After a great night at a pretty solid campground, I woke up to the first day of my 25th year! I had big plans for the day, but didn't want to feel rushed and stress myself out- after all, what's the point of a vacation if you're stressed out the whole time?!
I enjoyed my breakfast up on a small rock face overlooking the lake, watching the movement of the water and listening to the sound of the waves crashing on the rocks. It was truly a peaceful start to my day. After breakfast we packed up camp, loaded up the car, and headed North to Sandpoint, Idaho. The road took us across a 2 mile long bridge over the water where I was able to spot two mature bald eagles perched in a snag along the shoreline. We made a quick pit stop and then made our way east to the trailhead just outside of the small town of Clark Fork. The road to the trailhead wound through dense forests and skirted by a few small logging operations before pushing us across a rocky streambed and ending at a small parking area.
I enjoyed my breakfast up on a small rock face overlooking the lake, watching the movement of the water and listening to the sound of the waves crashing on the rocks. It was truly a peaceful start to my day. After breakfast we packed up camp, loaded up the car, and headed North to Sandpoint, Idaho. The road took us across a 2 mile long bridge over the water where I was able to spot two mature bald eagles perched in a snag along the shoreline. We made a quick pit stop and then made our way east to the trailhead just outside of the small town of Clark Fork. The road to the trailhead wound through dense forests and skirted by a few small logging operations before pushing us across a rocky streambed and ending at a small parking area.
Finally at the trailhead and rearing to summit this peak, we packed up our day packs with snacks, water, rain gear (just incase) and bear spray, and made our way onto the trail. Right off the bat, the switchbacks were brutal- but I remained hopeful that they would ease up once we gained enough elevation. Switchback after switchback, the gain remained consistent; but, I was determined to summit this mountain so we pressed on. After what felt like forever, we reached a small clearing and the switchbacks ended! HOORAY!!
Alas, we celebrated too soon. After taking a breather and admiring the view, we looked up the trail to find that it was a straight shot, but at an even steeper incline than the switchbacks. In effort to escape the loud trio that was coming up behind us, we tried to power up the next section of trail but eventually opted to take a snack break off to the side and allow the trio to slowly pass us. As we waited, an elderly couple (still have no idea how they managed this hike) passed us and the only thing that either of them said was "It's a grunt." Oh how accurate those three words were...
Shortly after this point, the trail experience improved drastically- breaking above the tree line and becoming more rocky the closer we got to the summit. I saw my first Pika (SO CUTE!!), my first summer snow (what kind of hell has snow at the end of June?!), and my first wild mountain goats- none of which were expected but all were a pleasant surprise!! The weather had started to turn sour right before we got to the mountain goats and only got worse. We still had a bit of a scramble left to officially reach the summit, so after spending a few minutes admiring the goats, we continued on- hiding in our rain jackets to try to keep dry and slightly warm. With each step it seamed the weather worsened, the wind speed increasing and pelting us with freezing cold rain and soaking my rain jacket through completely. We heard rumor of a small shelter at the summit and we made it our mission to get there and hide from the elements, even if just for a few minutes.
We crammed into the small shelter and had a snack to keep me from hitting a wall that was rapidly approaching. We waited for a break in the weather before making a beeline for the tree line! Going down was almost harder than the trek up the mountain, but we made it to the car just as it started to downpour.
Sore, wet, cold, sweaty, hungry, and completely exhausted- Scotchman Peak was a GRUNT, but 100000% worth it and one hell of a way to spend my birthday!
How Neat Is That?!
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