Since the pandemic began I have been itching to get away from town for a nice, easy going hike in my favorite Idaho mountains. I took advantage of the long Labor Day weekend and ditched my cozy apartment. For four days I looked at the gorgeous view of Larkins Lake, one of the many lakes that are characteristic of the Mallard-Larkins Pioneer Area (MLPA).
This 16-mile round-trip hike along Smith Ridge Trail 240 to Larkins Lake is an easy weekend getaway for beginning hikers, despite the long drive from Moscow.
Late summer is the perfect time to go. The weather was wonderful and sunny the entire weekend, with temperatures hovering in the 70s during the day and dipping down to the mid-40s at night. A light jacket and pants were enough to keep me warm, so my pack stayed light and I was able to keep it to the essentials.
On my trip I was with a few other people, one of them being a 6-year-old girl, and all of us were able to hike the roughly eight miles from the Smith Ridge Trailhead to Larkins lake in seven hours. This took up the majority of our first day. We definitely did not rush, and it gave us plenty of opportunity to take in our surroundings.
The scenery along the hike was astonishing, even to someone who grew up spending my free time in the Idaho wilderness. I took longer than I would have needed to because of the views. I couldn’t help but stop to enjoy it every chance I got.
The trail was very clean and easy to follow. It was obvious that the maintenance was kept up, and the trail is well-used, up until we reached the last mile.
The last mile of the trail, where it took a turn off the main and dipped down the mountain into Larkins Lake, was overgrown with brush and littered with rocky rubble. This was, hands down, the most difficult part of the hike. Though I will say that having a tired, hungry little girl to encourage made it more difficult than usual.
Once we arrived at the lake, however, a large flat area free of brush presented itself as the perfect place to set up base camp. Previous visitors had even built a fire ring, though we didn’t utilize it.
The second day of hanging out in the MLPA we spent at Heart Lake, which is situated southeast of Larkins Lake. It was about three miles of hiking to get from one to the other and made for an easy day trip to see more of the area.
Our third day was spent fishing along the edges of Larkins Lake, which had no lack of the sport. It seemed like every other cast reeled in a cutthroat trout, and they averaged a foot in length. It made for great entertainment during the day and a yummy dinner in the evening.
The hike out took half the time to complete compared to our hike in and was even more easy going. Motivation to take a hot shower played a part in our speedy return, but I have no regrets and would absolutely recommend this hike to beginning hikers looking for a relaxed weekend getaway. 10/10
Anteia McCollum can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @antxiam5.