Just a quick note for anyone interested in going to the Sawtooths, Idaho.
All passes are still snow covered but easily negotiable . No post holing or difficult traverses. No ice ax required. We hiked on packed snow above 8000 feet and some steeper section were easy enough to get around.
The north clockwise loop section starting from Grandjean has many blow downs (I think a hiker I met said she counted more than 40) and the three mile traverse connecting the Observation peak side with Sawtooth lake have significant snow patches which while easy to enough to hike, require some developed route finding experience as the trail frequently disappears for long stretches. I would recommend getting a larger scale map for those three miles.
The lower valley trails are hot and very badly maintained. You will essentially dive through bushes and some lacerations and bruises will be unavoidable. Be warned: mile after mile of this will sap your will to live. Ticks are a problem and we had several on us.
Rivers: the spring run off is brutal in some places and many crossings around the loop are downright dangerous. We managed to find alternate larger logs to get around but it required bushwhacking. Some we had to cross holding each other in a square.
The alpine regions are stunning but to be honest, the trail conditions and heat were such that it was barely worth the 10 hour drive compared with a local possibility in the Cascades.
