Kane Lake in the Great State of Idaho

Rating: ⚘⚘⚘⚘⚘

The sign lies just a little. It was a little more than 3.5. And no, this isn't my picture. I may have stolen it because I forgot to take one. (Theft. Lying. This is starting out to be a great post.)

Length: 8.5 miles (which is also a lie according to my watch. More like 7.5 miles) and 1784 elevation gain, which seemed right to me. 

Sorry to start off by mentioning lies and theft. This was actually a very lovely hike! It got a 5 flower rating out of 5 flowers! The road to the hike, although quite sketchy in parts, was worth the drive. We hit the trail around 4 p.m. (after a white knuckle 5 miles on the questionable dirt road previously alluded to) and were in for a lovely, lovely hike. The wildflowers, the rock walls, the diverse scenery, and the pet dog we acquired for the last quarter mile of the hike was a great experience! 

As we climbed up, we noticed really majestic rock walls. Little did we know this would just keep getting better and better. We also noticed so many beautiful wild flowers. And, our feet were so happy. The trail, for the most part, was the kind of pine needley trail that makes your feet want to tap dance along. Tap dancing and carrying a large backpack don't go together, so we just did our normal walking.

Here's Leti by one of the many rock wall views along the way. It was stunningly beautiful! 

As we climbed along, we saw bolder fields like the one below. And the wildflowers! I saw mini yellow and red columbine that I had never seen in the mountains before. 

Note wildflowers and rock fields. This picture doesn't quite do it justice. 

Here's Leti looking particularly happy to be on a hike in this beautiful place. 

The big granite rock fields were a favorite for me. As we climbed, we noticed a shelf, and decided that was where the lake was. We were almost right. We hiked up the shelf and no lake. Hike in another few minutes and viola! Lake! 

When we got to the lake, we were amazed by the beauty. 

To the side of me, you can see one of the many little waterfalls that went to the lake. What you can't see is the beautiful color of the lake! It was so pleasant. Little fish biting! So pleasant. 

I was a tad jealous of the gals who were at the lake camping for the night. Right before we saw them, Leti wondered if she smelled campfire. She did. And then, like magic, the camp fire, campers, and dogs appeared! Their dogs spotted us first, and we thought we had hiked our last. But, luckily, their owners called them back. No fresh meat for them. Unfortunately, the mosquitoes thought otherwise. So, instead of being eaten alive, literally, we headed back down pretty quickly. Deet was no match for those feisty mosquitoes. But, the lake was definitely worth the hike. 

On the way back down we hiked up to a guy with his FOUR dogs, all labs. That seemed a little excessive to me, but to each their own. I can't keep a house plant alive, so I probably shouldn't judge. Saber, the youngest lab, followed us to the trail head, despite our best efforts to tell Saber to go back to his faithful owner. 

Here's Leti and her new furry friend, Saber! 

We made it back down the trail, left Saber with some other new stranger, and took off down the road before dark! A win! Along the way, we stopped to help a couple with a flat tire. Their new car didn't have all the right parts for the jack. Less helpful. So, Leti got hers out. During all of this, I entertained their dog. This dog was a little weasley. And why you ask. It was part blue heeler. It was fun to play catch with the dog, who was quite good at catching random sticks I threw. He reminded me of good ole' Archie, our family childhood dog. Fond memories. 

With the spare on, we all took off and headed down the mountain. Another fabulous hike in the books!