Crown Point Trail worth visiting any time of year

After a snow hike in the morning, we headed back toward Boise on Sunday afternoon, and took a nice break on the Crown Point Trail in Cascade to check out a trailhead project I've been working on.

We showed up about 2 p.m., and it was a gorgeous afternoon for late November. A bit crisp, but only a skiff of snow, and Lake Cascade was absolutely still, making it easy to pick out the few ducks swimming out there. We also watched a mature bald eagle fly across the reservoir at the widest point, what a magnificent sight.

Valley County Pathways, a nonprofit group that is working to turn the old UP RR line between McCall and Cascade into a public trail, is developing a new trailhead on the north end of the Crown Point Trail. It's under construction right now, but it's close to being finished. We also built a post-and-pole fence alongside the trail last summer to keep ATVs out. www.valleycountypathways.org.

The Crown Point Trail can be found near Crown Point Campground next to Cascade Dam. It's about 1 mile of ID 55 to find a very nice getaway just about anytime of year. If there's too much snow, you can ski on the trail.

Enjoy.

-SS

Snow hike in McCall

We went up to McCall last weekend, and there was more snow on the ground than we anticipated. Mountain biking was out of the question, and snow-hiking was the best alternative.

Wendy and I drove up to the Victor Creek trailhead north of Upper Payette Lake and toured an old clearcut and burn area. Still, a nice hike in 4-6 inches of snow.

It was a beautiful morning, with clear skies, pratically no wind and sunshine. No one around for fricking miles! We had fun identifying animal tracks.

So if you're heading up to McCall for Thanksgiving, be sure to bring your sorrels and go for a snow hike in the Payette National Forest.

- SS

Sweet getaway to Birds of Prey Area via Swan Falls Road

It's been a while since I went out to the Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area, and I needed to ground-proof travel time and mileage from Kuna to Swan Falls Dam and back on my road bike, so I went for it last Sunday. It's 21 miles each way.

There was a brisk NW wind -- it blew me out to the Snake River canyon in about an hour. I dreaded the headwind on the way back, but I figured if I could average over 20 mph on the way out, maybe I could average 10 mph on the way back. It wasn't that bad, actually, more like 13-16 mph, until the wind kind of dissapated in the late afternoon.

The ride from Kuna to the Birds of Prey area is cool. You'll see hawks soaring along the way, maybe eagles, falcons and hawks along the cliff's edge. From a road riding perspective, the road is nearly empty, so it's a great place to get away from traffic.

The 2-mile descent to the dam is quite steep, so you zoom down, knowing you'll have to climb back out of there on the way back. But it's doable in low gear. Seemed to be a 10 percent grade in places.

Travel time was 3 hours, including a stop at the BLM interpretive site at the canyon rim, a great place for lunch or a snack.

I must admit that during the ride, I thought about my friend Morley Nelson, who was most instrumental in protecting that canyon for birds of prey forever. Congress has been working on changing the name of the raptor sanctuary after Morley, and there is a grade school in Boise that's been named after Morley. I wrote a biography on the man, Cool North Wind, and he left a lifelong impression on me. I feel fortunate to have known him.

I saw a golden eagle flying low near the canyon rim, hunting at the sagebrush level, and I thought of Morley, knowing that his spirit will soar in the wind above the canyon forever.

Exciting, freezing ride in the snow

Some people were caught off-guard on their bikes by the snow storm on Friday night. I actually went out for a ride on my road bike on purpose! It was exhilerating, but I got coated with lots of ice and snow on a 1.15-hour ride.

I put on warm clothes, rain pants, wool hat and a jacket. But my gloves were too lightweight, I didn't put on long underwear, my feet totally froze, and I wore my Smith sunglasses instead of full-on ski goggles. Even after all these years doing all kinds of things outdoors, I still make mistakes and either underdress or forget stuff. Oh well, it's all part of the fun. :)

I needed to log a loop that I'm going to put in a new road biking guide/map that I'm working on, so I thought, what the hell?

I rode from Municipal Park on the Greenbelt, out to Barber Park (mile 5), and then cut through Surprise Valley to the Idaho 21 connector. The snow kept hammering big flakes, and by the time I hit the Idaho 21 connector, my hands were getting pretty frozen. I climbed to East Lake Forest Drive in Columbia Village, zipped over to Federal Way (mile 10.7), and then rode slightly downhill on that new Greenbelt on the rim.

The only problem was the large amount of traffic coming home from work, and it was quite dark, and I had no bike light. There are some pretty major intersections that cut across the Federal Way Greenbelt, including Amity and Bergeson, and my hands were too frozen to hit the brakes real hard, so I just kind of coasted into to those congested areas, hoping for the best. I couldn't see very well, either, but I basically just bolted across while traffic was paused for a millesecond, and I made it.

At Federal Way and Protest (mile 15), I decided I couldn't stand the pain much longer, so I peeled off Protest and went down the hill to Boise State, hit the Greenbelt to the Broadway Bridge, crossed the bridge to get to the north side, and pedaled back to Muni (mile 17 at finish).

It took my hands about 10 minutes to warm up with the heat going full bore, but even after a hot shower at home (our hot tub is down for repairs; dang!), my feet were still cold (toes were purple). I hadn't experienced that feeling for quite a while, but it reminded me when I used to do a morning paper route in Minnesota, and I'd come home and sit in the tub and watch my toes go from white, to purple and then back to normal, grimacing the whole way.

Oh well, at least I earned my dinner on Friday night. And it's always great to see the snow.

-SS

Way to go, proud Daddy!

Wow, Steve's a winner! Brought home a blue ribbon and everything -- I'm so inspired!
-Wendy

Run for Autism 5K was a kick

I've got an autistic boy, so every fall, we try to participate in the 5K Run/Walk sponsored by the Autism Society of America, Treasure Valley Chapter.

This year, I ran the 5K, and my ex Amy Stahl walked with our son, Drew. Last year, I pushed Drew in the Burley trailer as I ran the course, and Quinn rode his bike alongside.

There was a great turnout as usual, and we had beautiful weather on a crisp and clear fall day.

The race course started and finished at Veterans Memorial Park. We ran from the center of the park over to the river and Greenbelt, and then went east on the Greenbelt to the Main Street bridge, turned around, and came back.

Several serious runners took off like a laser at the beginning of the race, so the whole pack started out fast. I knew I couldn't keep up that pace, so I dialed it down as the race progressed. Still, the exhileration of running in the race caused me to run much faster than usual. My pace was 8:03/mile, and I ended up winning first place in the 40-49 age group. Not bad for an old fart!

(L-R, Lena and Monte (co-directors of Read Set Go) and Lindsey)

It was great to see some of the folks at the event who have worked with Drew's language and academic skills since he was only 2 1/2 years old. Now he's 9, he's in 4th grade at Cynthia Mann Elementary, and he's doing well. We're very proud of him.

Drew did great in the 5K walk, and had no problem completing the course.

For more information on the Autism Society, TV Chapter, go here. There are a lot of great resources for autistic kids in the Boise area. Drew has benefitted hugely from these services.

Drew and his mom, Amy Stahl.

Idaho Velopark is awesome

My son Quinn and I rode several trails at the Idaho Velopark last Sunday as part of the Trailpalooza event. It was great to see a ton of people out there at the Velopark, and it's impressive to see all of the new trails that are built and ready to ride - just 6 months after work began this spring.

Check out the Velopark web site for a new trails map.

Two You Tube videos of the park riding experience are really fun to watch, too. Dual Slalom. Pumps and Jumps.

Do what you can to support the Idaho Velopark project and contribute funds if you can. The web site has information on how to donate.

There's an REI - Velopark trail project going on next weekend.

REI Trail Day
When: 9 a.m. -3 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 27.
Where: Idaho Velodrome & Cycling Park.
What: REI employees and their affiliates will build a new trail at the cycling park. The public is welcome to join in. You can sign up at REI, or call REI, 322-1141.

I found the photo at broadbandsports.com.

-SS