Do – SALT SEA SKY

The Big Swirlie {Rafting the Salmon River, Stanley, Idaho}

The Salmon River, which runs through the Sawtooth Mountain range in central Idaho, earns the prize as one of the best white water trips I’ve been on to date.

We hooked up with a rafting company located in Stanley, Idaho–an outpost in the middle of no where about an hour north of Sun Valley–to ride a river nicknamed the “River of No Return.”

Welcome to the bustling metropolis of Stanley. Gorgeous–and remote. Hope you didn’t forget anything!You won’t be getting one here!

Since it appeared that only our little group of four was scheduled to go out that day, we got to use a smaller, five-man raft compared to the larger (more stable) seven-man raft that we’d used on other trips when part of a larger group.

(Check out the big swirlie. Looks like a big toilet bowl in the middle of the river…)

Our little raft was like driving a compact car–it was faster, lighter, and had much more “reactive” handling.

We got tossed around, bounced up and down, and thoroughly soaked. It was awesome.

I’m
still not sure how we all managed to stay in the raft throughout the entire
trip…

But, we did.

Thanks to a capable river guide.

For more information on rafting in and around the Sun Valley area, visit the Sawtooth Adventure Company website.

What has been your favorite river to raft to date? Do share!

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Ptarmigan Tunnel Hike, Glacier National Park

Our big hike this summer had us back on the Iceberg Lake Trailhead in East Glacier and hiking approximately ten miles round trip to the Ptarmigan Tunnel. Since the Iceberg Lake and Ptarmigan Tunnel trails both share the same trailhead, the hike starting out feeling like deja vu, but once we passed Ptarmigan Falls and made the right hand turn onto the Ptarmigan Trail, we didn’t feel that way any longer.

In fact, we started asking ourselves, “What the hell are we thinking?”

Ptarmigan Trail starts with an elevation climb of around 400 feet over 6/10 of a mile. Let me admit right now, making that climb is a lot of work for people who spend their lives at sea level.

In addition to being physically taxing, the Ptarmigan trail is also far less traveled than the Iceberg Lake trail. The lack of other hikers and several blind bends in the trail had us singing, whistling, clapping and talking very loudly–just to make sure any furry creature big or small knew we were there.

The elevation continued to climb, taking us through some densely wooded areas, steep-sided stretches of trail, and really beautiful views.

After an already long hike on an especially hot day for East Glacier, we asked some other hikers how much further it was until we reached the Ptarmigan Tunnel. They told us that once the trail clears the trees, we would be able to look ahead and see the switchbacks leading up the mountain to the tunnel above.

Yep. That’s what we saw…

From that vantage point, we could clearly see the next 1.5 miles of our hike.
And it was going to be a doozey!

We did get a gorgeous view of Ptarmigan Lake from the switchback section of the trail. The bright aqua color of the water from the glacial flour was rivaled only by the intensity of the blue, cloudless sky.

Unexpectedly, the grandeur of this place created a feeling of vertigo. The sides of the trail were very, very steep and very high up. Although it was a wide-enough foot path to walk comfortably, that dizzy feeling persisted and especially affected the kiddo.

He stopped on the trail and refused to go any further.

Dad actually had fingernail marks in his hands by the time they made it back to a lower portion of the trail.

It was a good idea to turn around when we did.

It would have been nice to see the tunnel, but we got to stick our feet in the lake instead.
Being dizzy while that high up is never a good idea.

We’ll catch the tunnel next time.

Check out more family-friendly trail hikes in Glacier National Park:

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Alpine Zone Fauna on Logan’s Pass, Glacier National Park

Logan’s Pass is one of the few places in Glacier National Park where you are nearly guaranteed to see wildlife up close and personal.

It’s one of the few trails where you can drive your car into the
alpine zone to catch the trail head, and then the shorter hike (3 miles round trip) makes the trail accessible to a wider range of visitors.

The animal photos are great because it’s such a busy, popular trail, the animals have grown accustomed to the presence of humans and don’t feel at all shy. In fact, they seldom feel compelled to move out of the way.

It kinda looks like a petting zoo.
With really steep sides.
And no fences.

In fact, we have always found ourselves sharing the trail with mountain goats, big horn sheep, and marmots for sure!

I just love taking animal photos. It’s such a treat.

Unlike a landscape that tends to stay put, your subject has free will and a mind of their own so it’s a special pleasure when you hit the shutter button and get rewarded with an extra cute animal shot.

Look maaaa…where my horns will come in!

Oversized guinea pig? No! It’s a marmot! Last year, I’d never seen one before.

Two marmots sitting on a rock, s-u-n-n-i-n-g.
First comes love
Then comes marriage
Then comes…well, you know the rest.
They’re rodents after all.

Big horn sheep butting heads on the slope. At least I thought it was his head until I zoomed in on the photo. That’s actually one sheep head butting the other sheep’s ass.

I just report what I see. I never claimed to be an expert.

Mama goats and baby goats…

And one of the coolest photos of the trip! And officially my new header!

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Logan’s Pass Trail, Glacier National Park

Probably the most popular hike in Glacier National Park is the Logan Pass trail to the Hidden Lake overlook.

At only 3 miles round trip, it appears to be a minor investment of time and energy with huge rewards: the highest elevation on the Sun Road, hiking over snow fields (even in July!), alpine tundra, lots of wild life, and amazing scenery.

Tourists flock here, piling out of rental cars and RVs, wearing running shorts and flip flops–and take off up the mountain.

Seriously.

Unfortunately, each time that we’ve been there, a visitor has needed to be escorted down the mountain by rangers. Either on a back board or in a helicopter.

Just because it’s one of the shorter, more popular trails in the park doesn’t mean it’s the safest.

So we take the necessary precautions: hiking boots, extra clothes, water, hiking sticks, etc.
Then, we take off up the mountain too!

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The trail starts at the Logan Pass Visitor’s Center. It’s well maintained with board walks at the lower end of the trail. The stairs help with the initial climb as the elevation rises, but eventually you have to take off over snow field and watch for trail markers.