Last week, our daughter and her husband came down from North Idaho for a visit. In the spirit of getting outside as much as possible, we packed our weekends full with some super-cool adventures.
First up on the good-times agenda: the iconic Shoshone Falls. We drove out to Twin Falls to paddle board and kayak on the mighty Snake. The falls stand at 212 ft and are aptly called the “Niagara of the West.” (It’s actually about 45 ft higher than Niagara Falls.) Most people get to the scenic overlook picnic area to grab a view. But if you’re up for the 8-mile round-trip paddle from Centennial Waterfront Park, your efforts will be handsomely rewarded.
The first stretch of the river gives you views of the 1,500-ft long Perrine Bridge spanning the majestic Snake River Canyon.
The rental people at AWOL Adventure Sports warned us not to hang out too long beneath the bridge. Perrine offers pedestrian walkways and people sometimes toss coins, shopping carts, and other small inanimate objects for fun. (Oh, Idaho.) You’ll also see BASE jumpers doing their thing.
The current is calm and smooth on this leg of the Snake and makes for easy paddling. (Having a fabulous tandem partner makes all the difference.)
About two miles in, you hit Pillar Falls. This is the portage section where we had to pick up our kayaks and boards and carry them over some mossy, slippery rocky areas with small inclines. Those kayaks, especially the tandem, were heavy. Not going to lie—it was a workout.
The last stretch up to Shoshone was easy going. You can even go right up to the falls—it’s spectacular. Pro tip: there’s a nice spot up off to the left where we had our picnic and could enjoy the views. Highly recommend.
There were a lot of good spots to cool off, but this one was a favorite.
No sooner did we wrap up lunch did we realize we were cutting it close getting our rentals back. Our friends at AWOL said at the put-in that if you’re running late to just call. We tried that, but there wasn’t any service out there. (Bummer, T-Mobile.)
Our party was determined to avoid extra charges, so we broke some Snake River speed records paddling back to the dock. I think we made it in about an hour. Nice job, guys.
And now for something completely different…
Second up was Weekend 2: our family backpacking trip to Hells Roaring Lake in the Sawtooths. G & D and G & T all joined in for this two-nighter. The Sawtooth Mountains are near and dear to our family’s heart, and making this trip together made it even more special.
In addition to spectacular views, most of the hikes in the Sawtooths offer steep climbs. That’s not the case with Hells Roaring as it’s one of the most accessible for hikers of all ages and skill levels. A relatively flat hike through beautiful forest takes you up to a crystal-clear lake that sits at 7,400 ft. Elegant towers of solid granite offer breathtaking views on the north side of the lake.
It’s amazing.
We set up camp at a fantastic lakeside group spot. First-class views and hammocking included.
Here’s an alpine Rorschach test.
The fishing was first-class too. G caught a beautiful rainbow trout on his first cast.
On Day 2, Cort and I hung out at Hells Roaring while the kids took the trail up another 1,000 ft to explore Imogene Lake for the day. Imogene is one of the gems of the Sawtooths in our opinion.
Incredible colors at Imogene.
Llama packing. We should try it sometime.
D doing cannonballs. (Not pictured: T jumping off the rope swing.)
Cort and I spent a lot of time at the lake doing stuff like this.
And this.
And this.
Thankfully, we didn’t need to worry about the bears or even the mosquitoes. It was the crazy attack chipmunks we had to watch out for.
The seemingly “innocent” chipmunks went into full attack mode on G & T’s tent. As one of our campers astutely noted: “That’s what happens!”
Above you can see the triage work to repair the damage.
Pro tip: DO NOT LEAVE TRAIL MIX IN YOUR TENT.
E – V – E – R.
We enjoyed a luxurious pace hiking back to the trailhead and found a fantastic snack spot. If you ever find yourself here on a hot day, we highly recommend picnicking with cheese, crackers, and cured meats.
If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.
-Erik
I’ve always wanted to do the Parine Bridge to Shoshone Falls route.
Searching for Alterus Lake hikes next. I did lots of backpacking around there and Tetons in the 70’s.
Enjoying these reminders of our great state.