It has been blindingly hot here of late, so we were looking forward to some lovely cool evenings at the very least.
Daniel rode his bike a lot. There were a couple of rides that were at least 100 kilometres long in there, and one of them was uphill pretty much all the way. I know this, because I drove it so I could pick him up in a place called Idaho City, and even driving it was not for the faint of heart. Lots of twists and turns on a two lane road full of holiday traffic. And it was hot.
I honestly don't know how he does it, especially since it was mere preparation for a ride he's doing this weekend that is more than THREE HUNDRED kilometres, and he's hoping to do it in ONE DAY! I have to sit down and catch my breath just thinking about it! I'm absolutely amazed at not only his fitness, but his mental fortitude.
Yours Truly spent large amounts of time reading, working on a baby blanket, and hanging out with the furry ones. They've been up to the cabin about three times now, I think, and each time it gets a bit easier in that there's less complaining in the car, and they relax (by which I mean sleep) a little sooner.
I did manage to get in a hike, though. I've been struggling a lot with the stupid fibromyalgia monster of late, but Daniel found a short (just over a couple of kilometres) hike in the mountains that I thought I would be able to handle even though the walk out was uphill and at somewhere around 2,000 metres of elevation. The (rather sparse) notes I found about the trail rated it as "difficult", which I assumed was because it was uphill. But since it was short, and I didn't have to run up it, I thought it would be okay.
On Saturday we packed sandwiches, lots of water, snacks, and some sunscreen, and headed out, leaving the cats to their snoozing. We took a blanket, and Daniel took his fishing gear with the hope that he'd have a chance for a cast or three.
We made a three hour or so drive northeast up into the Boise Mountains along gravel roads that became increasingly precarious until we reached the trailhead for Lost Lake.
So no worries, we found the trailhead and there wasn't another soul to be seen. Hurray! We headed out along what looked to me like an old logging road that was really just two ruts in the dirt, and took in the scenery.
We hiked for a bit. And then the trail vanished. We scouted around until we found those two ruts again, and continued on our merry way. Did we bring a map? No we did not. Pffft! Who needs a map for such a short hike?
We lost the trail a few times until it petered out completely. It was at about this time I began to realise that we had hiked quite a bit more than a kilometre and although there were lots of lovely things to look at, a lake was not amongst them.
Still, we soldiered on through increasingly dense shrubbery, and then we hit an area that had been burnt out.
It was pretty rough going, so we stopped for lunch. And that's when squadrons of giant mosquitoes decided to launch their major attack, after a few earlier sorties had Daniel swearing a blue streak. Did we bring bug spray? No we did not.
Now normally I can guarantee that I will be mosquito-free if Daniel's around, because they swoon over him, but when he left to hike up a hill to see if he could see Lost Lake they apparently decided I was fair game, too. It stayed that way for the rest of the hike.
There wasn't a lake to be seen from the top of the hill, and that's when I realised we had somehow managed to get completely off the trail. At Daniel's (very smart) suggestion, we started hiking back down the mountain keeping a little stream that was there (and which we figured probably emptied into the lake) within earshot.
Back though the burnt area we went.
At this point, it was beginning to feel like a bit of a quest. I felt like I should have had a sword and a suit of armour, or something. Or at least some bug spray.
Still, it was absolutely beautiful, and very peaceful.
Thanks to Daniel's smart thinking, we eventually hit what looked like an actual trail, instead of two ruts in the dirt, and we hiked up to what we hoped would be Lost Lake. I use the term "hiked" quite loosely. Daniel gambolled up the steep slope like a billy goat, while Yours Truly applied the tortoise method and toiled up through creeks, rocks and tree roots very slowly.
And then we found it!
Just lovely, isn't it? Daniel fished for a bit (he caught and released three trout), while I rested and slapped at mosquitoes.
The bugs defeated us in the end, and because we had waylaid ourselves and run out of time, we headed back down through wildflowers and crystal clear streams.
It wasn't until we reached the bottom that we discovered how we'd managed to miss the trail. We thought it was to the right of Daniel. I mean, it looks like a trail to me.
We completely missed the fact that behind the fallen tree he's pointing at was a well-trodden, perfectly visible hiking trail! Oh well. We ended up hiking a bit more than six kilometres, and I am pleased to report that I didn't overdo it and end up being miserable.
On our way back to the cabin, we drove through an area called Bear Valley. Didn't see any bears, but what a stunning - and HUGE - valley it is.
Definitely on our list of places to go camping. Especially since it's apparently chock full of fish for Daniel to catch, too.
You know, just when I think I've gotten used to the scenery in Idaho, we spend a day doing something like this, and I realise that I couldn't be more wrong.
What a wonderful day it turned out to be.
Cheers!
