags in the Frank Church Wilderness of Idaho, or maybe a return trip to the White Clouds. If anyone has any suggestions feel free to comment.
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