Aspen trees are ablaze with fall color. Below, a forested valley leads up to one of the most dramatic mountain views I’ve ever seen. My wife, Callista, and I hike atop Marshall Ridge in Idaho’s Sawtooth National Forest, and the ease-of-hike-to-payoff-in-scenery is unparalleled.
The Sawtooth National Forest around Redfish Lake and the tiny burg of Stanley is remote, but the recreation opportunities are worth the long haul to get there. It’s a 5-hour drive from Salt Lake City to Stanley, but the travel time itself goes by fast as Idaho scenery speeds by, alternating from barren lava-rock fields to rolling hills, and broad mountains that transition to jagged teeth on the other side of Galena Pass north of Ketchum. The Sawtooth Valley feels set apart; a world within the world.
The hike begins at a dirt parking area near the turnoff for Redfish Lake Lodge. The trail crosses the entrance road to the official, signed Fishhook Creek trailhead. The path winds into the forest and wet grassland on a fairly level grade. Before long, the trail comes to a fork. Left continues up Fishhook Creek. We decide to head right where the trail gets steep and switchbacks up the hillside through a gorgeous aspen forest bursting with yellow and orange leaves. At the top we continue on the trail as it traverses the top of Marshall Ridge.
This high ridge is the destination of the hike itself. For miles it parallels Fishhook Creek. No trees or terrain obstructs views of the Sawtooth skyline. I continually trip over rocks and exposed roots because my eyes are glued to the mountain view instead of paying attention to where I am going. For just over a mile, the trail follows the ridgeline before entering a wilderness area. We fill out permits and continue toward Marshall Lake.
Unfortunately, the boundary is where the trail curves away from the ridgeline and slightly descends into the trees. Our view is gone. Halfway to the lake from the wilderness boundary, we meet a woman returning from the lake. She tell us that it’s not a worthy destination at all – it’s a small, marshy, buggy pond that sits in a hole without any view or places to sit and enjoy a picnic lunch. Duly warned, Callista and I leave the trail and beeline it back to the ridge. Scanning the mountains, I can see Mount Heyburn and the couloir I attempted to ski on a trip to the Bench Hut years ago. Icefall and a spooky snowpack turned our touring party away. Instead we skied Gunbarrel Couloir, which is just out of view from Marshall Ridgeline.
We find a large log to sit on, eat a snack, and spend enough time in front of the high-definition landscape to satisfy the most apathetic soul. With the afternoon getting late, we regretfully turn around and hike down the ridge, which is no less beautiful as the White Cloud Mountains dominate the horizon to the east. The Sawtooth National Forest is a smorgasbord of scenery.
If You Go: Redfish Lake is 350 miles and a little over 5 hours north of Salt Lake City. Take I-15 to Tremonton, then take I-84 west toward Twin Falls. From there, go north on Highway 75 through the towns of Bellevue, Hailey, and Ketchum, and over Galena Pass. From the pass, it’s 30 miles to Redfish Lake.
Redfish Lake Lodge is the basecamp for trips in the area. Vist their website for more hikes and other activities.