For those who wondered – or perhaps hoped – if the blog had come to an end, I hasten to assure them that I have not been attacked by the disease and succumbed to it in a matter of days, like so many from the news articles I have been summarizing. My time during this hiatus has been much more agreeably occupied by hiking with various friends in Idaho, where I confess I felt rather relieved not to track the daily headlines nor examine the COVID statistics. This does not mean, however, that we were entirely unaffected by the pandemic. The Idahoans are not particularly zealous about wearing masks inside of public areas. We ate at restaurants with outdoor dining, but whenever I went inside to use the restrooms I almost invariably was the only one wearing a face mask. I am willing to wager that in some cases I was the only one in the room who had been vaccinated as well.
Then there was the issue of safety. No one, of course, desires to become injured during a hike under any circumstances, but in this case it was imperative that none of us meet with any accident that necessitated professional medical treatment. In such a case the injured person would have been as helpless as in a Third World country: currently the state of Idaho has no hospital beds available. Indeed, an injured hiker would probably have been better off in Kenya or Bhutan. Idaho has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country, and as a result its hospitals are so overwhelmed that they are bundling off new patients to other states for treatment. Such are the Hercules Pillars of insanity that the Idahoans have constructed in the name of personal liberty.
I should add, however, that a comparison between the people back home and the native Idahoans are not unilaterally in favor of the former.
“How thin the people are!” ML said, one day when we were sitting in the main town square of Ketchum. It was not that they all had a lean and hungry look – they seemed well-fed and not a few were comfortably built; but only a handful were noticeably overweight and there were no examples of morbid obesity. The scene formed quite a contrast to what I frequently observe here – today, for instance, when I noticed several over-generously endowed persons waddle to beauty salons and fitness gyms. The main road connecting the Ketchum and Sun Valley communities is several miles long, and it was used continually by pedestrians and bikers. Many continually walk their dogs daily, and in general they seem to be more active and to get out of doors more frequently than most of the people here.
The dog-owners in Idaho are much more considerate than the dog-owners in the East. The wilderness areas we explored have leash laws, but these are in force only until Labor Day, after which dogs may roam at will. Nonetheless, although I encountered several dogs on the trails, not one of them jostled against me and only one or two barked at me. The dog-owners in Idaho assume as a matter of course that most people do not care to be accosted by strange animals when hiking in the wild and they have trained their pets accordingly. I earnestly wish that such an attitude could be imported to Maryland and Virginia.
9/11 – Arrival
The flight to Boise was comfortable, although I was let down badly by the cab company. Normally it sends a driver to me within 10 minutes after I request one, but in this case I waited nearly half-an-hour before it became evident that I would not be able to get one in time to board the plane. In the end I was forced to drive to the airport in a hurry, and I was able to get to the airport gate just in time for boarding.
The area immediately surrounding Boise is very parched and sere, almost destitute of vegetation. But as we went further east and north the mountain slopes displayed coniferous forests and groves of various deciduous trees, chiefly aspens, in the valleys; the area became continually more scenic almost in direct proportion to the distance we traveled from the state capital.
We stayed at various condos in Sun Valley and Ketchum. The condos were some miles apart from one another, which created a few difficulties in making arrangements for setting up rides to everyone for various hikes. On the other hand, the condo to which I was allotted was shared by LH, ML, and MG, all of whom were excellent housemates. I can honestly say that we maintained harmonious relations during the entirety of the trip and thoroughly enjoyed the company of one another.
Even though we arrived in Boise quite early, it took us a while to drive to the condos and to stock them up with food for breakfasts and lunches. Most of us ate an early dinner (our household met with some of the others at an unpretentious place that served burgers and salads, but of very good quality) and retired shortly afterwards, deferring the exploration of Ketchum for another day.
9/12 – Baker Lake/Norton Lake (9 miles, 2300’)
For the first day we went on two relatively brief and gentle hikes that led us to mountain lakes. The path to Baker Lake in particular was very well-graded, but the elevation affected all of us, and several opted not to take the second ascent to Norton Lake. Baker Lake reminded me of the seven lakes near Rila in Bulgaria; the waters are clear and pristine, with a backdrop of scree-covered mountain wall. The ascent to Norton Lake is longer and steeper. It is nearly emerald in hue, and much of it is bordered by forest. Towards the far end the mountain wall rises steeply; I was to reach the ridgeline during the Prairie Creek hike two days later and thereby to view Norton Lake from above.
Afterwards our household drove to Hemingway’s grave in Ketchum. He is not a favorite author of mine – to my taste his creed is puerile and his much-vaunted barebones style is dry and textureless – but there is no denying his influence. Fittingly, many visitors left bottles of bourbon and whiskey by his headstone.
9/13 – Bench Lakes (8½ miles, 1600’)
Nearly everyone in the group went on this hike. It went up an extremely gradual slope within the Sawtooth valley, which is, to be frank, somewhat more scenic than the Sun Valley/Ketchum area to the south. The trail went through dense pine forest interspersed with aspen groves, and as the trail ascended we saw views of Redfish Creek Lake below. Both of the lakes are deep green in color. The second lake is bordered by a ridge containing various peaks, including Mount Heyburn, which is noted for its castle-like shape.
Afterwards many of us ate a late lunch or early dinner at a pizzeria in Stanley, a very small town nearby, extremely dusty, not especially prepossessing. It is somewhat surprising that an enterprising developer has not attempted to build it up in the manner that Sun Valley has been only sixty miles further south. But the food at the pizzeria was excellent. The menu was unpretentious, consisting mainly of various pizzas, burgers, cheesesteaks, and salads, but all of them were of high quality.
Even though the hike was not long and had no challenging steep ascents I felt quite tired after dinner and did not go out afterwards. I can only suppose that I was still affected by the altitude, possibly also by the time difference (Mountain Standard Time as opposed to Eastern Standard Time).
9/14 – Prairie Creek (13 miles, 3000’)
I was getting discouraged by the quality of the first two hikes. They were pleasant, interesting, scenic, but neither of them appeared worth traveling several hundred miles to see. But Prairie Creek was well worth going out of one’s way to view. We were fortunate in our weather. On the previous two days the air tended to get hazy during the afternoon. On this day it remained clear and transparent throughout. The hike traverses a valley to reach an imposing cirque to Miner Lake, whose waters, like most of the lakes in the area, are jewel-bright. From there BM and I went up to the ridge, about a mile each way, and with an additional 1100 feet of elevation gain. From the ridge we not only were able to obtain a bird’s-eye view of Miner Lake but also of Norton Lake on the other side and of numerous mountain ranges receding in the distance. By this time I was getting acclimatized; even though the hike was much more strenuous than the Bench Lakes hike, I was not at all tired when we returned to the parking area.
9/15 – Bald Mountain (10 miles, 3400’)
Not everyone in the group went on this hike. Some elected to go to Craters of the Moon instead. Of those who chose this option, only three went to the summit. For the most part the climb is gradual, skirting through a dense coniferous forest and around a ravine until it reaches an overlook that provides a bird’s-eye view of Ketchum. It then continues until it reaches the Roundhouse gondola (which, however, is not operative in the interval after Labor Day and before the ski season). From there the trail goes to the summit. The original trail is relatively gradual, although somewhat steeper than the previous portion (it climbs 1400 feet within a mile). However, the trail was closed for maintenance and those of us who went to the summit were diverted onto a detour that virtually followed the path of the ski lift and consequently was very steep indeed. The views from the summit were imposing, although not quite equal to those I had seen on the previous day. On the summit of Bald Mountain, one is continually accosting the machinery associated with various ski lifts, while the ridgeline between Norton Lake and Miner Lake is wild and untrammeled by man-made artifacts of any kind.
After the hike our household and six others went to Frenchman’s Bend Hot Springs, a natural geothermic source of heated water. It bubbles up into three pools defined by river rocks, entering the first one at a temperature of approximately 125 degrees. Most of us shifted into one or the other of the lower pools, in which the temperature is moderated by the mingling of the main part of the river. Any aches and pains we may have endured as a result of our previous exertions were completely nullified by the continual flow of warm water over our muscles. We stayed for about an hour, lulled by the sauna-like conditions into a drowsy tranquility, and even after that amount of time we emerged from the stream with reluctance.
Several of us had dinner in Ketchum at Warburg’s, a restaurant with a much more elaborate menu than those of the restaurants we had previously selected for dining. The food was excellent, and the company of the dining companions was better still.
9/16 – Iron Creek to Sawtooth Lake (11½ miles, 2200’)
This hike was my favorite, as it was of many of our group. It is, in addition, one of the most popular hikes in the area. It goes up alongside the glaciated ridge that gives the Sawtooh area its name. Eventually the trail ascended to Alpine Lake, peridot-green and sparkling in the sunlight, and from there it continued up a fairly rocky stretch to Sawtooth Lake, the largest lake in the area (nearly a mile in length and a half-mile in width), with the deep marine hue ordinarily ascribed to the Mediterranean. BM, MP, and I went on a continuation of the trail for about ¾ mile further but with only about 350 feet additional elevation gain in order to reach the ridgeline on the edge of the lake. Sawtooth Lake is so large that it cannot be viewed in its entirety at the shore level, but from this vantage point we could see its full length and breadth.
We also looked briefly at McGown Lake on the other side of the ridge, but this viewpoint was rather melancholy – the stroll into Mordor, as I called it. A wildfire had attacked the area some years ago, and the trees were all scorched and withered. And this part of the country is far more fragile than the forests of Appalachia. In the Massanuttens, for example, a fire occurred in the area between Duncan Knob and Strickler Knob about 15 years ago, and while one can still see traces of the damage it caused, for the most part the area is green and flourishing: trees have grown anew, the ground is covered with undergrowth, birds and insects and squirrels and chipmunks are continually flitting on the ground and in the air above. The side of the ridge we had ascended was barren and silent, and its desolate aspect made the view of the brilliant sparkling water and the tall slender firs lining the lake all the more vivid in contrast.
Afterwards many of us returned to the pizzeria in Stanley, an early dinner that was our main meal for the day.
The evening was marred by a fear that LT had lost her way. She had descended to Alpine Lake and was unable to reconnect with the main trail, which was no longer in view from the point on the lake shore that she had reached. Eventually the Search and Rescue team were notified; they were able to make contact with her by cell phone and guide her back to the main trail. It was a great relief to learn that she had returned to parking area before daylight had ended.
9/17 – Adam’s Gulch (7½ miles, 1500’)
We had some difficulty in selecting a hike for the day. None of the designated drivers wished to go all the way back to the Sawtooth area and most of the people in the group wanted a hike rather less strenuous than those of the preceding days, which limited our choices considerably. In the end some of us decided that this hike seemed the least uninteresting, but I was not expecting much as I rode to the trailhead. To my surprise this hike turned out to be delightful. About half of the group took the Adam’s Gulch hike; of this remnant, about half went on a loop of about 5½ miles, while the remainder went on a longer circuit that took us to higher vantage points. Even though this longer option was relatively brief, the sheer variety it encompassed was astonishing: aspen groves in the gullies, dense pine forest, hills ascending above the valley to a high plateau.
We were saddened that morning to hear of the wildfire that was threatening Sequoia National Park, which many of us had visited this past June. ML said that the sequoias there seemed more alive than any other tree, and anyone who visits that area can see what she meant. They are indeed reminiscent of Tolkien’s Ents: having lifespans many times longer than those of our own species, continually growing regardless of age, but at a slow, deliberate pace. One can easily imagine them having conversations among themselves in a slow, sonorous, leisurely tongue that uses multiple syllables for even the simplest of words.
Afterwards we went to Ketchum, which, though not impressive, is sufficiently prepossessing, with a pleasant village square that opens onto the central blocks of the town and a variety of shops and restaurants.
In the evening we attended a group “happy hour” at a small park in Ketchum we had reserved for the purpose. We normally have this type of gathering three or four times during trips such as these, but on this particular trip we were somewhat hampered by the distances among the various accommodations. On this day, however, everyone finished hiking fairly early, and thus we all had leisure to purchase contributions to our festivity: cheeses, fruit, salsas, chips, and various other snack foods, accompanied by plenty of wine and beer.
9/18 – Fox Creek (8½ miles, 1200’)
For our final hike in the area several of us went to Fox Creek, whose trailhead is very close to Ketchum. It is similar to Adam’s Gulch in that it weaves in and out of several gullies, gradual rising to an overview of the valley. BM and I extended the hike by selecting the Chocolate Gulch Trail, which added about 2½ miles and perhaps 500 feet of ascent. It is somewhat less impressive than Adam’s Gulch, however, for during much of the hike one is passing within earshot of the traffic along Rte. 75. But it certainly was pleasant enough and not a bad way to unwind from a week of hiking. All in all, I hiked 70 miles in the course of 7 days, so I received good measure.
The afternoon was spent strolling about in Ketchum and making preparations for departure on the morrow. We also received news about the rally for the defendants of the January 6th riot that was to have been held that day and we were pleased to learn that it was more or less a gigantic fizzle. MG, in speaking to his wife (who had stayed back in the DC area), quoted her as saying “Far more police and journalists than there were protestors.” The organizers had obtained a permit for 700 participants, but it appears that no more than 500 actually showed up. The organizers claimed that more people would have participated, but that they felt intimidated. And indeed, if the attitude of the populace of Washington DC has any resemblance to my own, the supporters of the January 6th rioters would have good reason to feel intimidated: I regard every one of them as seditious traitors and would have no compunction in sentencing them to life imprisonment.
During the evening our household had the best dinner of the entire trip at a restaurant in Ketchum that featured a Mediterranean style of cuisine. We had had many group dinners for the past week, and although we were initially disappointed that the limited outdoor seating prevented us from dining with more of our group, in some ways an intimate meal with only the four of us provided the most companionable dining experience of all.
9/19 – Boise Botanical Gardens
The drive from Sun Valley/Ketchum to Boise is well over 2 hours and it was necessary to get to the hotel (which was in the proximity of the airport itself) by about 3:00 to ensure that ML would be able to have plenty of time to board her flight to California, where she was continuing her trip to see her son and grandchildren. So we decided to go the Botanical Gardens, which is within the city and entailed a brief drive from there to the airport.
It is only 15 acres, but it contains a multiplicity of gardens, including a fascinating one about the various flora encountered along the Lewis and Clark expedition. Some of the gardens are on a slightly higher elevation than much of the city, so that one can obtain a view of the city center in the distance. The weather, which had been warm and dry all week, was much wetter when we left Sun Valley and the rain came down steadily during much of the drive, but as we reached Boise the rain tapered off and we were able to explore the gardens in comfortable conditions. Afterwards we went to a Whole Foods store both to pick up lunch and to purchase items for an impromptu happy hour that was planned on the spur of the moment during the morning of our departure.
At the hotel I enjoyed a swim of about ½ mile in laps, having the pool entirely to myself, and then I spent a few minutes in the Jacuzzi afterwards. Later in the afternoon the happy hour was held in the outdoor area that was access via the pool and fitness room, and it was somewhat more substantial than the one held two days earlier, with various main dishes contributed by various members. Some went out to dinner afterwards, but I had more than enough to eat by the time the happy hour ended, and I went to bed early. Our flight was scheduled for 7:00 AM, which meant that we would have to get an early start. The hotel was within walking distance of the airport but when I tested the walk that day I found the sidewalk to be somewhat pitted and rutted, and I did not wish to roll my suitcase over it for that distance. I opted to take the hotel shuttle instead.
9/20 – Return
There is little to report on this day, which was mainly occupied by the return flights, the drive back home, and unpacking. We were somewhat irritated by the decision of United to hold up the plane for an entire hour because, although the plane was otherwise ready for departure, their catering firm had a late delivery. The delay was not of great importance to those who, like ourselves, were arriving at Dulles. But about half of the passengers were making connections, and I am certain that most of these were lost. Several, for instance, were flying to Bangor; the layover was originally scheduled to be less than one hour and the plane arrived at the gate more than 30 minutes late. One would think that the importance of ensuring that several dozen passengers make their connections would take precedence over supplying a handful of first-class travelers with special meals; but United (and I suspect most other airlines as well) apparently does not reason that way.
Today’s statistics as of 10:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 230,278,519; # of deaths worldwide: 4,721,632; # of cases U.S.: 43,242,302; # of deaths; U.S.: 696,867. As I noted earlier, I did not record the daily increases while I was on my travels. It is instructive to see what has occurred during the interval. In the course of eleven days we have had more than 6 million new cases worldwide and nearly 100,000 more deaths; in the U.S. we have had more than 1½ million new cases (i.e., about a quarter of the increase in cases globally) and nearly 20,000 more deaths.