Journey To Northern Idaho For Me!

On June 28th, I left Nampa and began the 8 hour journey to the first destination of my 25th Birthday adventure in Northern Idaho! This day was primarily designated for traveling as I had a big hike planned for the next day (my birthday) and wanted to already be in the area by then. I selected a free "first come first serve" campsite called "Green Bay Campground" that would put me just over an hour from the trailhead I needed to be at the following morning. I selected the campsite based purely on location (and the bonus that it was FREE) and didn't know much else about it.
After passing the forest road that leads to the campground at least 3 times, we made it down the bumpy, rocky road and arrived at the parking areas, only to find that both lots were packed full of vehicles. Holding onto hope, we got out of the car and made our way down to the camping area, praying that there would be at least one open site.

As we walked through the first grouping of sites and saw the incredible beauty of the place, we became even more determined to camp there- even if it meant begging another group to let us pitch my small backpacking tent on the edge of their site. ALL of the sites are right on the edge of the lake, with just a few feet of rocky shoreline separating you from the water. The lake is essentially a bowl, with beautiful mountains and forest on every side. The rocks along the shore were perfectly smooth from years of erosion and were a multitude of colors- much like the photos I have seen of the rocky shores of lakes in Glacier National Park.

 Determined to find a campsite, we continued on to the next grouping- scrambling up a cliff (still wearing my flip-flops) rather than walking back to the car. The other side is even MORE beautiful than the first! After passing a few dishearteningly full sites, I caught a glimpse of a suspicious area that I hoped would turn out to be an open site. Running up the beach and into the trees I found an open site that was PERFECTLY sized for my little tent!! Apparently it was left unclaimed because the other campers in the area were large groups with multiple big tents and tables that would not fit in this cozy little campsite.

After setting up camp, skipping the smooth stones across the glassy surface of the lake, I built a fire- the first fire I built from scratch all on my on in fact. I AM A WILDERNESS WOMAN!!! We roasted hot dogs and s'mores, battled a brief bout of rain, and then went to bed- my last night as a 24 year old.

How Neat Is That?!