Sun Valley

We love hiking our mountains at home but hiking in

Sun Valley

makes for an awesome getaway.

These hiking friends cleared their calendars and jumped on board for a 3 day trip of hiking, laughter, good food, and fun.  This photo was taken the first day and after our first hike.  Nancy had prepared a delicious dinner for us to enjoy on the patio.

We didn't waste any time starting out on our first hike to Titus Lake.  Our first group photo was taken at the trailhead as we began the easy 3.4 miles to the lake.  The hike was, of course,....awesome.

We enjoyed viewpoints of the Boulder Mountains. 

We worried about the air quality due to the Idaho wildfires. 

However we soon realized the air quality would not be bad at all.

Beautiful Titus Lake 

Notice the tree in the water?

 

We hiked to the edge of the lake to capture a photo of this Fireweed flower.

These gorgeous flowers were growing out over the water and were quite pretty. 

We could see them from the other side of the lake and knew we had to get closer.

 

Hiking and smiling go hand in hand with good friends.

One group photo at the Lake and then it was back to the condo.

Hiking to Titus Lake started off our adventure perfectly.

The second day we hiked to Pioneer Cabin. 

Some of us had experienced this hike before and were excited to experience it again. 

The Pioneer Cabin hike was our longest at about 9 miles. 

Our destination was this little cabin at an elevation of 9,500 ft.

It is our favorite cabin in Sun Valley and worth every step it takes to get there. 

No one lives here and everyone is welcome.

The words on the cabin roof read,

"The higher you get the higher you get."

We most certainly agreed.

The cabin walls are covered with quotes, sayings, and signatures from previous visitors.

We found the names of our favorite visitors who had been there before and whom we just happened to know.

One can find all kinds of interesting items left on the shelves.

Adding to the scenery of the cabin are the magnificent mountains.  Words can't describe the view as we reached the summit and these mountains were there to greet us.   

A guitar left at the cabin was soon put to good use thanks to Nancy.

It's a good thing we can laugh at ourselves and at our singing. 

Carol King would be proud!

 

A great place to rest, enjoy lunch, and take in the views.

Sharon tried a new feature on her camera taking black and white photos.

Soon it was time to leave our favorite place in the Pioneer Mountains.

We were grateful for having been there and hope to return again one day.

Hiking was done for the day and we deserved ice cream at Konditorei.

It was yummy good and we were not disappointed.

We are a group of women who love wildflowers and enjoy learning their names.  

So the beautiful flowers, wild or not, surrounding us there were not lost on us. 

We took time to enjoy the beautiful landscaping at the Sun Valley Lodge. 

We wondered if their landscaper hired out and would come to our homes.

Probably not. 

We saw many unique and beautiful plants and enjoyed our time spent touring the grounds.

The next day our last hike began with crossing this new bridge.  

This would also be our last group photo in Sun Valley.

 

Our destination was to Norton Lake.

It was beautifully green and the area was very peaceful.

Notice the trail up the mountain on the other side of the lake?

This is where our hiking group parted ways.  The trail completes a loop to two other lakes.

Three of us chose a shorter hike to this upper Norton Lake.

It was a beautiful lake but the wind was blowing and it got cold fast. 

Nancy, Sharon, and Lisa (not pictured) chose the loop to the other lakes.

Nancy and Sharon at Smoky Lake. 

Hiking the loop was on Nancy's bucket list and she was so happy to have completed the hike. 

Descending the boulder field from the Lakes.

 

Smoky Lake 2nd view 

Hiking in Sun Valley meant enjoying friendships... 

Performing handstands just because she can... 

Leaving happy signs along the trail... 

Leaving signs for others to let them know we were there... 

Building cairns... 

Wearing coordinated colors (but not on purpose)...

Love, love, loving the scenery... 

Meeting fellow hikers and their pets along the way... 

 Laughing and performing...

Always finding time to stop and chat... 

Crossing streams... 

Taking pictures and more pictures...

and feeling grateful indeed for hikers who make excellent tour guides.

 And

even better,

dear friends.
{Thank you Lisa and Nancy for a wonderful time!}