Chocolate Gulch • September 11, 2010

The Boulder Mountains from the road

Since it was so chilly Friday night (37° in Hailey), my friend Chris and I waited until 9:15 to drive to the Chocolate Gulch trailhead, just north of Ketchum. (Once the sun rises, the temperature can rise more than 30° in a few hours.) On the way, we were treated to glimpses of the snow-covered Boulder Mountains.

Chris brought her two dogs, a German shorthair, and little white mixed-breed rescue that has bright blue eyes! The dogs are accustomed to hiking and probably know every trail within 50 miles of here. Most hikers have one or two dogs with them. The dogs always run loose. When they meet other dogs, there is the requisite momentary sniffing, and then they continue on with their owners. Chris's dogs took off the minute we started hiking. Occasionally you could see a flash of white and a darker shadow flying through the forest or underbrush. That was Belle (the shorthair) and Skye (the rescue). They checked back occasionally, but spent their time chasing creatures and exploring, and when all was said and done, probably put in three times the mileage than we did!

Bridge over the Wood River at the Trailhead

Through a break at the beginning of the ascent

The beginning of the trail follows the Wood River, winds rather steeply through a beautiful conifer forest and crests at the top of a ridge that looks north to the Boulder Mountains and east to the Pioneers. The view was spectacular yesterday due to the contrast of the distant snow and the bright blue sky. From the crest, it is all downhill through rocky out-crops and meadows, where you follow a stream that eventually feeds into the Wood River near the trailhead. The hike is a little more difficult than the Adams Gulch hike because of its early, steep ascent, although it seemed much shorter. We were on the trail close to two hours, but that included time for me to stop and take photos. It was so beautiful, I didn't want it to end. Before I leave this area, I'll take Baxter and do it again.

(See earlier post for more photos.)