Mountains in Idaho, Albania, and Montenegro | September 2026
To kick off this month, I flew to Sun Valley, Idaho, rented a car and zoomed up to the Sawtooth Mountain region to do some camping, hiking, and paddleboarding. The weather didn't cooperate perfectly -- it was pretty cold at night already and both afternoons we had thunderstorms. I spent a while snuggled up in my tent listening to the rain fall.
The hike up to Sawtooth Lake was nice, not too hard, with a beautiful stop at Alpine Lake. If the weather had been warmer, both lakes would have been perfect for a mid-hike swim! 11 miles RT
Another perfect place for a swim or a picnic is Pettit Lake, no hike required. This part of Idaho is quite pretty. :) I enjoyed a little soak in Sunbeam Hot Springs as well!
Between the two countries, we definitely preferred Albania. The contrast really hit us -- no free bathrooms, everyone seemed really annoyed and unfriendly, so many expensive umbrella/chair combos lining the rocky beaches. We walked around a lot, found some pretty spots, but wouldn't want to come back here (Budva + Kotor). I think with a rental car we could have seen some of the countryside and done some hiking, but there are warnings online about renting cars in Montenegro (honesty might not be their top priority) and the roads aren't in stellar condition.
Albania had some super yummy veg food -- a baked cottage cheese and pepper dish, stuffed eggplant, lots of Greek salad! Their desserts are pretty fabulous as well. Locals were friendly and kind, prices were very reasonable, and thankfully there's a really good bus/ferry route to get out into the wilderness! We hiked between Theth and Valbone which follows a trail that was probably the only way to get over the mountains years ago. Both of these little villages are very small, with rocky roads connecting guesthouses and just a few restaurants.
