Sawtooth National Recreation Area - Bench Lake - July 12, 2010 - Member Trip Report

Hike Name:	Sawtooth National Recreation Area - Bench Lake
Country:	United States
State:	Idaho
Trip Rating:
Trip Date:	July 12, 2010
Duration:	7 hours, 30 minutes
Trail Conditions:	Good
Trail Traffic:	Light
Trip Weather:	Sunny
Trip Winds:	Moderate
Trip Precipitation:	None
Trip Temperature:	High: Below 0, Low: Below 0 degrees Fahrenheit
Trip Report:	whilst on vacation from Indiana's corn fields i hiked the bench lakes w/ my father and aunt. the hike was beautiful, and we almost didn't go past lake 2 until we were informed about carrions (SP?). lake 4 is one of the best lakes I've seen in the sawtooth's (in my very short experience anyway) very nice trail, some steep, rocky areas but overall no problems with terrain. the official trail dissipates at the second lake and you'll need to watch for little stacks of rocks to know the right way to go. mosquitoes can be bad, although long legged pants and shirt should take care of that. first and second lakes have easy access and good scenery, the third lake is somewhat harder to reach, the forth and final lake located ~1500 ft below the mount Hayden summit has easily traversable rocky shoreline, constant strong (but not to strong) winds that seem to keep bugs away, and is very beautiful overall. one may take a boat shuttle from redfish lodge to the opposite end of the lake and start from there if interested in saving time. ~4.5 to the final lake, ~9 round trip. well worth it.

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