Sign up to ride Barking Spider Saturday in Owyhees, Pond Skimming, Greenbelt closures

Riding down that singletrack canyon on Barking Spider course. 

You won't find a trail quite like this in the Boise Foothills! Go to the Owyhees! 

Pond Skimming at Brundage is happening on Saturday! 

Yeah baby! 

Hi all,

The Wild Rockies Racing Series is hosting the annual Barking Spider mountain bike cross-country race out by Hemingway Butte OHV Park near Murphy on Saturday, April 8th. This is a great opportunity to get your legs tuned up for the mountain bike season on a cool xc singletrack course of approximately 9.5 miles per lap.

I featured the Barking Spider course in my Owyhee Canyonlands hiking, biking and camping guide because I just loved the course, particularly the fun downhill in an enclosed singletrack canyon. It's really cool riding downhill in that canyon. Check out Darren Lightfield's video ...

Darren Lightfield, the guy that makes
it all happen for Wild Rockies 

Pre-registration is encouraged! Even if you're not really into the racing scene, I highly recommend the ride. It's good to know about, and it's something you'll come back to ride again and again.

The weather doesn't look great in Boise on Saturday, but the forecast for Murphy is saying only a 20 percent chance of rain out by the course. The course is quite sandy, so it can handle some moisture, unless it really comes down. Give it a whirl!

The Wild Rockies Race Series has been a happening scene for a long time. They offer downhill races, cross-country mountain bike races, running events and triathlon events. People who participate are in incredibly great shape, and they stay in great shape, knowing they have to be ready for the next race!

Saturday looks to be a fun day at Brundage Mountain Resort for their annual Pond-Skimming event, beer relay race, poker run and costume party. The weather looks favorable for the day as the temperature will drop to 21 in McCall Friday night, and the forecast calls for 100 percent chance of snow at Brundage on Saturday for the end-of-sesaon festivities. Sunday will the last day of daily operations, and there's a bonus ski day planned for Saturday April 15th.

In other outdoor news,

The Idaho Statesman has been tracking Greenbelt closures. With the Boise River running 8,000+ cfs on a continuing basis, and potentially higher, the high water is causing a great deal of erosion on the river bank, and it even required the removal of a pedestrian bridge tying together the Plantation greenbelt area with the Garden City greenbelt near Les Bois Park. Mayor Bieter is recommending that people stay off the Greenbelt.

But if you're wondering what part of the Greenbelt is still safely rideable, you can still use the Greenbelt between Bown Crossing and Lucky Peak, and other shorter sections. The Statesman put together a great map of the closure areas (shown in red) and open areas (shown in green).

A group running Pair of Dice Rapids on the Murtaugh section of the Mid-Snake River ... Photo by Rob Lesser 

I wrote a wide-ranging story recently for the Twin Falls Times-News about running Idaho rivers this year because of bountiful snowpack, which will mean longer seasons for the desert rivers, and much more high water and long seasons than usual in the mountain rivers. Here's a link to the article. The title is, "If there ever was a year for whitewater rafting in Idaho, this is the one!" Make your plans now to enjoy a great river season!

Have fun!
- SS

Barking Spider mountain biking, trail-running race a great springtime booster for fitness, fun

Scene at the finish line (courtesy Wild Rockies)

Rider descending "Skateboard Park"

Entering "Skateboard Park" section 

Looking back on climb along finger ridge on Trail #400 

GPS tracks of the Barking Spider course 

Hi all,

It's April and the first Wild Rockies mountain bike and trail-running race is coming up on Saturday, April 6. It's called the 18th annual Barking Spider Bash, which is kind of hilarious. Ever heard a spider bark?

The race is held in the Hemingway Butte area of the Owyhee Front, a place that's normally used primarily by motorcycles and ATV's, but on Saturday, the course is set aside for mountain bikers and trail-runners. Even if you're not a serious racer, Barking Spider is a good warm up for the mountain bike and trail-running season. I've logged the course and provided directions here so if you want to try the course another time, you can do so.

The big highlight of the 9.3-mile course, in my view, is a downhill section called the "Skateboard Park." It's this cool little canyon where you're riding or running downhill inside a canyon and going up on the walls of each side as you descend through tons of S-turns over the space of 3-4 miles.

The rest of the course is challenging even though Wild Rockies says rates it "easy." With lots of sand, rocks, gravel and technical features, one loop around the course will seem like a longer ride than nine-plus miles. I hope it rains in the next couple of days to knock the dust down. Experienced racers will zip through it with ease, I'm sure. In the race, beginners have to ride it around once, Sport-class riders will do two laps, and Expert Pro will do three laps. Whew!

The trail-running courses are broken into a 10K (6.2 miles) and 9.3 miles.

When I logged the loop last night, my GPS indicated that the whole route featured 864 feet of vertical gain/loss. But with four mini loops within the course, you climb and descend on each one. It'll feel like more climbing than the elevation gain suggests.

Anyway, give it a shot! Race begins shortly after noon on Saturday. You can register online. Sandwiches will be provided by Paul's Markets and beer is provided by Ninkasi Brewing Co. in Oregon. Food and drink are provided as part of the registration package.

How to get there: Go west on I-84 to Nampa. Take the Franklin exit and follow signs into downtown Nampa. Follow signs for Idaho 45 or 12th Avenue South and go south of Nampa on ID 45 to the Snake River. Cross the highway bridge, and go left at the Y toward Murphy. Turn right on Reynolds Creek Road, go past the feedlot, and pull into the BLM Hemingway Butte trailhead.

If you don't do the race, visit the Hemingway Butte area in mid-week, preferably when the course is still marked, and enjoy the the ride when the OHV traffic isn't that heavy. BLM officials do not recommend trying to mountain bike or run in the area on weekends, when the OHV traffic is heavy.

See the course map on the Wild Rockies photo page.

Spring cleanup opportunity: Volunteers are needed to pick up litter along the Snake River near Celebration Park on Saturday. Contact Idaho Fish and Game, Dennis Hardy, 465-8465, if you'd like to participate. Meeting time will be 9 a.m. at Map Rock and the project should be complete by noon. Ask Fish and Game for directions.

Have fun!
- SS