Backpacker – August 2019

JULY/AUGUST 2019
120 BACKPACKER.COM

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UNCOVERED

Hike to this month’s cover shot.

W

S

E

N

Windy Devil Pass

CECIL D. ANDRUS–WHITE CLOUDS WILDERNESS, IDAHO

Stargaze in solitude by an alpine tarn at this remote campsite.

PHOTO BY NICK LAKE / TANDEMSTOCK.COMTEXT BY DAVID GLEISNER.

MILK Y WAY

Bring your binoculars:

Windy Devil Pass is located

smack in the middle of the

huge Central Idaho Dark

Sky Reserve. (Find more

prime stargazing spots

starting on page 94.)

GET HERE

With 9,000 feet of elevation change over

22.4 miles, this three-day out-and-back

is a leg-burner. From the Little Boulder

Creek trailhead, follow the path through

sagebrush desert. Climb through aspen-

speckled meadows (stay on the lookout for

moose) to the Boulder Chain Lakes, a series

of crystal-clear ponds. Pitch your tent near

Hatchet Lake at mile 8. Day two, work your

way through the peak-lined valley and up a

series of switchbacks as you crest 10,000 -

foot Windy Devil Pass. Drop .4 mile down

to reach this secluded spot by a small alpine

pond. Next day (or the day after), retrace

your steps to the trailhead.

DO IT

TRAILHEAD44.0844, -114.4503SEASON

July to OctoberPERMITNone; sign in at the

trailheadCO NTAC Tbit.do/windydevil

ANTARES

At 700 times the sun’s

diameter, this red

supergiant is the brightest

star in the Scorpio

constellation. Spot it in

the southern sky during

summer.

CASTLE PEAK

A photo of this craggy,

11,814-foot peak helped

persuade Congress to

protect the area around it

as the Sawtooth National

Recreation Area in 1972.

UNNAMED PEAK

10,800 feet