Upper Priest Lake – Trapper Creek, Priest River, Idaho
North Idaho Bushwhacking Backcrappers (the hiker trash formerly known as the North Idaho Backpacking Babes).
The Trapper Creek Debacle.
Day 1: Do not find the trail, so bushwhack up and down and around an entire mountain in the pouring rain. Sacrifices were made: we lost blood, a can of bear spray, and a cell phone on that mountainside. Arrive at camp, remove all your clothes, and hope your shoes dry by tomorrow. Drink all the liquor and laugh until you can’t stay awake anymore.
Day 2: Sleep in. Drink more. Don’t eat enough. Assess all of your injuries from yesterday. Pack up camp. Fight the mosquitoes and hornets. Find the trail and have the easiest hike out through a mossy pine forest pleasantly interrupted in frequent intervals by cedar groves.
The trail should never have been difficult to locate. I still do not know where the disconnect with the trip leaders happened, but I do not care. I was in it for the ride, not to manage it, and I got an adventure I do not regret.
Trapper Creek is a beautiful campground on Upper Priest Lake that can only be accessed by boat or hiking – my favorite kind of location!
It is hike 36 in 100 Hikes in the Inland Northwest and is described as such: The trail leads gently through a cedar forest, breaks into some openings, and heads back into the woods. It’s a peaceful hike with some ups, downs, and bridges over most stream crossing gs. The trail emerges at the northeast shore of Upper Priest Lake, 4 miles from the trailhead.
Priest Lake is often listed as the most beautiful like in Idaho, called, “Idaho’s Crown Jewel.” Fed from the Selkirk Mountains runoff, it is a popular destination due to its exceptionally clear water. Recreating in the Priest Lake area requires bear awareness, with it being the home to the highest-density bear population in Idaho.
Despite the debacle, or maybe because of it, I made forever friends who shared in the suffer-fest.
5 stars.
Memories made.
One Response
Lol on Trapper Creek you forgot that some tennis shoes were sacrificed to the fire gods. 🤣 Otherwise, perfectly detailed.
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