Goat Lake

When we were planning our hikes for the Stanley area, we kept coming across posts that said if we only had time to hike to one alpine lake, make it Goat Lake.  It certainly appeared to be a magnificent looking lake, but the distance, elevation gain and off trail navigation made us a bit neervous.  After tossing it around, we finally decided to "go for it!"  As our friend, Tom, often says, "Sometimes the best experiences come when you push a little outside your comfort zone." 

 Oh, so true, Tom!

As we left Stanley we were engulfed in a valley of fog . . .
We had our doubts as to whether we'd have any views on this hike and were a little discouraged

30 minutes later, Kent was filling out our wilderness permit and standing in sunshine . . . 
It's amazing how much difference getting out of the valley and gaining 500 ft could make! 

About a mile into the hike (and just after we crossed the wilderness boundary) we came to this intersection . . .
We have just come from the Iron Creek Trailhead and are heading on the Alpine Loop towards Marshall Lake

Shortly after the intersection we crossed Iron Creek on a log . . .
If we had stayed on the main trail we would have continued on to the popular Sawtooth Lake . . .
It is located just on the other side of the pass between these two peaks

The trail meandered along for awhile before quickly gaining 600 ft on these switchbacks . . .
You've got to love a well constructed trail!

At the top of the switchbacks we walked another, mostly level, mile that led us into another basin . . .
Goat Lake is located a 1,000 ft higher, somewhere above that dead tree in front of Kent
(That's Thompson Peak [10,751 ft] just left of center . . . the highest peak in the Sawtooth's)

It was here that the fun began!  For the next 1.5 miles we were off trail . . .
The adventure begins by finding a way up this granite shelf . . .
Even though it initially looked very imposing, it was fairly easy to find a good route

Above the granite shelf the "trail" turned into a scramble through lots of scree . . .
We just stayed high and kept that cliff to our right

Soon we came to Goat Falls . . . Idaho's tallest waterfall at 650 ft
The path leads between the cliff (from the previous picture) and the Falls

Above the Falls we entered this boulder field and the route became a little more sketchy . . . 
With another couples help we determined the best way to go was to stick closer to the trees by the stream
(Hint:  If in doubt, always keep the stream to your left and stay as close as possible to it)

Soon after crossing this stream a well defined social trail emerged and lead us right to the lake
(Remember this stream is coming from the lake) 

Goat Lake

Goat Lake's water color is amazing! 
 Words can't describe it, so we'll let the picture show it!

Mr. Chipmunk

Looks like we have our Christmas picture!

Heading down we were able to look into the White Cloud wilderness area . . .
That snow is from the same storm that engulfed us on Thursday when we hiked Horton Peak

Coming down from Goat Lake was easier than we expected . . .
It's amazing how things made more sense than they did on the way up!

Which budged first?  The boulder or the tree

Back on the first set of switchbacks and making our way into the Sawtooth Lake basin

Crossing Iron Creek, on the log, one more time before making the final mile push to the trailhead

When we began planning this hike we were surprised by how much variation there was in the stats posted online.  Some showed the r/t mileage as 6 miles while others said 8 miles.  All we can do is add to the confusion!  For us it ended up being 9.6 miles, with 2,000 ft elevation gain and took us approximately 6 hours to complete.  (For the post we felt best described this hike you can click here for a link to 33ANDFREE's description.)  This hike came close to pushing us over our limits, but if we had the chance to do it again . . . we would.  What a gorgeous hike, lake and day!

Custer & Fishhook Creek

After our strenuous hike to Horton Peak, we needed a "down" day to let our bodies recover for the difficult Saturday hike we had planned to Goat Lake.  We originally were going to hike the relatively flat Fishhook Trail, but when we awoke to a heavy fog, we quickly changed our plans.  We decided to leave the Stanley Valley and head north along the Salmon River to visit an old ghost town and gold mining dredge.

Yankee Fork Gold Dredge . . .
Shipped from Minnesota in 1940 and was assembled on site . . .
It would have been incredible to see this piece of machinery operate

It weighed almost a 1,000 tons and dredge mined 5.5 miles along a section of the Yankee Fork River . . .
It ran 24 hrs. a day for 12 years and was operated by only three men on each shift!

Just a mile past the gold dredge is the town of Custer . . . Idaho's best preserved ghost town
The last resident left in 1911 when the Sunbeam Mine closed
(It was closed on the day we visited, so we couldn't go inside the buildings)

But that didn't keep us from looking in the windows!

And wandering the grounds of the property

The historical society that keeps Custer running has done a nice job restoring and maintaining the town 

This is part of a stamp mill that was used to crush ore for the extraction of gold

One of the many interpretive signs told how this family shingled their roof by flattening out tin cans . . .
Pretty ingenious!

These three sisters died when a snowslide swept down Bald Mountain
and pushed their home into the Yankee Fork River . . . .
The parents survived, but due to other snowslides in the area,
they could not bury them in the Bonanza Cemetery a few miles away

Wonder when the last time the door knob and key were used

Allison took this picture by looking through one window and focusing on the other wall . . .
Really makes you feel like you stepped into an earlier time, doesn't it

By late morning, the clouds and fog began to lift and we decided to return to Stanley to hike the Fishhook Trail near Redfish Lake and Lodge.  This allowed us to stretch our legs and get an easy workout in preparation for Saturday's hike.  The trail ended at Fishhook Creek Meadow and gave us outstanding views of many of the higher peaks in the Sawtooth Range.

The Fishhook Creek trailhead serves as a "jumping off point" for many other popular hikes in the area

The trail is an easy 5-mile (r/t) hike/walk with minimal elevation gain (300 ft) . . .
It is well suited for all ages

Much of the early portions of the trail follows along the crystal clear Fishhook Creek

Spruce Grouse

The trail ends at this beautiful meadow . . .
Two of the Sawtooth's highest peaks, Mt. Horstmann & Mt. Heyburn, both over 10,000 ft,
are showcased from this vantage point

Mt. Thompson (10,751 ft), which is the highest peak in the Sawtooth's, can also be seen

After our hike we decided to stop in and check things out at the Redfish Lake Lodge . . .
Kent, having previously worked for a park concessionaire, enjoyed seeing how the property was being managed

Redfish Lake

If you're feeling like you'd like a little more hiking, you can extend the Fishhook Creek Trail by an additional 1.5 miles.  At the meadow, where most people turn around, the trail continues on.  It crosses over into the Sawtooth wilderness and eventually ends at a creek coming down from an unnamed lake off Mt. Thompson.  We didn't find anything extraordinary about this trail, but it did allow us to make this a 6.5 mile (r/t) hike.

 

Horton Peak Lookout

In preparation for our stay in Stanley, Idaho Kent purchased "The Day Hiker's Guide to Stanley, Idaho" by Scott Marchant.  One of the hikes that particularly interested Kent was Horton Peak.  Scott said from its summit one would have unobstructed panoramic views of the Sawtooth's, the White Clouds, and the Boulder and Pioneer Mountains.  As if this weren't enough, the summit also featured a 1938 Forest Service lookout and a benchmark.  What more could you ask from a hike?

A couple of miles below the Galena Summit we left Highway 75 and made our way to Horton Peak
(While this isn't Horton Peak, the picture shows the beautiful country heading up Pole Creek Road) 

After about four miles of traveling on Valley Road we came to this sign
(We took this road for about a mile to the trailhead . . . the trail to the top is approximately 3.5 miles)

The lower part of the trail wound mostly through sagebrush until we reached the backbone of the ridge . . . 
Then it became a mixture of pine, sagebrush and a few aspens

Looking north, towards Stanley . . . that's the Sawtooth Range across the valley

We were surprised to find this telephone pole (and several more along the trail) . . .
One can only imagine the effort it took to erect these on such a steep slope

About halfway up the trail we traversed through this aspen grove before emerging back into more sage

Checking out those clouds . . . looks like a storm is brewing . . .
We could hear thunder in the distance but never saw any flashes of lighting . . . just the same, being exposed in the sage flats made us a little nervous!

Yep, we've got trouble coming our way

We were about a 1/2 mile from the top when the storm finally caught us . . .
So close . . . should we turn around? . . . but, it's so close!

We took cover in some trees and "milled" around pondering whether to continue . . .
We waited about 10 minutes (and a pretty heavy graupel outpouring) before deciding to press on

15 minutes later and we were on top . . .
It was thundering in the clouds all around us, so Allison quickly
grabbed a few pictures and we headed back down to the safety of the trees

Ah, here's one of the items we came to see . . . a 1961 benchmark!

This lookout has stood here since 1938 . . . it was last manned in 1960
We were able to lift one of the shutters and look inside through a window pane . . . 
Not much to see other than some paint cans . . . we hope that plans are in the works to restore this lookout
(Click here for more history on this lookout)

Looking at North Horton Peak (9,868 ft) . . . looks a little steep, but doable 

Looking east towards Castle Peak (11,815 ft) in the heart of the White Cloud Wilderness Area

Time to take a quick selfie and get off the top of this mountain!

"Getting out of Dodge" and heading for safety!

Here's a closeup of some graupel . . . which are basically water droplets frozen onto snowflakes

South Horton Peak (9,928 ft) . . . 
This picture gives you an idea of how steep this trail really is!

How did we miss this on the way up?  Surprisingly, in usable condition!

The storm began to let up as we got lower on the mountain . . . 
It gave us good views of Alturas Lake, across the valley in the Sawtooth's

Looking back towards the top . . . maybe we should have waited a little longer for the storm to pass??
Nah!!!

Horton Peak (9,896 ft)
(Allison took this picture one-week later as we were passing back through Stanley . . .
The trail starts near the golden aspens on the valley floor and makes its way up the ridge, left center of picture)

While not as spectacular, in appearance, as the peaks in the Sawtooth Range across the valley, this peak is every bit as high as many of them. We suppose that the difficulty (2,800 ft in 3.6 miles) keeps many from attempting this peak.  It appeared, from the register, that maybe one or two parties hike this trail each week . . . a little surprising with such a well maintained trail and amazing 360° views on a clear day!  If you're up to it, click here for a link and a map, that shows the trail up this peak, as well as, a route for North & South Horton Peaks.  If you're in the area, don't miss out on this fun hike!