My third day of Idaho mountain hiking was physically quite close to my second day’s hike, despite my return to Ketchum in the evening for such comforts as dinner, beer, breakfast, groceries, coffee, and internet.  I actually did two separate shorter hikes from two different trailheads in the same valley.  In contrast to Prairie Creek Valley just to the north, the Baker Creek Valley is a very popular place.

My first of two hikes was detailed in my hiking guidebook.  The trail to Baker Lake is at the end of the road and involves an easy 800-foot elevation gain over less than three miles round trip on a trail through a mix of open meadows and trees burnt by a forest fire some years ago. I guess I got an early start, because there were only two other cars at the trailhead when I arrived but probably at least 20 when I left.  It’s the kind of hike most people like – quite easy to do in a morning or afternoon, not too long or difficult, and with a pretty destination at an alpine lake at 8,800 feet.  I guess I prefer my hikes more he-manly and less populated.

I hadn’t heard about Norton Lakes until two days before. I got to chatting with a couple from North Carolina with whom I crossed paths on the Fall Creek-Moose Lake Trail.  We talked about hikes we did or were planning to do. They told me Norton Lakes was their favorite.  Given its proximity to Baker Lake in the same valley, I figured I’d do both on the same day. The hike to Norton Lakes is significantly longer and steeper than that to Baker Lake so was a good workout.  The online descriptions I found of the hike were less in-depth than those in my guidebook, so what was ahead was a bit of a mystery to me. The hike up certainly is beautiful, much through open meadows with great views, and probably about 1,500 feet to the first lake.  Both Lower and Upper Norton Lakes are stunning, situated against a ridge that towers over 1,00 feet above them, on the other side of which is Miner Lake where I was the day before.

After effectively four days of hiking I really felt like I needed a bath.  “Bathing” by wiping oneself down with a wet towel in a bathroom stall in the morning or evening of a camping night only goes so far in terms of satisfying the desire for cleanliness.  Fortunately, there is a hot springs just off the road about 15 miles north of Ketchum.  Hot springs in the west can vary greatly from somewhat muddy puddles with a trickle of hot water to enormous pools that form the center of a resort.  Easley Hot Springs is somewhere in between, bit with a large warm swimming pool, several hot pools, and warm showers it was perfect.  It’s apparently affiliated with the Baptist church, though, so no beer was available.