Saddleback Lakes via Trail 101
3.6 mi
Distance
1 hrs 39 min
Time
terrain
1,837 ft
Elev Gain
Overview
This is a moderate one way trail to Saddleback Lakes in Sawtooth National Recreation Area.
Rate this Hike
★★★★★
Beautiful hike but trail is extremely difficult to find at multiple points, probably thanks in part to an earthquake that felled trees all over the trail. You definitely want a GPS for this trail and even then you may get lost. We met another couple of locals when we started who said they got lost on this trail last year. They tried to advise us but we still got lost for about an hour hacking through brush and crawling over logs. The first confusing part is when you divert off trail 101 and look for the stream crossing. Just follow your GPS and trust that it is right. There are logs on the trail, so the trail doesn't look right. Just trust its there, and you'll see where people have walked. The river crossing is easy and you can do it at multiple points by hopping over rocks or walking along a fallen set of logs. About 5-10 minutes later you'll see a rock wall on your left. At one point there is a trail about 4 yards long that leads up to the wall. It looks like nothing but maybe a place for climbers to belay, but that is indeed the way up onto the rock. It really isn't obvious at all and by missing this we got totally lost. Scramble up the wall. This is easy enough, but definitely not for someone who isn't well coordinated. Once you get up on the rocks, you have for about 5 minutes until you hit a spot with nothing but solid granite. Get up on the granite and look for the dirty signs of boots on granite. You hike over the granite for about 2 minutes until you find the trail again. Once on that trail there are few tricky spots but as long as you stay on well worn paths you'll find your way up to the lakes. There are no signs or markers, so you really do benefit from a GPS.
★
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