Pettit and Toxaway Lake Loop, Somewhere, Idaho

Rating: ⚘⚘⚘⚘⚘


Length: 17.7 miles (My watch said 18.5. My feet said 2,000.) Elevation gain: 3,169 feet. 

"Let's do an 18 mile hike," we said. "It'll be fun," we said. Our feet were less impressed with the idea, but off we went anyway. The day dawned bright and beautiful in Somewhere, Idaho (Not really the name of the town, but close enough). It was 45 degress. In July. On Pioneer Day! (We didn't sing as we walked and walked and walked and walked.) We hit the trail a little before 9 after an hour drive to the trailhead. On our way, we noted a lot of fog. We were supposed to hike the day before, but there were big thunderstorms in the area. This trail is a very popular trail to camp along. And many of the campers mentioned that it had been a night. Hail. Thunder. Rain. All the things you want to go on while a thin layer of tent protects you from the great outdoors.

It was a surreal experience to start in the fog. We felt like we started the hike really early in the morning. We couldn't see the gigantic mountains ahead of us. For example: 
Leti, in the fog.

A gigantic mountain behind the fog. Really, it's there. Kind of in the center of the picture. 

We hit our first (and really only) obstacle about a mile and a half in. A stream that was about mid calf deep. Inasmuch as we don't enjoy hiking in wet boots and socks, we took off our boots and socks and walked across the stream. I wouldn't say that we are true pioneers, but we had a weak pioneering moment.

The scenery on this trail was beautiful. The trail itself had a very mild grade. And back to the scenery. It was so stunning. The lakes along the way were crystal clear. The rock above them was still draining, so there were little waterfalls all around And the wildflowers! Such variety. And, the boulder fields. And then the snow. In July. 

I do believe this picture explains why this region of mountains is called the Sawtooths.

Leti on one of the many boulder fields.

Me saying hello to a beautiful lake! 

Twin Lakes below Leti. Note the Leti and the wild flowers.


Me above the Twin Lakes. This picture does not do the scenery justice. 

This does not show my picture taking skills. At all. Sorry. Leti here at the top of this hike. With a nice patch of snow. 

After we reached the summit of our trail, we headed down to see these beautiful wildflower fields. You can't see the little stream flowing through the flowers. But, it is there. 

In real life, these flowers are so much more vivid! 

We hiked and hiked and hiked and hiked, if you can believe that of an 18 mile hike. We stopped for lunch, which consisted of an apple, trail mix, and some other forms of straight sugar. 
This was our lunch spot, pre-nap. We were far enough away from the lake to not be eaten alive by mosquitoes. 

With seven miles left we said, a nap sounds nice. At this point we had been hiking for about 6 hours, or close. So, we found a nice flat rock along a stream and took a nap. It was perfect. 

This is where we napped. Nice flat rock. Beautiful scenery. 

After our nap, we had 7 miles left. Seven long miles left. The second half of the hike wasn't quite as stunning as the first half of the hike. And, our feet were a tad tired. And, there was lots of horse poop on the trail. We would make horrible pioneers. From mile 16.5 to mile 17.5, it was uphill. We made it! And, we ended with a beautiful view of the Lake Pettit that we couldn't see when we started hiking in the a.m. We also saw the jaggedy mountains around us that the fog hid from us. It was a beautiful end to a beautiful hike. 

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