Angel's Landing - GoPro
Angel's Landing is often rated as one of the very best hikes in America. I can see why!
This hike was rated as "Moderate" on most of the guides that I read, and "Hard" on a few others. I can see why. At points, you'll have to scramble up the stones like a mountain goat. Even without that, some parts are quite steep and you'll be feeling it the next day.
Despite the toughness of the route, the place was quite popular and crowded. I saw little kids and older folks all over the place. It was a tough hike but anyone in decent shape and with a desire to reach the top can make it.
My favorite part of the hike was watching the human stories unfold. Sorority sisters talked trash about their teachers, young sibling conspired to scare the bejesus out of their parents and the older folks determined to make it up "that damn hill".
The best of them all was the Korean family whose dad was trying to take pictures of his kids in a manner that made it look the kids were about to fall off the cliff. He was just using angles to make it look worse than it was and at no point were the kids in jeopardy but the mom was having none of it. She was so worried about the kids freaking out that she freaked them out by freaking out herself. It would have been a cool shot, something silly I would have taken with my boys but her fussing seemed to interrupted the shot. Still, it was entertaining to watch.
On ... and the views of the canyon were alright, too.
Stevens Lake by iPhone
I've already told you about this trip to Stevens Lake in a previous post so I won't bore you with the details again. I suppose that I could add some cute poetry but I suspect that you'd rather see the pretty picture.
There may have been some skinny-dipping involved. The water was as chilly as you might expect so I didn't last long.
As the trail winds through several types of forests and gains elevation quickly, every bend and turn provided a new view or a new type of forest to walk through.
I so thoroughly love every aspect of the Stevens Lake Trail. It's my favorite escape valve in North Idaho.
Stevens Lake - iPhone - danscape (18 of 69)
Stevens Lake by GoPro
One of my favorite places in all the Inland Northwest!
From the All Trails/NatGeo website:
Stevens Lakes is a 5 mile out and back trail located near Mullan, Idaho that features a lake and is rated as moderate. The trail is primarily used for fly fishing & hiking and is accessible from June until October.
I love this place! When I need a one-day escape from the world, I often head east to this getaway nestled in the Bitterroot Mountains just outside of Wallace, Id. Though I wouldn't call it an easy hike, it's really only steep in a few short places. Really manageable for most hiker. What I always find amazing about the trail is how it winds through a few different geographic zones.
In one area, you'll be surrounded by cedars and walking through great dampness. A little while further you'll be on an exposed rock slide face that is more dry pine. Just a bit further and you'll be walking under deciduous trees and have very different shrubbery surrounding you.
Let's not forget the lakes. This most recent trip showed them at the lowest level that I've seen. We had an easy winter and it was near the end of a dry summer so it wasn't unexpected. Nor was it disappointing. The water was still clear and cold. The ancient deadwood logs were still scattered along the banks. As I was alone up there, I did go for a skinny dip in the icy water. As I am a wimp, it didn't last long. The chill was washed away within minutes of stretching out on a rocky bank and soaking in the sun.
The nap induced from the warmth made the short trip to the upper lake a slim prospect. I would have had to circle back around the west side of the lower lake and head up. Not a hard scramble but my time was running short. Had to get back to Wallace.
Again, I'm thankful to the good folks at Huppin's for the loan of the Go Pro. A cool tool for capturing interesting angles.