Wednesday, September 29, 2021
The land here is stunningly beautiful. Sun Valley itself is mostly made up of sharp glaciated peaks covered with sagebrush and very few trees; the golden brown of the hillsides is accentuated with the deep yellow of turning aspens. The day dawned chilly and a bit dim, but by the time we set out at 9:30, it had brightened considerably. The trip north along Idaho 75 is extraordinary: the Wood River Valley is broad and flat, with ranches close to Ketchum and public lands further north. The mountains rise on either side virtually without foothills. After 25 miles, the road rises into dense pine forests. Sun Valley is at 6000 feet, but our destination, the Galena Summit, sits at 8700. From the summit, there are stunning views across a huge valley to the Sawtooth Range.
With brilliant weather and memorable views, the whole crew was just happy to be in this incredible place.
Strangely enough, friends of Rory and Pravan from Seattle pulled into the turnout while we were there, and we chatted with them for a bit. Then on to the Galena Lodge, a lodge at the center of a vast cross country network; the lodge is open only in winter, but provides a good jumping off spot for the lower trail to Titus Lake. T and E, no doubt inspired by the surroundings, make it a good mile up the trail before turning back. We all returned to the cars, with Sue accompanying T and E back into town, while R, P, and I drove back up to another trailhead for a shorter but steeper walk to the lake.
The walk consists of a lot of up and down: you contour and then cross three ridges before descending into the Titus Creek watershed. There are wonderful views to the range—the Boulder Mountains—across the valley as you walk.
After a little less then two miles the trail descends into a cleft, with Titus Lake directly below.
We ate lunch above the crystal clear, emerald green water before retracing our steps. We had had the lake to ourselves; we had seen only a half dozen hikers coming in, plus two on the way out.
We returned to town just in time for me to jump in the car and pick up Sue, Em, and Tom, who had taken a walk along a street near the Sun Valley resort, and bitten off a bit more than their legs could chew.
Rory cooked King salmon on our little grill; we washed it down with a nice Chablis and finished with delicious locally made fruit pie.
What a day!