Over the weekend a few of us got together for a little hike and hang in southern Idaho. We hiked into Independence Lakes that are just north of the Utah-Idaho border. Seemed like a fitting place for a hang this month.
I was able to take my 6 yr old son on his first backpacking trip, which he was very excited about.
And with a little work to find and schedule a little baby sitting from both grandparents my wife was able to join us.
A few other members of the forum were able to make the hang, KSC from Nevada made the drive up. As did Blaktee and his son Trooper. We had a lot of fun and spent a lot of time talking gear.
We set out early on Friday morning to drive the couple hours to the trail head and meet up with KSC. In short order we had loaded up the packs and took off down the trail. About a hundred yards down the trail I thought, wait did I lock the car? Could not answer that one for sure so I sent Princess back to check. She came back to let me know I had. Woops. Ahhh if that had been my only brain flatulence of the day that would have been good.
We hiked for a while working our way up the trail at a comfortable pace. We let The Dude (aka our 6yr old) set the speed most of the time and while it was not real fast it was better than I had expected from him. Though we did need to stop and take a break every now and then most of them did not need to be drawing breaks.
As we approached the first lake KSC said something to the effect of "that was not too bad we should head back and start again." Don't know why but that kicked my brain into remembering the cheese and pizza sauce that were sitting in the cooler behind the drivers seat of the car. Princess who has been running for the past couple months was considering going back but KSC kept pushing that he would. He likes to hike...being 83% mountain goat helps I think.He dropped off his pack in the bushes and headed down the trail. We turned and headed on the last 1/2 mile to the first lake.
We had a small snack and set to doing a little fishing in the lake while we waited for KSC to catch back up.
It was not long before The Dude had pulled in his first Greyling.
With the sun beating down and the occasional grey cloud we decided we should head on up to the next lake to set up camp before it got dark.
As we got back to the trail along the edge of the lake up walked KSC...Saviour of Pizza Quesadilla dinner. The 4 of us hiked the last 2 tenths of a mile up to the second lake. Right off the bat we found a nice camp spot with plenty of trees spread out over a small area. Log benches were lined up around the main fire pit and views of the lake from most hanging spots.
The lake with camp to the left:
KSC's Switchback:
My RR next to The Dudes Jr. Trail Crew hammock:
Princess' Pink Flamingo with pink FlameThrower UQ:
As we got set up to make dinner Blaktee and Trooper came hiking in with a WOOOBUDDY! when they spotted camp. We all hung out for a while and ate and enjoyed the evening.
We all settled into our hammocks not long after it got dark enough to see the stars and enjoyed a windy night. In the morning we got up and made some breakfast and relaxed as the day started to warm up.
The Dude with oatmeal face
Princess not ready for the day till the coffee is gone.
KSC and his new shadow drinking tea and hot chocolate
With the sun up I was able to get some pictures of Blaktee and Troopers set ups.
After breakfast KSC, Blaktee and Trooper headed out to hike up to the ridgeline and check out the view. Princess, Dude and I hiked around the lake some looking for a good spot to do some fishing. Princess killed them this trip, she caught way more and way better fish than I had hopped for....well I had hoped to do as well as she but just did not have the luck she did.
Nice early morning cutthroat.
After a while we decided to hike down to the lower lake and try the fishing there to see if we could get some better action.
Princess again had the luck at the lower lake.
After a while Blaktee and Trooper came down to get a lesson on Tenkara. It did not take Blaktee too long to get the basics and land a nice greyling which made a break for it just as I clicked off the picture for evidence.
We hung out and fished for a while but things slowed down as the afternoon drug on. Blaktee and Trooper headed back up to camp and we tried for a little longer but eventually decided to head back up and do some dinner.
We busted out the Pack-it Gourmet Texas State Fair Chilli, which was excellentand we had enough to share a little with everyone...I would imagine that Trooper has already put together an order for some
Flock of Monarchs around the campfire
After dinner I decided to see if I could find any better fish for myself but did not have much luck. I did get to watch a great light show above the lake though.
Pic does not even come close to doing it justice.
We all turned in early again and in the morning everyone was up early, snacks for breakfast and packing up to hit the trail before it got too warm.
One last shot by the lake:
On the trail down:
We cruised the trail to the first lake
Having forgotten to get a group shot all together and with Blaktee and Trooper already well down the trail we grabbed one quick shot with KSC at the sign that marks the lakes.
The rest of the trail went pretty quickly with just a few stops.
It was a great hang with some great people. Thanks to KSC for saving dinner and for being the sherpa of the trip. Thanks to Blaktee and Trooper for joining us and for each of you for hanging with the Dude as he was busy bouncing off of every tree in the forest with a million comments and questions.
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Originally Posted by Shewie
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