• Welcome to The Big Outside!

  

  Hi, I'm Michael Lanza, thanks for visiting. Click on my photo to learn more about the benefits of following my blog, and to write to me. I love hearing from readers. And please enter your email below for updates about new stories and gear giveaways!

• Subscribe to The Big Outside

  Enter your e-mail address for updates about new stories, reviews, and gear giveaways!

  Email *
  

  Name
  

• Comments From Readers

  "This is the first blog that I have committed to and read on a regular basis. I have gotten many great ideas for future trips."
  —Scott

  "Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and expertise!"
  —Kimberlee

• Top Posts & Pages

  • Ask Me: How Can You Tell How Warm a Down Jacket Is?
  • Gear Review: Marmot Tungsten UL 2P Backpacking Tent
  • Review: The Best Gear Duffles and Luggage
  • 10 Smarter Ways to Think About Your Layering System
  • 10 Pro Tips: Staying Warm in a Sleeping Bag

• Support The Big Outside

  This blog is my full-time work and I rely on the support of readers. If you like it, please help me continue producing The Big Outside by making a contribution in any amount: $5, $10, $25, $50, $100 on up. Thank you for your support.

  

• Book

  

• Sponsors of The Big Outside

  

• Categories

  • Ask Me (134)
  • Backpacking (289)
  • Family Adventures (218)
  • Gear Reviews (375)
  • Hiking (221)
  • International Adventures (57)
  • National Park Adventures (271)
  • Paddling (75)
  • Skiing (50)
  • Skills (60)
  • Uncategorized (61)

• Tag Cloud

  Arizona Ask Me backpacking backpacking apparel reviews backpacking boots reviews backpacking clothing reviews backpacking gear reviews backpacking skills backpacking tent reviews backpack reviews California California backpacking California national parks camping gear reviews Canyonlands National Park Capitol Reef National Park daypack reviews family backpacking family hiking family outdoor adventures family paddling Glacier National Park Gore-Tex product reviews Grand Canyon National Park Grand Teton National Park High Sierra hiking apparel reviews hiking clothing reviews hiking gear reviews hiking shoes reviews Idaho John Muir Trail Osprey pack reviews outdoor apparel reviews Sawtooth Mountains Sequoia National Park Southern Utah hiking backpacking trail-running gear reviews ultralight backpacking gear reviews Utah Utah parks Washington hiking backpacking Wyoming Yellowstone National Park Yosemite National Park Zion National Park

Tag Archives: Sawtooth Wilderness

August 29, 2017

Ask Me: The Best Long Backpacking Trip in Idaho’s Sawtooths

In Ask Me, Backpacking   |   Tagged Alice Lake, Alpine Lake, Baron Lakes, Cramer Lakes, Edith Lake, Edna Lake, Grandjean Trailhead, Imogene Lake, Ingeborg Lake, Iron Creek Trailhead, McGown Lakes, North Fork Baron Creek, Pettit Lake, Queens River Trailhead, Redfish Lake, Redfish Lake Lodge, Rock Slide Lake, Sawtooth Lake, Sawtooth Mountains, Sawtooth National Forest, Sawtooth National Recreation Area, Sawtooth Wilderness, South Fork Payette River, Spangle Lake, Sunbeam Hot Springs, Tin Cup Hiker Trailhead, Toxaway Lake   |   5 Comments

Hi Michael,

We are a group of eight fit and active backpackers (our mountains are the High Sierra) who are interested in heading to Idaho to check out the Sawtooths next summer. I know these are some of your favorite mountains! We’re coming from California to spend a total of 10 days (including travel and a night on front and back side in Stanley). We’d like to spend about six or so days on the trail. We’re usually happy with the eight to 11 miles per day range (depending on difficulty). Of most interest to me is the Grand Sawtooths Loop from the guidebook Backpacking Idaho, by Douglas Lorain. Have you done this particular loop and would you recommend it?

I did take a look at your blog post on the best hikes in the Sawtooths. And I did notice in your post of your Top 10 backpacking trips that there is a different hike you would recommend to someone wanting a multi-day trip in the Sawtooths, so I’m hoping for more info on that trip and if it would be superior to this loop. That one I believe you said was about 50 miles. Continue reading →

July 17, 2017

Ask Me: What Are the Best Hikes in Idaho’s Sawtooths?

In Ask Me, Backpacking, Family Adventures, Hiking   |   Tagged Alice Lake, Alice-Toxaway Divide, Alpine Lake, Alpine Peak, Alpine Way Trail, Baron Divide, Baron Lakes, Cramer Divide, Cramer Lakes, Edith Lake, Edna Lake, Elephant's Perch, Farley Lake, Finger of Fate, Goat Lake, Hell Roaring Lake, Hidden Lake, Idaho, Imogene Lake, Iron Creek Trailhead, Marshall Lake, Merritt Peak, Mickey's Spire, Monte Verita Peak, Mount Regan, Pettit Lake, Redfish Lake, Redfish Lake Lodge, Redfish Trailhead, Saddleback Lakes, Sawtooth Lake, Sawtooth Mountains, Sawtooth National Recreation Area, Sawtooth Wilderness, The Arrowhead, Thompson Peak, Tin Cup Trailhead, Toxaway Lake, Twin Lakes, Vernon Lakes, Warbonnet Peak, Williams Peak, Yellow Belly Lake   |   1 Comment

Hi Michael,

I’m an avid reader of your blog and know that you’re very familiar with Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountains, so I was hoping you could give me some advice on either a good 3-day backpacking route or a base camp area where I could take three big day hikes from. I consider myself to be pretty fit and I have a handful of backpacking trips under my belt, so I feel comfortable putting in 10 to 15 miles per day, even over strenuous terrain. Thanks for any suggestions you can provide and for all of your informative and inspirational trip reports.

Will
Brighton, MA Continue reading →

July 2, 2017

My Top 10 Favorite Backpacking Trips

In Backpacking, Family Adventures, National Park Adventures   |   Tagged "America's most beautiful trail", Alice Lake, America's best backpacking trips, Ansel Adams Wilderness, Arizona, backpacking Glacier National Park, Baron Lakes, Best U.S. backpacking trips, Best Yosemite backpacking trips, Buck Creek Pass, California, California backpacking, California national parks, Cascade Canyon, Colorado River, Death Canyon, Death Canyon Shelf, family backpacking, Glacier National Park, Glacier Peak Wilderness, Grand Canyon National Park, Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River, Grand Canyon South Rim backpacking trips, Grand Teton National Park, Gunsight Pass Trail, High Sierra, hiking Glacier National Park, Idaho, Idaho backpacking, Image Lake, Imogene Lake, John Muir Trail, John Muir Wilderness, Kings Canyon National Park, Lake Ellen Wilson, Many Glacier, Montana, Mount Hood, Mount Hood National Forest, Mount Hood Wilderness, North Cascades, Olympic National Park, Oregon, Oregon backpacking, Pacific Crest Trail, PCT, Pettit Lake, Ramona Falls, Redfish Lake, Royal Arch Loop, Sawtooth Mountains, Sawtooth Wilderness, Sequioa-Kings Canyon National Park, Sequoia National Park, Southern Olympic Coast, Southern Utah hiking backpacking, Spider Gap, Teton Crest Trail, The Narrows, The Narrows of the Virgin River, thru-hiking the John Muir Trail, Timberline Trail, Toxaway Lakes, Tuolumne Meadows, Utah, Utah parks, Washington, Washington hiking backpacking, Wyoming, Yosemite National Park, Zion Canyon, Zion National Park   |   6 Comments

By Michael Lanza

What makes a great backpacking trip? I’ve thought about that more than a mentally stable person probably should, having done many of America’s (and the world’s) most beautiful and beloved multi-day hikes over the years. Certainly top-shelf scenery is a mandatory qualification. An element of adventurousness enhances a hike, in my eyes. As I assembled this top 10 list, longer trips seemed to dominate it—there’s something special about a big walk in the wilderness—but two- and three-day hikes also made my list. Another factor that truly matters is a wilderness experience: All of my top 10 are in national parks or federal wilderness areas.

Some things, though, don’t require explanation; the validation comes in just doing it. So I give you here my admittedly personal and subjective list of the 10 best backpacking trips I’ve taken over more than a quarter-century (and counting) of humping a pack on trails all over the country, as a longtime field editor for Backpacker magazine and creator of this blog. Continue reading →

June 26, 2017

Big Wilderness, No Crowds: Top 5 Backpacking Trips For Scenery and Solitude

In Backpacking, National Park Adventures   |   Tagged Arizona, Buck Creek Pass, California, California backpacking, Colorado River, Darwin Lakes, Eagle Cap Peak, Eagle Cap Wilderness, family backpacking, Glacier Peak Wilderness, Grand Canyon National Park, Grand Canyon South Rim backpacking trips, Granite Park, High Sierra, Idaho, Idaho backpacking, Image Lake, John Muir Wilderness, Kings Canyon National Park, Lakes Basin, North Cascades, Oregon, Oregon backpacking, Rock Slide Lake, Royal Arch Canyon, Royal Arch Grand Canyon, Royal Arch Loop, Sawtooth Mountains, Sawtooth National Recreation Area, Sawtooth Wilderness, South Bass Trail, Spider Gap, Tonto Trail, Wallowa Mountains, Washington, Washington hiking backpacking   |   Leave a comment

By Michael Lanza

We all want our wilderness backpacking trips to have two sometimes conflicting qualities: mind-blowing scenery, but also few other people around. A high degree of solitude somehow makes the backcountry feel more wild—makes the views more breathtaking. However unrealistic the notion may be, we like to believe we have some stunning corner of nature to ourselves. But in the real world, if you head out into popular mountains in July or August, you’ll probably have company—maybe more than you prefer.

Not on these five trips, though. From California’s High Sierra to the Cascades, and Idaho’s beloved Sawtooths to the peerless majesty of the Grand Canyon, here are five multi-day hikes where you’re guaranteed to enjoy a degree of solitude—at least on long stretches of the trip—that’s equal to the scenery. Continue reading →

5 Great Adventures You Can Still Pull Off in 2017

May 15, 2017  |  In Backpacking, Family Adventures, Hiking, National Park Adventures   |   Tagged Appalachian Trail, backpacking Grand Canyon, backpacking Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Bright Angel Trail, California, California backpacking, California national parks, Clingmans Dome, family backpacking, family hiking, Grand Canyon National Park, Grand Canyon South Rim backpacking trips, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, High Sierra, hiking backpacking western North Carolina, Idaho, Idaho backpacking, Mount Hood, Mount Hood National Forest, North Carolina hiking backpacking, North Kaibab Trail, Royal Arch Grand Canyon, Sawtooth Mountains, Sawtooth National Recreation Area, Sawtooth Wilderness, Sequoia & Kings Canyon national parks, Sequoia National Park, South Kaibab Trail, Timberline Trail   |   14 Comments

Ramona Falls, along the Timberline Trail around Oregon’s Mount Hood.

By Michael Lanza

So you didn’t plan far enough in advance to reserve a permit for backpacking this summer in Yosemite, Grand Teton, Glacier, or another popular national park, eh? So, now what? Where will you take a big outdoor adventure in 2017? Here are five backpacking trips that even slackers still have time to plan and execute this year. Three of them are in top-tier national parks, and the other two are multi-day hikes with national park-caliber mountain scenery. Continue reading →