justadate

Hike - Packsaddle Lake

July 26, 2019

Step by Step:
(1) Get a good car to take you up to the lake!

(2) Plan on being on the date at least 3 hours (1 hour rides each way)

(3) Ask out your date, pick him/her up, and hit the road!

(4) Ask each other questions on the car ride there and listen to good music

(5) Endure the bumpy road to the top

(6) Hike down to the lake (20 minutes)

(7) Explore, swim, adventure, have fun!

(8) Hike back up, drive back (careful, down can be just as crazy as up), thank your date for going with you, and take him/her home.
Link to Map: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Packsaddle+Lake/@43.7702882,-111.3443184,16.04z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x535396c94e376b63:0x2ddc8df0c7e16ede!8m2!3d43.7703659!4d-111.3402996

Cost:

This is a relatively inexpensive date, you just need money for gas to get up there. From Rexburg its about an hour drive, so just be prepablack for that (2 hours of driving, one hour there and one hour back). Other than that, I would recommend taking food for a picnic (so maybe $10).

What do you need:

A sturdy car (ideally with 4 wheel drive)
Bug spray
Swimsuits
Towels
Sun screen
Water
Food / snacks

Where to get the supplies:

If you do decide to add things to the date (see Ideas to mix up the date), then most of those things can be found at BYU-Idaho’s ORC for a really inexpensive price.
http://www.byui.edu/orc/rentals

Ideas to mix up the date:

Make it a longer date and take stuff for a campfire and food
Take hammocks and hammock by the lake
Take a Frisbee
Take a canoe or kayak or waterboard
Try fishing in the lake
Take bikes (mountain or dirt bike) to ride on the paths all around the lake
Take buggies or 4 wheelers
Take instruments (guitars for example) and jam out in the woods
Take card games or play other group games while there.
Make it a double or a huge group date!

How to do the date:

With this date, I would start by making sure you’ve got a good car to get you up there. They’ve improved the roads a lot since I started going, but it’s still a bit of a rough bumpy ride to the top of the mountain. After you get there, the trail is a bit steep going down, but it’s usually pretty clean and clear. So once you’ve got a good car and someone willing to hike, I’d take food and take off for the lake! After your hour drive, the hike itself is really short… maybe like 20 minutes and you’re at the lake. Once there, there is so much to do! There’s a rope swing with two different jumping points (see pictures below), a wooden diving board (I know it looks a bit sketchy, but the water is deep and the board is sturdy), a ramp to jump your bike into the lake, a lot of places to jump in to swim, trails to hike around the lake, and a lot of trees for hammocking. After you’ve had your fun, hike back up to the car, drive the hour back, and take your date home!

Expectations:

Learn a bit of what your date is like on long car rides (including what kind of music he/she likes)
See how adventurous your date can be at the lake (is he/she willing to be daring and jump from high places, is he/she willing to swim across the lake, etc.)
See how well your date can handle rough roads (or your driving on rough roads)
Learn if your date is a hiker and what he/she thinks of the outdoors.
If there is any type of injury (which can happen hiking) see how well he/she either deals with it or helps with it.

Type of date: It’s a bit of a longer date (plan on 3 or so hours), so maybe a third or fourth kind of date, but still #justadate

No car: If you don’t have a car, then you’ll need to make it a double and go with someone who does. There’s no getting there otherwise!

Pro Tip:

Again, I just really recommend bug spray, there were tons of horseflies that bite!
Don’t push your date too hard to do any of the jumps or things if he/she is uncomfortable with it. Especially if your date is a girl, if anything happens to her that she doesn’t like because you pushed her to do it, she won’t be as interested in another date. Plus she won’t trust you as much.
Always keep a first aid kit in your car in-case something happens while on the hike or at the lake (such as scrapes, cuts, etc.)
Take a speaker (ideally waterproof) to listen to music to while you swim.