Sunday, September 25, 2016

Day Seven: Assault on Bald Mountain, The Final Chapter

(continued from Part Two)

We were nearing the final part of the hike. At least of the uphill part!
At about 8,300 feet, we only had 700 vertical feet left to climb.

I could smell the summit!
At this point, pictures of the hike are unavailable.
As I continued to attack the face, Dad bailed and took the switchback!
 
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, the Summit of Bald Mountain, Sun Valley.

"Challenger".  Indeed. 9,010 feet of challenge!
 
Time to launch an assault on those sandwiches!
Puppy still hydrating...

At the top, I ran into Bob, an experienced Sun Valley hiker.
He gave me some tips, like "If you go slow, you can go forever,"
and "Use the switchbacks.  It's easier on the body."
Hey, Dad, I'd like you to meet Bob...

There was a cool cabin at the top of the trail.
One last picture before the descent.

Sometimes taking the wrong trail down is fun!
Of course, using the switchbacks didn't last long.

The sun was getting low, making the trip down even cooler than the trip up!
We saw loads of deer...that we had flushed out of the woods...
while trying to find the right trail!

Spreading my arms in joy!

Dad spreading his arms in a different way!
The climb was beautiful and painful at the same time!
Exhausted, we headed back to the condo for...
 
...a terrific dinner of Caesar Salad and Pasta with red sauce.

Oh...and the rest of that pie!
We were left with just one final project for Day Seven...

...making a giant blueberry muffin for tomorrow's trip to Yellowstone!

The next couple of day's we'll be in camping mode.  
Don't worry if you don't here from me for a couple of days.
Wild-Fi isn't blog-friendly.

See next time...in Chicago!




Day Seven: Assault on Bald Mountain, Part Two

(Continued from Part One)
We continued our ascent of the ski trails, heading up to Bald Mountain.
The summit was 9,010 feet, and were at about 7,000 feet.

About a third of the way up, and I feel great!
"How are you doing, Dad?"

 
"Zzzzz..."

The amazing scenery kept me going!

Come on, Dad...

About halfway, and the view was...

...astonishing!

As we crossed the switchback trail for what seemed like the billionth time,
we ran into a group of mountain bikers.
The race was on!

TO BE CONTINUED...
(again)









Day Seven: Assault on Bald Mountain, Part One

We were determined to make our last day in the Sun Valley area a full one.
We wanted to do some hiking, like yesterday.
But we wanted this hike to be a tough one...tiring and painful, so that we would 
look forward to long trip in the car.

We started with a good breakfast of eggs and toast and...
Dutch Apple Pie!

I made the sandwiches for the day.  
We would need them once we got to the end of our hike.

Our destination...?
Hey, Bear...where in the heck am I?


Dad thought it would be a good idea to launch a direct assault
on Bald Mountain...Sun Valley's summit. 

Normal people take the switchback trail.
It's a 5.3 mile trail to the top.
We decided take a shorter route... straight up!

The sun was shining beautifully!

WEEEEEE...!!!
At the second lift station already?!?
"Are we almost there, Dad?"

"Well...not exactly."
The base of the hike was 5,764 feet.
We were at 6,365 feet.

"How high is the summit, Dad?"
9,010 feet.
WHAAAT???

Time to hydrate!

And keep climbing.

TO BE CONTINUED...











Saturday, September 24, 2016

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!