Day Six: Hiking Idaho's Smoky Mountains

So, Day Six finds us back in the Sun Valley area.  

After a long day of driving back from Whitefish yesterday, we were ready for a day of exercise.  Ketchum has many, many trails for hiking & exploring the surrounding Smoky Mountains.  

We chose the Oregon Gulch Trail.

The trail starts in a mountain steppe zone, then follows a riparian zone along Oregon Gulch.

It finishes with a pretty steep climb into the Smoky Mountain timber.

This is a nice shot of the lower part of the Oregon Gulch Trail.

The creek is very slow moving along the flats. 

The willows and aspens were magnificent with the sun behind them!

After about a mile, the trail started slowly climb...

...leading to an amazing tunnel of aspens.

As it got steeper, we found logs and rocks to take much needed breaks!

Dad took some time to give me a review of the three states of matter.

"You see, Todd, matter can be  a solid, a gas, or a liquid..."

"Yeah, Dad, I know..."

As we got closer to the top, the snowy peaks began to appear in the distance.

Two days of stormy weather had paid off!

Hiking around here you really have to pay attention.  You never know what you'll find.

We came across this print just off the trail.  A little research tells us that it's might be...

...a wolverine track.

Almost 5 miles in.

"Are we there yet, Dad?"

A half mile later.

"Yes, Todd...we're there!"

 

After all that work...5 miles of hiking...we took some time to just enjoy the peace & quiet.

Although I didn't get to see the moose I'd hoped for, here's what we did see...

...several Least Chipmunks...

...a Downy Woodpecker...

...a Racer Snake...

...and a baby Field Mouse.  It was acting injured, so I moved it to safety off the trail.

All this hiking and learning... "OK, Dad.  I'm hungry.  Let's get out of here!"

The meadow...just as we left it.

See you next time!