Buckhorn Lakes Expedition, Episode 1, Payette Nation Forest, Idaho

After a brutal cycling camp, the 4th of July weekend was rolling towards us. Fourth of July in McCall is an offensive zoo so John and I continued our now new tradition of heading for the back country and a multi day backpacking trip. This year, Buckhorn Lakes was our destination. Additionally, we were joined by a special guest, John’s brother Tom, a combination I refer to as a Platt sandwich! (in french, platt means flat, the irony is that nothing those two brothers do is flat!) Along the way, a lunch break at Secret Lake. Check out John’s report here: http://www.splattski.com/2020/ladyfinger/index.html

After lunch, it was time for a little fishing and recovery from a full pack climb of one of the most brutal accents that the Payette Forest has to offer. Keep in mind, after now two years of trying to talk John into doing a little fishing, John is giving it a try….. Ruby can’t understand what the delay is….. we are surrounded by peaks which need to be climbed!!!

John figures it has been nearly 50 years since he has done any serious fishing. Luckily, it is like riding a bike, something of which he also excels!

After watching John haul in a beautiful fish or two, brother Tommy was whipping the water. Please be aware, no fish were harmed during this expedition……especially by Tom.

Soon, we were on to the Idler Lakes and our home for the evening. It wasn’t long before we were into the snow.

We arrived at the first Idler Lake and the views were spectacular, hard to believe it was the first weekend of July and the lakes were still partially frozen….. actually, its not surprising at all as we were at about 7500 feet of elevation and this is fairly common for the first week of July.

We arrived at our second Idler Lake and found a camp spot. This is a spot we visited last year and I proclaimed, we must return and camp!!!! https://davefaitlemonde.com/2019/08/14/idler-lakes-and-peak-payette-national-forest-idaho/ This is our camp view northward towards Nik Peak. John’s arm reflexively extended. (NTP)

This is our Southward view towards Idler Lake. Notice the tripod ready for some evening and nighttime photography. (Come back tomorrow for that in Episode 2!)

Ruby and I set to work on a Ruby Calendar photo shoot! Notice this shot is very similar to the June 2020 shot, same drainage and same angle but taken about a mile further east.