Photo Journal & Trip Reports

Two Weeks in the Mountains of Idaho

August 2023  |  Idaho

Back in 2011 Claudia and I did a wonderful 7-day trek through the Sawtooth Range in Idaho. With its plethora of lakes and super jagged peaks, the Sawtooths are easily the most popular mountains of Idaho, but the state is plump full of other lesser-known mountain ranges which I've been longing to explore ever since that first trip. Finally this August we had a chance to get back up there to check out some of these other mountain ranges of central Idaho.

During our two-week road trip in Idaho, we did short backpack trips in the tall and remote fault-block Lost River Range, the rugged Pioneer Mountains near Ketchum, the Sawtooths again, and then the grand finale was a 4-day backpack trek circumnavigating Castle Peak in the White Clouds near Stanley.

Here are my favorite photos from our travels in alpine Idaho!

Morning alpenglow light illuminates Mount Idaho (12,065 ft.) - August.

Mount Idaho Reflection

Lost River Range, Idaho

Morning alpenglow light illuminates Mount Idaho (12,065 ft.) - August.

Prints Available

Idaho, Pioneer Mountains, wildflowers, Sony A7Riv, August, 2023

Boulder Flower

Pioneer Mountains, Idaho

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Looking northwest from the summit of Hyndman Peak, the tallest of the Pioneer Mountains at 12,008 feet. The prominent peak on...

Hyndman Peak Summit

Pioneer Mountains, Idaho

Looking northwest from the summit of Hyndman Peak, the tallest of the Pioneer Mountains at 12,008 feet. The prominent peak on the distant-left horizon is Castle Peak in the White Clouds.

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Sunset light shines on Old Hyndman Peak (11,644 ft.) in the Pioneer Mountains near Ketchum, Idaho. Off in the distance beyond...

Sunset on Old Hyndman

Pioneer Mountains, Idaho

Sunset light shines on Old Hyndman Peak (11,644 ft.) in the Pioneer Mountains near Ketchum, Idaho. Off in the distance beyond the mountains is the Snake River Plain and Craters of Moon National Monument.

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Mount Regan (10,190 ft.) reflects in the calm waters of Sawtooth Lake at sunrise.

Sawtooth Lake Reflection

Sawtooth Range, Idaho

Mount Regan (10,190 ft.) reflects in the calm waters of Sawtooth Lake at sunrise.

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Mount Regan reflects in Sawtooth Lake on a calm morning in August. The lake's large circular size and the way it completely fills...

Sawtooth Lake

Sawtooth Range, Idaho

Mount Regan reflects in Sawtooth Lake on a calm morning in August. The lake's large circular size and the way it completely fills this high basin to the brim makes it seem almost like a volcanic crater lake.

Prints Available

Sunrise light on the Sawtooth Range on a misty morning at Little Redfish Lake near Stanley, Idaho.

Sawtooth MIsty Morning #2

Sawtooth Range, Idaho

Sunrise light on the Sawtooth Range on a misty morning at Little Redfish Lake near Stanley, Idaho.

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Though Castle Peak is "only" 11,814 feet tall, it utterly dominates the landscape in the White Clouds, and its many rugged, fluted...

Clouds Over Castle Peak

White Cloud Peaks, Idaho

Though Castle Peak is "only" 11,814 feet tall, it utterly dominates the landscape in the White Clouds, and its many rugged, fluted ridges indeed conjure visions of castle ramparts.

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Castle Peak reflects in one of the lakes of Chamberlain Basin.

Castle Peak Reflection

White Cloud Peaks, Idaho

Castle Peak reflects in one of the lakes of Chamberlain Basin.

Prints Available

Merriam Peak, Serrate Ridge, and Castle Peak reflect in Quiet Lake.

Serrate Reflection

White Cloud Peaks, Idaho

Merriam Peak, Serrate Ridge, and Castle Peak reflect in Quiet Lake.

Prints Available


Tagged Idaho, August.
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Trekking through the Sawtooths
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