Pettit and Toxaway Lakes Loop | 2 Nights Backcountry Camping in the Sawtooth Mountains

[@emesphoto]

Excellent Idaho series. Great filmmaking.

[@WaypointofView]

Thank you so much, we really appreciate that!! ☺️😍

[@creativedreamersnl]

So much fun to watch guys! The food😂 and the views so beautiful! The quality of your videos is becoming better and better it is so cool to see🙏🏼 cheers and keep having fun✨🙌🏼

[@WaypointofView]

Wow, thank you so much for saying that.. that really means a lot especially coming from you because we really admire your cinematic skills! ☺️☺️ Hope you guys are doing well!

[@creativedreamersnl]

@@WaypointofView That's a big compliment for me too! Thanks so much:) We are doing great, having fun, making progress! Cheers!

[@kristinblevins6842]

Thank you for doing this wonderful series on Idaho. The sawtooths are one of my favorite spots.

[@WaypointofView]

Thanks so much for watching!!! The Sawtooths were absolutely amazing! We really loved our time in Idaho and hope to make it back one day soon!!

[@kristinblevins6842]

@@WaypointofView if you do make it back check out Boise during the summer. There is a 2 hour river float you can do right through town and lots of other great things!

[@jasiahmaverick5504]

instablaster.

[@CRJourney20]

What an adventure to go back country camping. All of the lakes are beautiful, they all seemed to have their own personality. The temperature, definitely colder than we'd like, but quite the experience. Glad you got to go for that swim, the water looks amazing to - yes, end with those potatoes.

[@WaypointofView]

Thank you!! 😍😍

[@PilotWanderlust]

Great NP with amazing panoramic views & the setting and morning light by the lakes is awesome! Great hike! 👍

[@WaypointofView]

Thanks so much for watching and we are glad you enjoyed the video! ☺️☺️

[@gregsage1605]

This is really well done. I enjoyed every bit of it.

[@WaypointofView]

Thanks so much!! ☺️

[@KTM22Ride]

Excellent Idaho series!! Wondering how much Wildlife you saw on your trip. I think I'd be freaking out about bears lol. It looks like so much fun. Thank you so much for the videos.

[@WaypointofView]

Haha funny you mention that because I was terrified of bears the entire time we were hiking and camping in the US. We did not see any bears at any point in Idaho specifically but that certainly doesn’t mean there aren’t any. We always carried bear spray with us just to be safe. I would usually check with the specific park/ wilderness area too on how much bear activity they have.

[@karendwarte7643]

It would have been SO tempting to just stay at that first camp site! I’m not sure I would have ever left that hammock :) What a gorgeous spot, worth walking that bit further to find. Another beautiful trek, I’m learning a lot about parts of America I admit I’d never really known much about

[@WaypointofView]

Yayyy, thanks so much for watching! We are really enjoying uncovering and sharing places we really hadn't know about before either! ☺️

[@RyanandIvana]

That first lake before ice lake of that quick video of that lake with that huge pointy mountain in the background. How far up tin cup trail is that? At 4:02 of your video. Thannks!Thanks! Also what lake is that with the little island of trees you hugs were in the hamik together?

[@TheIdahogrl]

Glad you enjoyed my state. There are lots of places to go and things to do.

[@WaypointofView]

Thanks so much, we really did!! 😍

[@cimarronMC]

Went backpacking in my youth here about 5 years ago. My first time backpacking, was very rough didn't think I was gonna make it since I was in terrible shape and we went over like 3 mountains

[@WaypointofView]

I am sure it was so worth it though, it really is such a beautiful area!!

[@noboundaries845]

Love how you explain where you are on each leg! I'll be hiking up to Twin Lakes and back and wanted to see what that part looks like. Thanks.

[@WaypointofView]

Oh yayy, thanks for watching and so glad you enjoyed it!!! It really is an amazing hike! Has it snowed there yet? I would really love to see that area covered in snow some day! Enjoy your hike!

[@noboundaries845]

@@WaypointofView I'm going July 2021

[@nancydewitt6681]

Love the final camp site at Alice lake. So hope we can find that one. Any other advice to get close to it? Landmarks? GPS coordinates? Mileage from first site of Alice Lake, etc?

[@WaypointofView]

(43.9394634, -114.9450407) Here is roughly where we camped. There is a peninsula about half way up the lake that we went out on and then we setup with our camp/hammocks facing west toward the end of the lake. Hope this helps 😁

[@ValkyrieHikes]

I don't think most people are aware that drones are prohibited in *all* Congressionally designated wilderness areas because of the Wilderness Act. There are signs at almost all of the trailheads in recent years in the Sawtooths (and other Wilderness areas) to inform people they are entering drone-free areas. Also, if you had gone the counter-clockwise route, the first lake you would have come to, Farley Lake, is about 4.7 to 5 miles in (closer to the trailhead than Alice Lake). There are more lakes and areas to camp along back side/first half of the counter-clockwise route.

[@carleysdad94]

What month did you visit and how bad were the mosquitos? My wife and I are planning a 10-12 day trip to the Sawtooths in August of this year (2023) and I've heard the mosquitos can be quite bad, especially near the lakes.

[@kenedward4585]

Thanks for the video. We are backpacking from Pettit Lake campground and starting later in the day. Are there any campsites with water along the route to Alice lake?

[@WaypointofView]

Ken, so glad you liked our video! To be honest I don’t remember if there were any good sites before Alice lake... there was a small pond just before Alice lake but once you make it there you might as well keep going to the main lake... I think if you do the loop in the other direction you might make it to a good lake site a bit sooner but I am not 100% sure how much closer it would be.

[@myrapasour5212]

Where did you guys stay in Stanley Idaho?

[@JulieMelville]

ssshhhh - I used to live in Colorado, but it got too popular. Now I live in Hailey Idaho (between Twin Falls and Stanley) and now you're inviting people to come? NNOOOOOO Oh well - everything changes - the constant, right? Glad you had a good time.

[@WaypointofView]

Thanks for watching!

[@ShadowOppsRC]

You guys should get M.R.E.'s for your hicking trips. All you need to a warm meal with them is water. They have a pouch you add a small amount of water to and put the meal pouch in and a little while later you have a hot meal.

[@WaypointofView]

Thanks so much for the tip!

[@billbozly763]

Great video! I live up in N. Idaho and have never done much down there and was just suggesting to my nephew in Boise that we try this loop. Definitely gonna do it now. Couple questions, what dates were you there, how were the bugs, and any lakes you'd recommend for fishing?

[@WaypointofView]

Thanks so much! We did it in mid August, we honestly had no issues with bugs at all from what we remember. We didn't do any fishing so not sure about which are best but all of the lakes were beautiful 😁

[@billbozly763]

@@WaypointofView thanks for the quick response! That's great news. We're gonna give ourselves an extra day or two to do some fishing and exploring. Hit me up if you ever get up to Coeur d alene. I could show you guys some great spots!

[@The_Traveling_Caldwells]

Did the earth move under your feet while in the Stanley area?

[@aparson2967]

I love the videos, but pretty soon I'm going to start demanding that you bring a fishing pole.

[@WaypointofView]

Lol fair enough ☺️

[@pinchofrebellion1185]

What time of year did you guys go? Was it too busy? Thanks so much! :)

[@WaypointofView]

We were there in August... it was certainly a busy trail but there was plenty of room to spread out at the lakes for camping. And I should qualify "busy"... I would not consider it to be very busy compared to a National Park but it is definitely a popular hike (we were by no means alone).

[@pinchofrebellion1185]

@@WaypointofView thanks for sharing!

[@kellymiller9201]

I am now moving to Idaho.

[@ashleylinn3256]

What day of the week did you guys start the hike?

[@WaypointofView]

I believe it was a Thursday or maybe Friday..

[@gregorykent696]

So just curious, why don’t you sleep well when camping? Anxiety or uncomfortable?

[@WaypointofView]

Haha... mostly anxiety (from bears of course 🤪) and maybe just a little from discomfort.. We did not have the right sleeping bags so we were pretty cold!! We have since learned the value of having appropriately rated sleeping bags!!! (You should check out our Kilimanjaro trek 😀)

[@jtmarlin336]

So are you not allowed to make a fire in that area??

[@WaypointofView]

I honestly don’t think you are supposed to but we did see a pretty large group on the lake that started a fire the first night...

[@jtmarlin336]

@@WaypointofView ah I see just wondering because the parts y'all were saying how cold it was I was wondering if there was a reason y'all didn't have a fire to fix that problem lol

[@ValkyrieHikes]

No, there are no fires allowed anywhere along the Alice-Toxaway Loop. Unfortunately, there's always someone willing to ignore the rules. 2024 was one of the worst fire seasons in Idano (along with other states), and the Sawtooths were hit pretty bad. The Wapiti Fire is still going (it burned over 125,000 acres), but mostly in the clean up stages, and there was the Bench Lakes Fire, near Redfish Lake.

[@elliott18ce]

I can confirm with 100% certainty that deep in central Idaho is the most unexplored land in the US. It's literally no man's land. Find a way to get out there, especially along the Salmon River, and you'll explore things that nobody has ever seen.

[@WaypointofView]

I can only imagine!! ☺️ Such an awesome place! Thanks for watching!

[@SecretIdaho]

(Pet it) not (pa teet)

[@cwalton56]

I hope the recent fires didn't reach these lakes.

[@ValkyrieHikes]

The Wapiti Fire did not reach the Alice-Toxaway Loop. It did get rather close to Baron Lakes and Sawtooth Lake. It burned over 125,000 acres and decimated the Grandjean area.