South Fork Payette River Trail

Typical view of the South Fork Payette River south of Grandjean

My adventure across the Sawtooths began at the Grandjean trailhead of the range’s western side. The plan was to acclimate to the terrain slowly by taking a long, gradual ascent up the South Fork Payette River to Benedict Creek up to the Tenlake Basin. My goal for that first day, August 12, was 14 miles to Smith Falls, one of two significant waterfalls along the river. But the terrain and trails proved more challenging than I’d imagined, and I barely made 10 miles that first day.

In my notebook, I described that first day as “forgettable.” The South Fork Payette River Trail “is overgrown & frequently impeded with downed trees.” I later noted, “Curious that the SFP and Benedict Creek trails rarely see their namesakes.”

The latter I should have known from the maps, which clearly show the trails up to a quarter mile from the streams for almost their entire lengths. These are primarily horse trails, so access to water is only occasional, as befitting a horse train. The surprise was the impenetrable thickness of the lowland vegetation, which was free to grow beneath the burnt remains of the trees. At least, the trees which hadn’t fallen to earth yet.

The trail starts out easily enough from a cheerful trailhead sign. “You Will Enter Wilderness in a few miles,” it announces. I filled out a permit and attached it to my pack. The trail quickly reaches Trail Creek and crosses it on a sturdy footbridge. The trail forks immediately after the bridge. The left fork was my planned return path, descending from the Trail Creek Lakes area. The right fork heads up the South Fork Payette River, which was over a third of a mile to the west.

Baron Creek ford

I brought along wading sandals to use as both camp shoes and forders, and they got their first use after 1.67 miles, when I forded cold Baron Creek. The water was shallow but swift, and my feet were hurting from the cold when I reached the other side. Most other streams and outlets could be crossed on logs, but this was the first of three major fords.

From the ford, the trail follows what is marked on the map as a 4WD road. If it was, it has been unmaintained for many, many years. Only one track of it remains, chewed into the hillside by the horses which clearly outnumber the hikers here. As I continued to follow it upstream, still far from the river, the vegetation got taller and thicker, the fallen snags more frequent and larger.

Typical stretch of the overgrown South Fork Payette River Trail

I was using two trekking poles for the first time, and I expended lots of energy dragging them through the tangle of vines, branches, and brambles. At times, the trail itself disappeared beneath the thicket. Without the coverage of the forest, the trail was hot and dry. It was a long slog.

Not quite two hours into the hike, I reached the dry course of Goat Creek. I had walked a little over 3 miles and gained about 75 feet of elevation. After a snack and about 20 minutes of rest, I continued up the trail. About 1.75 miles later, I left the relatively clear footpath to seek out a grave marked on the map. I did not find it for certain. It could easily have been disturbed by any of the dozens of fallen trees scattered across the area. There were some rockpiles which did not look natural, but there were no markers. I also looked for a lower trail nearer the river, but the whole area where it might have existed was marshy. Disappointed at these two failures, I trudged back to the trail, and had trouble finding it again.

From there, it wasn’t much longer to Taylor Spring.

Area around Taylor Spring

I never actually saw the spring, but the marshy area brought the slow bend of the river refreshingly close to the trail, for a change. The wide flat occupied by the river is known as Big Meadow, an appropriate enough designation. The tallest peaks across the Big Meadow top out just below 8,000 feet. The views here were among the best of the day.

At this point, I had been hiking for 3.5 hours and covered 5.3 miles, a slow pace indeed. I would only get slower as this warm day wore on. I hiked for another hour before finding a spot where the trail got near enough to the river, and a little waterfall, that I could rest in a bit of shade, cook my hot meal, and replenish my water. A huge fallen tree marked the spot.

Moving on, the vegetation became taller, thicker, and thornier. The trail grew steeper. An obstacle like a fallen tree occurred every 25-50 yards. I got pretty adept at seeing the sudden departures from the trail taken by the horses to get around the trees. Some such safe passages were every bit as thick and hazardous as the main trail.

By the time I’d passed Garden Creek — a small trickle — I’d hiked 8.7 miles and gained almost 700 feet. The next 200 feet came quickly.

It was clear I would not make it to Smith Falls. I doubted I’d even make it to Fern Falls. I ended up finding a spit of land in the trees beside the river, at a place I ended up calling Waterfall Bend. I located two trees from which I could hang the hammock, and that was the end of this long day. I spent the last hour of daylight sitting on the rocks listening to the tumbling song of the South Fork Payette River.

Waterfall Bend of the South Fork Payette River

Behind me, the jagged cliffs reflected the sun as it set.

Jagged cliffs above the South Fork Payette River

I enjoyed one of the nicer sunsets from the trail that day.

Sunset from my first night's campsite

I enjoyed the soothing rush of the water as I fell asleep, very tired yet very eager to get to the high country.

South Fork Payette River, SW09-0812-5122R, UTM 11T 0648682 E 4885297 N NAD27; Baron Creek Ford, SW09-0812-5113R, 0648884 E 4888019 N; Typical Stretch of South Fork Payette River Trail, SW09-0812-5114R, 0648967 E 4887241 N; Taylor Spring Area, SW09-0812-5126R, 0648933 E 4882997 N; A Horse “Shortcut”, SW09-0812-5140R, 0651553 E 4879428 N; Waterfall Bend Campsite, SW09-0812-5148R, 0652284 E 4877761 N; Jagged Cliffs at Sunset, SW09-0812-5160R; and South Fork Payette River Sunset, SW09-0812-5171R, Sawtooth Wilderness, Boise National Forest, Idaho | ©2009 Jeff Blaylock

Potentially related posts:

• Sawtooth Wilderness Waterfalls
• Baron Creek to Grandjean
• Benedict Creek to Mount Everly
• Approaching the Trail Fork, Again (2/22)
• Idaho Trip Campsites
• A Month of Sunsets From the Road
• Imogene Lake to Hidden Lake