Usage is high in this area and adherence to Leave No Trace practices is low so this Wilderness isn’t really very wild and certainly not unspoiled.

It is still amazing mountain terrain and we had a great hike to Sawtooth Lake.  A small herd of elk and a few young ones were hanging out along the access road to the trailhead.  We started out though a forested area and ascended along a creek into the rugged Sawtooth Mountains.  Wildflowers bloom and snow still hangs in sheltered areas.  Bare gray mountains ring the alpine lakes in stark contrast with the clear blue water.  Pica and marmot scamper, squeak, and bark their alarm from among the glacier moraine that forms the lake shoreline.  They all fall silent as a fox trots through.

The trail climbs 1700 feet revealing fantastic views of the valley below and distant mountain ranges. Thankfully there is very little smoke in the air today.  We are without internet, TV, radio and cell coverage so we don’t know for sure where fires might be but they are apparently downwind today.