Stanley, Idaho, United States
Galena Summit at 8,701 feet is the high point on the scenic
60-mile drive from Ketchum to Stanley. From the viewpoint near the top, there’s
a fantastic view over the Sawtooth Valley to the rugged Sawtooth Mountains, a
landscape in my view with many similarities to Jackson Hole and the Tetons in Wyoming
where a jagged mountain range also rises abruptly from a broad valley. The
summit also represents a drainage divide between the Wood River basin which
flows south into the Snake River and the Salmon River which flows mostly north
in a broad ark through central Idaho. The area is beautiful enough that it
could well justify full national park status, but the fact that it’s a national
recreation area within mostly national forest land probably helps keep the
crowds down.
Stanley is the main town in the Sawtooth Valley but not much
to look at itself despite its spectacular location. With an official population
of about 70 residents, most of the town consists of businesses that cater to
summer tourists, many of which have traditional wooden western appearance but
aren’t actually old.
When I was there on the weekend Stanley seemed too busy
for its own good, with restaurants overwhelmed in their limited social
distancing indoor and new outdoor seating, and the line for gas at the town’s
sole station sometimes out to the road.
I guess everyone wants to get out into the wilderness at this time of
plague. I sat in a far corner of the bar
area of a restaurant for a bit to charge my electronic gadgetry and couldn’t
help but notice how so many people don’t get the basics of social distancing –
people lined up closely at the bar, talking loudly as they were drinking,
engaging in normal social greetings like handshakes. And on Saturday night a wedding reception for
Lacey and Brad with band and dancing was taking place in the adjacent event
hall.
For my first hike in the area I drove a few miles to the
west to the road going south to beautiful Stanley Lake just below the mountains
for the hike from Stanley Lake to Bridal Veil Falls, highly recommended in my
guidebook but actually rather easy, about 7 miles round trip with minimal
elevation gain on a good trail mostly through the forest.
Although the scenery was pretty and the hot weather made an
easy hike desirable, I have to admit it was a little disappointing with good
views of neither of the two waterfalls that were supposed to be the highlights. Lady Face Falls was barely visible in a chasm
below the rocks which were the nearest accessible spot. Meanwhile, Bridal Veil Falls was a distance
away tumbling from high on a mountainside.
To get closer to its base, though, involved a second difficult stream
crossing – either wade across through uncertain depth or tightrope walk a precarious
looking log since the water was too high for obvious rockhopping.
For four nights I car camped in the Stanley area and was
treated on the one somewhat overcast night to a fantastic fiery sunset. My last night, though, was clear and cloudless
and felt especially cold in my sleeping bag. When I turned my car on just
around sunrise, the thermometer read a very frigid 26*. Brrrrr!
On clear, still nights the coldest air settles on valley floors in the
mountain west with Stanley sometimes being the coldest town in America. That didn’t stop the temperature from rising
to about 78* that day – from 26*F to 26*C all in a few hours.
2025-05-22