Toxaway-Alice Loop, Sawtooths, August 2012

River

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The Toxaway-Alice Loop is one of the classic loop hikes in the Sawtooths. I had hiked to Alice Lake many years ago, but the rangers had told us the pass was still snowed in and impassable so we didn't plan to hike the full loop. As it turned out, we were able to make it over, but we didn't bring our gear with us, so we only completed part of the loop.

With what felt like the entire state on fire during the summer of 2012, we decided to finally hike the whole loop, hoping the smoke might keep the crowds away. We started the 18 mile loop at Petit Lake and headed out counter clockwise to Farley and then Toxaway Lake. A slight sprinkle of rain had reduced the smoke in the air and cooled things off making for nice hiking weather. After about eight miles, we arrived at a beautiful campsite on Toxaway Lake. We had planned to spend one night there and another near Alice Lake, but it was such a nice camp that we decided to spend two nights there and hike a partially off trail loop to some other nearby lakes the next day.

On our second day, we climbed over the pass to Edna Lake. The weather was perfect for a long swim in the lake before we continued onto Vernon Lake. From there, we continued across a large boulder field and then found a way to scramble over the ridge and back down to our camp on Toxaway Lake.

On the third day, we climbed over Snowyside Pass and dropped down to Alice Lake. From there, it was a long, hot hike back to Petit Lake and our cars.


Our route
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Smoky skies on the drive to the trail head
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We decided to hike counterclockwise to Toxaway Lake first
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Enjoying a snack on the trail
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Several cascades on the hike in
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Farley Lake
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Cooling off in a small stream
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A great spot to relax
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Stopping to sniff the flowers
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A natural slip and slide
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The dogs were less enthused
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Enjoying a trail side nap
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Always ready for fetch
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Dinner!
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Smoky sunrise
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Time for another nap
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Can I have your leftovers?
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Green grass to roll in
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The view from the kitchen
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Great peaks all around
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A great spot to relax
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Still a few flowers blooming
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Finding a shady spot to cool down
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Edna Lake
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The pass going over to Edna
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Another view over the pass
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Finally, another stream to cool off in
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A great swim in Edna Lake
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The boulder scramble to Vernon Lake
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Vernon Lake
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The smoke cloud from the nearby fire
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Toxaway Lake
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Finally back at camp
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Another clear sunset
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The mountains are always a great place to reflect on what's really important in life
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More flowers headed over the pass
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Another spot to cool off
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Looking back down from Snowyside Pass
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The view from the pass toward Twin Lakes
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A cool dip in Alice Lake
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Alice Lake
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About ready to be done hiking
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Finally back at the truck!
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Featured image for home page:
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Oh, holy hell, this is awesome! :roflmao: I love seeing those happy puppies, and I LOLed at the slip-and-slide photo until my wife asked me from the other room what was so funny. Glad to see you got some blue skies during the trip.
 
I've spent a little time car-camping in the Sawtooths, and had a great time. Thanks for sharing this loop, looks like an awesome time.
 
The slip and slide was a lot of fun. Glad I had a ND filter on the camera for that one. :eek: The dogs love the mountains. It's a great loop. Wes - that's about when I was there the first time too, it was a lot snowier then!
 
Awesome trip report, Erik! Beautiful pics and particularly fun to see so much of it through the great photos of Molly. Keep 'em coming! :)
 
Wow!!! Such an awesome trip!!!!
 
I'm so far behind on trip photos... I guess that's a good thing?
 
how was it going between vernon and toxaway
 
Looks fine to me ............. Art? :)
 
Great photos! Not sure why, but dogs seem to get addicted to the high country as much as we do.

Thanks for posting the TR.
 
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