John, Davy, Daryl, and the pups spent a week backpacking in the Sawtooths last week. Here are their journal entries and photos. In case you missed it, here is Day One.
The first two days, we hiked along the Salmon River, then headed up into the mountains.
Davy: Today we had a good day. We slept in late and when I got up, Dad had a fire going. Breakfast was great because Daryl couldn’t eat all of his so it got split between me and Dad. After leaving there wasn’t any rain. There were hardly any clouds anywhere. Most of the rest of the day was uneventful and not worth mentioning.
Our goal for today was to make it to Dagger Falls where there was supposed to be running water. After we finally made it there, it turned out that they were out of water, which is weird because it’s right next to the river. We ate lunch and then took a nap. Eventually we started to plan our route. There was another area just a mile or two ahead that our map said would have running water so I asked some people if there was. They said they didn’t know, but they had more than enough water, so they filled up our bottles.
Later, when we were taking pictures of the falls, we started talking to one of them again. His name was John Cook and he had apparently traveled in India and had taught at BSU. He said that if we met someone named Shelton Wood, who he thought was the president of BSU, we should say that we know him. We said goodbye and hiked for another mile or so and set up camp.
We decided to take a quick bath in the river before it got dark and everyone went full body under. I washed my clothes and hung them up to dry. When we made dinner I put too much water in it and it turned out to be soup. It was good anyway.
Daryl: This was our first full day of hiking. I got up at around 8:00 to a campfire already going. We cooked and ate breakfast, brushed our teeth, packed up, and headed out. The day started out pretty uneventful. We walked for a while until we reached Dagger Falls. Once we got there, we took a long break. After eating lunch and taking a nap, we took off and looked for a place to camp. At first, there was absolutely nothing. When we finished climbing long hill, there were a lot of places. When we got close to the river we wanted camp at, the camping spots ended. Shortly after that river we found a good spot. Once we got there, we decided to go swimming. The water was brutally cold but refreshing in this 100 degree F weather. Then we ate dinner. Dinner was couscous with some spices and freeze-dried items.
John (morning): Just got out of bed. Had a very restful night. Moe didn’t bark once! The dogs were thoroughly exhausted. We all got into the tent last night at the same time. While the boys & I stayed up talking the dogs promptly passed out.
The dogs add a lot to the backpacking experience. The kids love looking after them and cuddling with them each time we take a break. When we stopped to camp for the night they were confused about what was going on, but this morning they are as happy as can be exploring the area and playing with each other.
After finally getting David to quit talking about Skyrim and Fallout we’re having great quality time. There’s something about the wilderness that really brings us together. Once we get away from all life’s distractions (mainly video games) life becomes much more intimate and brings us closer on a personal level.
John (evening): It was hot today and I vowed that at the end of the day I’d clean myself off in the Salmon River. When we arrived at our campsite we all headed down to the river for a bath. I got in first and quickly decided the water was too cold. I splashed some water on me, yelled a little, then got out and got dressed. Daryl being Daryl just kind of jumped in like it was nothing. But when David got in it made me feel a bit bad; I couldn’t bear the thought that they got in but I wimped out. So I stripped down to my skivvies and plunged in. I have to say I felt quite refreshed and very glad my sons ‘prodded’ me to get in.
Daryl is obstinate. He absolutely refuses to sleep next to his brother. For being such a logical person, this makes no sense. Even when I ask him why this is such a problem, he can’t come up with a reason.
Today we continued to walk along the Salmon River, a total of about 16 miles. There are beautiful spots along the way but for the most part kind of drab; I expected more. Tomorrow we’ll head up into the mountains and actually get above timberline. It should be much cooler up there.
Davy and Daryl were responsible for all navigation on the trip. They took their job seriously, and pulled out the map at every break.
After a long day, Davy crashed on the bench.
It didn’t take him long to figure out that Daryl had the better idea, so he joined his brother and the pups on the ground.
The water in the Salmon River was cold, but refreshing after a hot day of hiking.
The stove they brought burns sticks. It worked well, but they had to sit there and feed a steady supply of sticks into it.
Taking some time before bed to write a journal entry.
Click here for the entries and photos from Day Three.
And Day Four.
The post A hike in the Idaho Sawtooth Mountains: Day 2 appeared first on Family on Bikes.