I’ve seen a bobcat in the desert once. We have them here in our neighborhood too – I’ve never seen one here, but they show up on people’s security cameras pretty frequently. Somebody even had a mountain lion come into their backyard once!
I’ve been up close and personal with black bears and had my fill. As for grizzlies, I never want to encounter one in the wild unless there’s LOT of distance between us!
This is called “bear grass.” Clumps of grass every spring send up one huge stalk with white flowers.
It covers the open meadows in the high country every spring.
A high mountain lake with ice still on it in July.
A grouse hen defending her clutch of eggs.
We are on our way up to an abandoned fire watch tower.
Another mine audit.
One of many stream crossings on our travels.
This looks like you might be heading up to the St Joe Baldy lookout and that looks a lot like Crystal Lake. Is that where you are. If so I have spent a few nights at that lake and at the springs camping with my Boy Scout troop when I was a lad. I have ice fished at crystal lake (didn’t catch anything) in mid May. Ice was still plenty thick enough to walk on and I cut a hole with a hatchet and tried to catch some fish. No such luck.
Devon, That is heading to Twin Crags and that is Mirror Lake.
We have been to ST Joe Baldy a couple of times.
Road to St Joe Baldy.
You can faintly see St Maries in the center background.
Absolutely spectacular!
I had to look that one up on Google maps. I didn’t know about that little lake. Not too far from Crystal Lake as the crow flies. Both are on Latour Cr.
OK, it’s NOT NORTH Idaho…but it IS Idaho!
It’s been more than a few years, but I do remember “Craters of the Moon” national Monument…
Perhaps Idaho is a bit weird? 
Neat place…
Only been there once, Bruce, prolly 50 years ago!
That’s ME! We were married in 1973 and visited there as part of our honeymoon - driving across the country, then flying to Honolulu!
Devon, the trailhead to Mirror Lake is at the red box.
I couldn’t tell you if there is any fish in it .
And the roads up there are impassable for jeeps and regular cars near the top. ATV/UTV only.
I have been to Craters of the Moon twice, neat place. Most of Southern Idaho especially South East Idaho is lava country. I have a bucket list of lava tubes to explore around that area.
John,
I think I might just have to take a hike into that lake. According to the Fish and Game planner it is regularly planted with rainbow trout and some cutthroat. stock it several times a year. Ooops Wrong mirror lake. That’s the one up by Bayview not the one we are talking about…
Finally found the one we are talking about. It had a fairly regular stocking schedule of a couple times a year up through 2014 with Rainbow trout. Then once in 2017 and once in 2020. So I am sure there are atleast some rainbows to catch.
A little further research and BLM says the lake is void of fish. So that is really curious.
Being it is in the shade of Latour PK, ice stays on for a long time. The fish prolly died due to lack of Oxygen. Latour PK is kind of half a mountain. pretty smooth rise on the south, straight down on the north.
For some reason I had thought I had been to the top of Latour Peak. But that picture does not at all look familiar so I must be thinking of Baldy or one of the others. Even though I have spent many days and nights all over the place in N Idaho, I have spent very little time on the divide between the St Joe and the Coeur d’Alene River. Been to Elsie lake, St Joe Baldy lookout, Crystal lake, Silver Mountain, and then lots of time between Moon Pass and the Montana border. But not much of any other part of it. So its not surprising I have not been there.
Seems most of our peak with mountain lakes are formed that way. Steven’s peak is very similar. South side is much more gentle of a slope with a cliff on the north side.
