New printing of Mountain Biking in McCall hits the streets; here's 6 must-do rides from the book

Gregg Lawley riding the Bear Basin Trails. 

Wendy in the lower end of the Payette Rim Trail ... tall grass and singletrack. Yum. 

Morgan Hine cruises along on the Loon Lake singletrack 

Loon Lake - Perfect spot for a lunch break half way through the ride.  

Elk Trail! Brundage Mountain Resort 

Cool viewpoint off the Payette Rim Trail. 

Bonus shot: Flowers galore on Bear Pete Trail ... try it sometime 

Hi all,

My guidebook Mountain Biking in McCall  has been super-popular lately, particularly in the McCall market, where it's flying off the shelf. I recently ran out of books in early July and had to quickly reprint to satisfy the demand.

I did update the Bear Basin and Payette Rim Trail descriptions to reflect a few changes/additions that have occurred lately, and otherwise, there are 41 mountain bike rides in the book, and all of them are absolutely SWEET! IMHO.

This week, I'll recommend six must-do rides from the book for different abilities, starting with easy trails and moving up to expert rides. After you're done riding, be sure to take a dip in Payette Lake and cool off. There are several public beaches on the south side of the lake, and also at North Beach on the north end. The lake is a great temperature right now, totally refreshing but not too cold.

1. North Valley Rail-Trail - Location: South of McCall, starting from River Ranch on Mission Street, near the Forest Service Smokejumper Base. You also can start from downtown McCall, and pick up the paved trail heading south to the airport by McCall City Hall or McCall-Donnelly High School. The North Valley Trail is 3.5 miles long, and if combined with the paved trail, it's 5 miles out and back, or 10 miles total. Check out this YouTube video of yours truly riding the trail with my son. The trail is also a great place to hike and run. Great for families and all abilities. 

2. Ponderosa State Park - Ride the gravel Fox Run Trail and then the Huckleberry Trail through thick woods up to the Osprey Point Overlook. It's a 7-mile loop from the park entrance. Fox Run features a moderate climb, and then a fast downhill to the Huckleberry junction. Gear down to your small ring and spin through the woods over rocks and roots, and climb a steep series of switchbacks to the main gravel road, and then climb up to Osprey Point for a great viewpoint and a well-deserved breather. BTW, there is no park entrance fee if you ride to the park on a bike from wherever you are staying. 

3.  Payette Rim Trail - The Rim trail is a longtime favorite ride in the McCall area. It's a 10-mile ride that takes about 1.5-2 hours. 1,000 feet of climbing. Three years ago, logging on Idaho State Lands really tore up the trail. But locals and CIMBA have re-routed the singletrack around the logging disruption, and the trail now takes you all the way down to the corrals by Bear Basin, creating the possibility of riding the rim trail and then making a loop around the Bear Basin Trails to add another 5+ miles to the ride. Thanks to McCall mountain bikers for the awesome re-route!

4. Eagle's Nest Trail - East of Cascade off the Warm Lake Road. Distance: 13.1 miles. Advanced/expert ride. It's kind of a brutal climb up Forest Road #400 (2,800 vertical feet of climbing), but after you reach the singletrack, it's all downhill, and it's a blast. If you're hiking, start the hike on the singletrack by the big highway pullout 4 miles east of Idaho Highway 55. (This is where you park for the bike ride). You'll see the sign for Trail #111. It's 7.7 miles one-way to the jct. with Forest Road 400 at 6,650-foot elevation. 

5. Loon Lake Short Loop - Location: 30+ miles north of McCall. Distance: 10 miles. Advanced intermediate ride. Drive Warren Wagon 30+ miles north of McCall, past Burgdorf Hot Springs, to Chinook Campground. The Loon Lake Loop is what I call "an Idaho classic," one of the top 10 rides in the state. I prefer to ride the loop counter-clockwise, but others prefer clockwise. The trail tread is all singletrack, with plenty of roots, rocks and steep climbs. Best-suited for advanced riders, but some strong intermediates can make it. Pack plenty of food and drink and make a fun day of it. Have lunch at the lake and go swimming. Watch out for other trail users -- it's a very popular place to go.

6. Bear Basin-Elk Trail-#488 Loop - This is one of 14 advanced/expert rides in the book. It's one of my favorite loops in McCall. It's 18.2 miles, 2,580 feet of climbing, and it takes about 3-4 hours. You ride up the Bear Basin dirt road about 7 miles to the top of Brundage Mountain Ski Area. Then you descend on Elk Trail, a super-fun singletrack that weaves across the front side of the ski area for 4+ miles, all downhill. And then, before making the final descent to the base area, you turn left on Growler, and do a moderate climb on Growler over to an unsigned junction with Forest Road #488. It's all downhill back to Bear Basin Road ... a ripping descent, not much traffic, so let 'er rip! 

There you have it! Mountain Biking in McCall  retails for $12.95. It's available at Gravity Sports, Hometown Sports, Ridley's Market, Paul's Market, Shore Lodge gift shop, May Hardware, The Hub and McCall Drug. It's also available at Idaho Mountain Touring, George's Cycles, Boise REI and Barnes & Noble in Boise.

You also can download six free rides/maps on my web site anytime, and individual rides from the Mountain Biking in McCall book can be purchased for 99 cents each. Or, you can purchase a hard-copy book or the full-color ebook on my web site.

There are tons of places to camp outside of McCall in the Payette National Forest. If you don't want to camp, check into lodging at the McCall Chamber of Commerce, InIdaho.com, or vrbo.com.
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Here are two save-the-date items coming up in August from George's Cycles:

• Bogus Basin Hill Climb - Saturday, Aug. 17. 
• George's MS Wine Ride - Aug. 25. Thirty-mile ride starts and finishes at the Sawtooth Winery. Benefit for the Idaho MS Society.  

Visit the George's web site for more information. 

Have fun!
- SS

Lots of things to do over Labor Day weekend; What sounds best for you? Avoiding the smoke Part III

Fire/smoke map from NASA dated Aug. 28, 2012

Hi all,

We've got a three-day weekend coming up for Labor Day weekend, and there are lots of fun things going on in SW Idaho. With three major wildfires burning well over 100,000 acres each, the big challenge still is trying to avoid the smoke. We might call this week's post "Avoiding the Smoke - Part III."

Two weeks ago, I recommended Priest Lake, N. Idaho bike trails and McCall. Last week, I recommended some spots in the West Central Mountains and provided a number of useful, if not critical resources for determining where it may not be as smoky in SW Idaho and Central Idaho.

Here's Irene on the summit of 12,140-foot Mount Breitenbach

Thanks to Facebook, I am noticing that a lot of people are boldly going where they want to go regardless of the smoke! Watch for an upcoming column soon on Irene Vogel, who is climbing all of the 12,000-foot peaks in Idaho in one field season! I think most, if not all of those peaks are in the Pioneer Mountains and the Lost River Range. Her pictures look kind of smoky, but the high peaks appear pretty clear. She's going for the summit of Leatherman Peak this weekend to finish off her journey. Go Irene!

Fires burning slowly on the bank of the Salmon River ... no big deal! (courtesy Ted Kielley) 

I also saw that Ted Kielley did a week-long trip on the Main Salmon in various amounts of smoke and haze, but he felt that it was a trip of a lifetime! I put out a news release for the Idaho Outfitters and Guides Association last week, pointing out that Middle Fork trips are still happening without incident, the road is still open to Boundary Creek, and outfitters like Mystic Saddle Ranch is still offering horseback trail rides in the upper Wood River Valley and the Sawtooths, and guests are happy! 

"We are fully open for our trail rides, and there are no fires burning in the Sawtooths," says Deb Bitton, co-owner of Mystic Saddle Ranch. "I was at our corrals in the upper Wood River Valley yesterday, and it was a glorious day with no smoke in the air. There's still a lot of good fishing to be had in the high mountain lakes."

I think the main thing to remember is that "Conditions are changing on a daily basis." 

Leo Hennessy, who is a trip leader for the Idaho Outdoors Yahoo Group, has been traveling to different places every weekend for the last month. "I'm trying to thread the needle of smoke and haze between Sun Valley, Stanley and McCall, and all I can say is, "It changes day to day. It seems to be the most clear around McCall and Lick Creek, and that's where I'm going this weekend." 

Leo is going with a group that's backpacking into the Prince Lakes. It's very steep and challenging, trip leaders forewarn. If you'd like to tag along, see the invite on Idaho Outdoors.

He Devil Peak (courtesy Summit Post)

Pete Zimowsky asked four guidebook authors for their recommendations on high alpine lakes to explore this fall in the Statesman, and those folks recommended a number of hikes in the Bighorn Crags, Sawtooths, Seven Devils and Pioneers. Smoke-wise, I think the Seven Devils might be the best bet this weekend.
Smoke considerations aside, all of the popular campgrounds at Redfish Lake are open. See the Sawtooth National Recreation Area web site for a full report. Another good spot might be the Bear Valley and Elk Creek areas north of Lowman. That's a great spot for camping,  canoeing and wildlife-watching.  

Blue Lake near Snowbank Mountain (courtesy Dave Williams, from Boise Trail Guide)

Another option this weekend might be to go camping in the Lake Cascade area and take in the bluegrass festival in Round Valley nearby. You also could go hiking to Blue Lake or on the high ridge by Snowbank Mountain (you can drive to the top), go biking on the Eagle's Nest Trail (get free sample  trail/map download from my book Mountain Biking in McCall), or go boating on the Cabarton stretch of the North Fork Payette River. 

Well, hopefully these ideas will provide inspiration this weekend. If  you're stuck in town, I bet a ton of people will go to the Barley Brothers beer fest in Meridian Friday and Saturday. And plus, there are a number of great Labor Day sales at Boise's outdoor retailers. Idaho Mountain Touring, Boise REI, Greenwood's, McU Sports, Alpenglow Mountain Sport and Idaho River Sports all have some fantastic clothing and gear on sale right now. Great deals! 

Have fun! 
-- SS