Idaho Day 2: Cabin Creek Trail
Sawtooth Mountains, ID
Saturday 12 August 2023
71 °F
TUESDAY, AUGUST 2:
This morning, my mom and I hiked along the Cabin Creek Trail in the Sawtooth Mountains — the first time we had hiked from this trail or trailhead, which was quite exciting as the Sawtooths always provide absolutely incredible hikes and views.
We immediately noticed a profusion of wildflowers, probably caused by a combination of environmental factors this year: a wet winter, late spring, and not too hot or dry of a summer (yet):
Columbine were particularly abundant and beautiful:
Birds were well-represented along the hike, too, with Corvids like CLARK’S NUTCRACKER, a denizen of the Idaho subalpine:
And STELLER’S JAY:
Had to fill out a permit to enter the Sawtooth Wilderness!
Male WESTERN TANAGER:
This SWAINSON’S THRUSH was carrying tasty grubs, a sign of confirmed breeding:
Flocks of RED CROSSBILLS “chit chit chit”-ed overhead throughout the hike, surprisingly abundantly:
A few even decided to perch:
This Pink-sided DARK-EYED JUNCO was a treat, my FOY of this subspecies:
And Lower Cabin Lake itself was absolutely gorgeous, a fantastic hike payoff.
As always, there were slightly fewer birds on the way down, though the cloudy skies did keep activity fairly high, with OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER:
And NASHVILLE WARBLER, always a nice find out here in Idaho:
Overall, another beautiful hike for the books that we would highly recomend! The stats were 7.5 miles roundtrip with 1600 feet of elevation gain, a sizable hike but nothing impossible. We finished off the day with obligatory milkshakes at the Smiley Creek Lodge:
Bird-of-the-day to the Nashville Warbler with runner-up to the many roving flocks of Red Crossbills.
Happy birding!
Henry
World Life List: 1169 Species
The white wildflower with the spots looks like white mariposa lily or sego lily (calochortus eurycarus). The pink one may be in the wild petunia group.
by liz cifani