We hiked up to Hell Roaring Lake in the Sawtooth Recreation Area from the lower trailhead today. The hike is 9.8 miles round trip with 600 ft of gain. We added an additional mile, hiking 0.5 miles up the north shore of the lake and back. We were happy to see some blue sky this morning and started early before the haze was predicted to move in later in the day
The trail is through a beautiful pine forest.
view of Hell Roaring Creek along the trail looking upstream
View looking downstream of Hell Roaring Creek from the same spot
view of Hell Roaring Creek further up the trail
The forest floor was covered in orange and red huckleberry bushes.
3+ miles up the trail we entered the Sawtooth Wilderness.
Juniper berries along the trail.
We found some muddy sections on the trail.
My first view of Hell Roaring Lake from the outlet.
bridge over the outlet
View from the bridge
pano of Hell Roaring Lake from the outlet
One of the views as we walked along the north shore
view across the lake
We found a beautiful spot to take a lunch break, before heading back down the trail.
Saw some paintbrush near the lake, 
and some large pine drops.
The noon sun brightened the fall colors along the trail as we hiked back through the forest.
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