Iron Bog Lake

Welcome to Camp Iron Bog! What? Never heard of it??? Well, let us show you around.

This little known campsite is a beautiful gem hidden away in the middle of Idaho (if you're familiar with Idaho, the main road to get there is past Arco somewhere around Moore). We had never heard of it before, but it was recommended to us by one of Eric's coworkers. Now, let me just do a recap of last year's camping experience. We went once up to Heise where we'd heard wonderful things. Eric and I love to camp; we're just not too familiar with Eastern Idaho and so decided to venture out and take our chances. Well, to bring a rough story to its point, we ended up in a spot with NO camp host and our camp neighbors were HORRIBLE! Loud music and laughing late into the night, fighting that woke us up and scared me half to death, and lots of cussing...VERY inconsiderate. We packed up as soon as we could, spent the day along the river trying to catch a fish, and came home empty-handed. Not my favorite. Nor Eric's. I could have handled the no-fish thing if the camping part had been more favorable. But as it was, I was happy to go home.

So, back to camp Iron Bog. It was a bit of a drive, but came so highly recommended that we took a leap of faith. And it was well worth it.

There was no one else there when we arrived, even though it was Labor Day weekend. We picked a spot nestled near the trees with a little stream providing the background music. The view away from the trees was wide open to the sky with some rolling hills not far away. We pitched our tent and kept the fly off so we could look up to the stars.

I should mention that this was our first true down-and-dirty camping trip with just us and Ellie. Throwing a baby into the mix really makes things interesting. All went well setting up camp, starting a fire (way to go, Eric!), eating our foil dinners and smores, and enjoying the night sounds. The difficulty came in the middle of the night when temperatures had dropped drastically. Ellie kept waking up, probably from the cold, and I kept waking up to feel her hands and feet and make sure she was okay. Eric had to get out of the tent to put the rain guard on and try to stop the flow of cold air. By morning I finally crammed Ellie into my mummy bag and she seemed to settle into a good sleep. I was too uncomfortable to sleep anymore and the morning was getting lighter and so just got up.
It was very peaceful. There were a few other trailers that had arrived last night but still, not many. We had a good breakfast, enjoyed the stream, and packed up. Despite our lack of rest, we were anxious to start on the 1 1/2 mile hike up to Iron Bog Lake and do some fishing.
Here we are at the trail head. Originally, we had thought it would be fun to camp up at the lake so we could fish early in the morning. The first 20 minutes of the hike made us everlastingly grateful we hadn't because it was SO STEEP! We already had enough to carry as it was and needed to stop for breaks.
Ellie loved the free ride though. And the scenery was beautiful.
The lake was up in the mountains at the top of our hike, not much by way of hiking down. But after all our efforts we were well rewarded: it was BEAUTIFUL!!! The lake wasn't very large, but sweet and picturesque (I took some reference pictures to perhaps paint a picture one day). We spent the rest of the morning and all afternoon fishing at the lake, reading, and enjoying the quiet. I am amazed every time we go to the mountains at how much life slows down. It is another reason perhaps why mountains and temples are so similar: each causes us to reflect on what things are really important in life and take a break from life's chaos. It is a perfect opportunity to converse with Heavenly Father and enjoy His creations.
After all day at the lake, we still did not catch a fish. I have yet to catch my first; maybe it is my curse for being a "Bird." Even so, this camping experience was much better and one we would gladly do again. The next day at church a kind, older gentleman told us what our fishing problem was: he said you have to keep the worms warm and then made a motion as if pulling a worm from his mouth and putting it on a hook. ;) Hmmm...maybe Eric would be willing to lend his mouth for the job. But then again, not if he's expecting a kiss.
Woohoo! Who doesn't love a good campout? Anyone want to come with us next time?