At the end of September, Laney and I did a rare hike with someone else.  We went with Dave Thiel, an old friend from hp.  Now that Labor Day had passed, it was ok for Laney to go into the Sawtooth Wilderness.

We started early from Boise and reached the trailhead at 8 am.  The weather was clear so it was cold - there was a hard frost on the ground.  I was worried that Laney might be cold, but 200 yards down the trail we passed along the shore of Petit Lake.  Laney dove right in and spent a minute or two playing in water up to her neck.  That water sure looked cold!  So much for worrying about her.

An hour or two up the trail we left the forest and the trail started to get rocky.  I had Laney's boots along and decided to give them a try and put them on her.  She didn't like the idea but was a pretty good sport about it.  After fussing for a minute or two she gave up, and the rest of the day hiked along just like always.  She paid no attention to the boots.

While passing beneath some cliffs of Parks Peak some rocks began to clatter down.  Looking up the cliff face, I spotted a mountain goat moving around high above us.  We watched it for a while before it disappeared.

We had a quick snack and a short rest at Alice Lake.  It was pretty as always.  Then we continued on up to Snowyside pass.  Dave pulled about 200 yards ahead of me going up the hill.  Laney would run back and forth between us.  She would run ahead so Dave couldn't get ahead of her.  Then she would run back to check on me.  She probably climbed the hill to the pass three times.

At the pass we ran into a couple on their honeymoon.  They were asking us about places to hike in the Sawtooths.  They said that they had heard of a really neat hike to a trailless lake below Thompson Peak and wondered if we knew anything about it.  I had been there, but it is Dave's favorite hike of all in the Sawtooths.  He filled them in on the details.

From the pass it was a long hike back.  The total loop is 18 miles.  The worst part is climbing 800 feet over the ridge back to Petit Lake in the last mile of the trail.  We made it ok, and Laney was still chasing around after squirrels and such even at the end of the trip.  I don't know how she had so much energy.  She put on so many miles that she wore out her booties on one hike.

A perfect day and a beautiful hike.  My third time around the loop.