The lady at the SNRA office had spoken highly of the lakes south of Stanley. I had lunch at a picnic area at Alturas Lake. The wind was cold and the lake choppy. I'm sure it's a much nicer place in better weather.
I skipped Pettit Lake (mostly because I saw the turn too late) but decided to try Redfish Lake. I was apprehensive. It had all the marking of campgrounds filled with big RVs and noisy people. But the mountain ahead was very dramatic.
See why they call them the Sawtooth Mountains?
Okay, I'd check things out. At least for future reference.
I drove to the last campground on the south shore. It looked brand new and spanking clean. And it was mostly empty. There was a parking area and a trail down to the "beach." I grabbed the camera and went for a walk, even though it wasn't beach weather.
Sort of fjord-like
It wasn't good photography weather, either, but the the geography was impressive. I decided to stay a night.
I returned to the Rolling Steel Tent and bundled up against the increasing chill. Then it started to rain. Oh great. I can take cool weather, but combine it with rain and I want to hightail it to better weather. I got online and checked the weather for the region. Three days of clouds and rain. Yikes, subfreezing nights! Must flee! What about further south? It looked like I had to get almost to Salt Lake City to get out of this front. Sigh. I'd make a strategic retreat in the morning then resume my northern Idaho expedition later in the week. A lot of driving, but better than freezing—in summer.
The rain stopped after about an hour and, surprise, a bit of sunlight peeked out. Oh look, it's clearing! I could get some better shots of the lake and mountains. But I had to wait about a half hour for the clouds to clear in an artistic way.
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