Mud Springs

This is a forested single-track trail in the South Hills of the Sawtooth National Forest. It can be accessed after about a 15-minute ride up Indian Spring Road from the staging area at the base of the South Hills Trail System. It is totally different terrain than the desert trails at the base of the South Hills, as it is in a National Forest full of aspen trees here rather than the BLM sagebrush territory below. The entrance to this trail is unmarked off the side of Indian Spring Road directly across from the road to Donahue Basin (#042). It is a narrow skinny trail through overgrown grassy meadows and through aspen trees. It steadily drops down into a valley by side hilling with a couple of tight switchbacks. It goes through shaded tree sections and also wide open meadows. There is a minimal rock in the beginning, but more boulder-type rocks in the trail as it gets lower into the valley. There is a very small creek crossing at the bottom of the hill. Stay left at the unmarked intersection with the Electric/Mud Spring single track. From here it climbs up through the trees to a saddle with tons of wildflowers in spring and summer. There are some rocky steep loose switchbacks down from the saddle. It side hills another mountain on a narrow trail with medium exposure while losing elevation into another sagebrush valley. There are a couple of embedded boulders in the trail during this section as well. It ends and connects with Fifth Fork Rock Cr.