TOP TO BOTTOM: Nancy Williams and Pat Holmes of Stanley, stroll along the path to Jimmy Smith Lake. The foot trail along the north side of the lake. A bighorn ewe and her lamb, both shedding their winter coats, rest above the East Fork Salmon River road.

JIMMY SMITH LAKE - EAST FORK SALMON RIVER May 13, 2006 We chose mid-May as a good time to visit Jimmy Smith Lake in the arid sagebrush steppe of the lower East Fork Salmon River area. We invited retired Forester Cliff Keene and his wife, Marlene, from Salmon, to be our guest leaders.

We saw wild horses at the Greenfire Preserve, plus bighorn sheep and pronghorn antelope near the East Fork. Plus, some uncommon wildflowers that sent us reaching for our guidebooks.

The foot trail above the lake to Corral Creek was a bit steeper and more eroded than expected, but no one rolled into the lake.

Jimmy Smith Lake was formed by an ancient rock slide. In the winter, ice fishing is a popular activity. The first part of the trail is open to ATV's.

Jimmy Smith Lake is about an hour from Stanley and half-hour from Challis.

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