Revisiting the Bitterroot Valley a welcome treat for this Montana Griz alum - 40 years later!

Top of St. Mary's Peak, 9,321 feet above sea level 

Hi all, 

Wendy and I decided to take an outdoorsy vacation in the Bitterroot Valley last week. It's only a day's drive there from Boise via Lost Trail Pass, north of Salmon or the Lochsa River corridor, north of  Grangeville. It took us 6.5 hours from McCall, driving along the Lochsa River.

The Bitterroot Valley is a gorgeous place with the Bitterroot River drawing S-curves through the center of the valley, the Bitterroot Mountain Range running north-south to the west and the Saphire Range  bookending the views to the east. 

Even though I'm a Montana griz alum, to be honest, I haven't spent much time in Western Montana since I graduated from the UM Journalism School in 1981, 40 fricking years ago! Not to date myself at all! 

The Bitterroot River with Don, Huck and Wendy

The Bitterroot Valley was literally a key part of my old stomping grounds in the five years I went to UM. My friend Don Lewis, a Journalism School classmate and I used to throw Don's aluminum canoe on top of his VW bug, and we'd zip down to Florence or Stevensville and float and fish the Bitterroot River. 

We hiked as many of the Bitterroot drainages as we could, and we bagged a number of the peaks, including Trapper, Lolo, St. Mary's and more. Truth be told, you could easily spend a whole summer in the Bitterroot Valley and still just scratch the surface of all the outdoor opportunities in the area.

For our base camp, Wendy and I rented an inexpensive yurt via AirBnB at the foot of Blodgett Canyon, west of Hamilton. The yurt was literally 1.5 miles from the Blodgett Canyon trailhead. Most evenings, we went up to the trailhead to see the steep vertical canyon walls glow at sunset.  

On a Tuesday, we met up with former Idaho Statesman chief photographer Tom Shanahan, who lives in Stevensville, MT, and we climbed St. Mary's Peak. It's a relatively easy climb to the top with a well-engineered moderate grade leading you to the 9,321-foot summit in 3.5 miles.

Tom Shanahan with Huck

Tom and I caught up on old times hiking on the trail, while my pointer Huck chased squirrels and birds and Wendy looked/listened for songbirds. 

We reached the lookout and summit in less than 2 hours. The views on top were absolutely glorious! St. Mary's Peak is in the north end of the range, so you can look 50 miles to the south at all of the Bitterroot Peaks, plus peer into the vast interior of the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness. We soaked up those views, and enjoyed a wonderful cool breeze for at least an hour on top, while eating lunch, etc. 

Looking south, down the Bitterroot Mountain Range  

On the hike down, Tom and I continued to chat while we cruised down the trail. And then, suddenly, I tripped on a rock with my left foot and I fell face-down in a microsecond. I managed to soften the blow of the fall with my arms and right shoulder, avoiding any face/head injury, but unbeknownst to me, I hit a watermelon-sized granite rock really hard with my right thigh/quad muscle on the way down. I could barely feel my right leg! 

I sat down, took a breather, and Tom fed me some cold water. I tried to walk a bit. Thank goodness I had trekking poles with me. I could kind of walk half-speed without too much pain. I limped down the trail the rest of the way, taking half steps and babying my right leg. We figured if I could walk on it, I hadn't broken the bone. It would be too painful to walk on a fractured femur.

So hey, the lesson here is to watch your step and take your time on mountain trails! 

I iced the heck out of my leg when we got back to the yurt, took some pain killers, and drank merrily in the evening. Could have been worse. 

Lake Como (courtesy VisitBitterrootValley.com) 

On Wednesday, we visited Lake Como, a sweet spot in the Bitterroots just to the south of Hamilton. You can camp by Lake Como, plus you can go boating there, swimming, SUP'ing, canoeing and kayaking. There's a large beach as you approach the lake by a large dam that creates the lake. Wendy went for a long swim while I read my book and stayed off my sore leg. 

While in the south end of the valley, we drove by the Chief Joseph Ranch in Darby, the movie set of the hit TV series "Yellowstone." We gawked and took pics.  

Yellowstone Ranch near Darby. They were filming new episodes, so no entrance allowed. 

Our friends Don and Sue Lewis drove down from their home in Whitefish to meet up with us Wednesday afternoon at the yurt. They brought their AIRE 14-foot raft for floating the Bitterroot River on Thursday. 

We had dinner at the Edge in Hamilton that evening. They have a full menu, plus cocktails, beer and wine. I had seared Ahi and a salad. Great food and drink, I thought.       

On Thursday, we floated the Bitterroot River from the Stevenville bridge to the Florence bridge, an 11-mile stretch. There are many sections of the Bitterroot that you could float, depending on the objective. See fishing/boater access map. 

We had another postcard-clear day to enjoy on the river. We stopped and fly-fished in a number of places by braided gravel bars with multiple water channels to fish and wade. Just a beautiful river, running quite clear. We saw a fair bit of dry fly activity on the water surface, but did not land any fish. It's fair to say that we did not hit it very hard, since we had dogs in the boat, plus Wendy and Sue. 

Bitterroot River is mostly class 1-2, with lots of wood to dodge in the channel. 

These were the core activities that we did in the Bitterroot Valley. We headed home via Lost Trail Pass and Salmon. We hiked the xc ski trails a bit on Lost Trail Summit just to stretch our legs, and went swimming on the Salmon River, east of North Fork, before over-nighting in Salmon and then driving home to Boise.

We really enjoyed our time in the Bitterroot Valley. Hope you do too someday. 
- SS   

Beat the Heat! Five alternative, off-the-beaten path destinations for SUP'ing and kayaking in SW Idaho

Low-key SUP adventure at Discovery State Park 

Hi all,

The weather is heating up, and we'll be hitting 100 degrees in Boise several days in a row next week! 

Time to cool off in the river! Where to go? 

Everyone will be flocking to Barber Park to float the Boise River or to Quinn's Pond to go Stand Up Paddle Boarding (SUP), hanging out on the beach or kayaking. 

Quinn's Pond has been the go-to destination for SUPs in Boise, and often times, it's challenging to even find a place to park at Esther Simplot Park to get easy access to Quinn's Pond. However, the old Bob Rice Ford parking lot is a great alternative, with plenty of space and a new and improved boat launch from that side of the pond. 

To find a little more elbow room, here are some suggested alternative destinations to go SUP'ing, canoeing or kayaking.

You also can inquire with the experts Idaho River Sports and Alpenglow Mountainsport (both of whom have tons of SUP and kayak rentals available) for ideas, or consult my guidebook, Paddling the Payette, which has more than 15 fantastic flat-water and moderate, swift-water destinations for SUPs and kayaks. 

Be sure to wear life jackets, helmets and safety gear on rocky moving water like the Boise River and Payette River. Stay away from the river banks when possible as well to avoid getting caught in debris, downed trees, etc. 

1. Discovery State Park - Located at the foot of Lucky Peak Dam, Discovery Park is a great place to paddle in the Boise River below the dam. The shady park is a great place to hang out, so bring a picnic, and there is a great spot for off-leash dogs to run around. You can paddle towards Diversion Dam, or just paddle around next to the park. 

Paddling SUPs at Discovery Park. 

Arrowrock Reservoir near full pool. 

2. Arrowrock Reservoir - Quiet and uncrowded. Lots of places to launch by campgrounds or other dispersed sites along the west side of the reservoir by the Middle Fork Road. Could be windy in the afternoon, so be aware of that. 

3. Mores Creek arm of Lucky Peak Reservoir. Put in at Robie Creek Park. Quiet and relatively uncrowded.


Video courtesy Idaho Caller 

4. Payette River - Montour reach near Sweet. Moving water but no rapids. Multiple sand bars as the river level drops. Put-in at the Montour IDFG Wildlife Managemennt Area by the river bridge. Easy bike shuttle possible by planting a bike at the beginning of Black Canyon Reservoir. 3.5 miles. 

5. Centennial Park to Shoshone Falls in Twin Falls. World-class paddling experience in the giant Snake River Canyon. See post in Southern Idaho Tourism for details and directions! Fabulous trip!(Video courtesy Southern Idaho Tourism)

Have fun and stay cool close to the water! 

- SS 

10 must-see, must-do outdoorsy ideas for the 4th of July holiday and Summer 2022

If you've got a suitable 4x4, truck camping in hard-to-reach places can be gratifying! 

Hi all, 

The 4th of July long weekend is coming up! Many people have already made plans, but in case you haven't and need some inspiration, I am recommending 10 must-see, must-do activities not only for this weekend, but for the whole summer season:

1. Float a river (day trip) - we're blessed with so many options here, but the summer season is now open on the Boise River! See details about floating the Boise River, renting a raft, etc. Warm summer weather also gets people jazzed about floating the Payette River, either the Main Payette, South Fork Payette or Cabarton run on the North Fork. Check with Cascade Raft & Kayak, Bear Valley Rafting, Idaho Whitewater Unlimited and the Payette River Company about guided trips. The Payette's calmer sections are great for stand-up paddle boarding (SUP), sit-on-top kayaking and canoeing. See my post about 10 premium locations to go kayaking or SUP'ing in SW Idaho. 

Float a river! This is on the Cabarton stretch of the Payette River. 

2. Climb a mountain - The pinnacle is to climb Mount Borah, but there are so many other options in Idaho, with dozens of peaks over 10,000 feet and 8 peaks over 12,000 feet. See Idaho mountain expert Tom Lopez's list of recommended mountain peaks. McCall mountain expert John Platt also has an extensive list of peaks and mountains that he's climbed. 

3. Ride the ski lift to the top of Bogus Basin, Brundage Mountain, Tamarack Resort or Sun Valley and go hiking or biking from there.

4. Take your kids fishing - See the list of Idaho Fish and Game's Family Fishing Waters to find some great recommendations close to home.

5. Go backpacking in the Sawtooths, White Clouds, Pioneers or Big Lost Mountain Range. Snow levels are at roughly 7,500-8,000 feet in the Sawtooths, creek crossings are high and hazardous, See Michael Lanza's recommended hikes in the Sawtooths in his blog, the Big Outside. See a recommended major loop in the White Clouds in Backpacker mag. For a great hike in the Pioneers, see my blog post about hiking Broad Canyon. For the Big Lost range, see this overview in Summit Post.com.   

6. Sleep under the stars in a dark sky venue like Bear Valley in the Boise National Forest, the Owyhee Canyonlands or outside of Stanley.

Catch a trout on the Middle Fork Salmon River. 

7. Fly into the Middle Fork of the Salmon River and go fly-fishing for native cutthroat trout. Air taxi services in Boise, Cascade or McCall can take you into the Middle Fork in less than an hour. All fishing is catch and release.

8. Go mountain biking on a classic loop trail like Fisher-Williams in the White Clouds, Loon Lake north of McCall or Around the Mountain at Bogus Basin. 

Climbing up a short hill to finish the Fisher-Williams Loop (courtesy Salsa cycles)

9. Go SUP'ing, boating or swimming in a refreshing, natural Idaho mountain lake like Payette Lake, Redfish Lake, or Priest Lake. See my post on 10 perfect paddling destinations for kayaking and SUPs in SW Idaho for ideas. 

10. Go car camping in the Middle Fork Boise River area, North Fork Boise River area, the Middle Fork of the Payette River area or Bear Valley. There are some reservable fee campgrounds and some dispersed camping areas. See the Boise National Forest, Payette National Forest or Sawtooth National Forest web sites for more information. 

For further enrichment on Idaho bucket list trips, see an Idaho bucket list post from Boise State radio, and a post that I did listing another 30 bucket list trips that they didn't cover. 

Remember: Be smart about Fire Safety this weekend ... we put out a post yesterday from Recreate Responsibly Idaho reminding folks that no fireworks are allowed on public lands, no exploding shooting targets, and be sure to put out your campfire before you leave the site ... make sure it is completed out, cold to the touch. 
- SS

North Fork Championships this weekend; plus Brundage, Tamarack and Bogus Basin open for summer season!

A kayaker paddles through a giant frothing hole/wave on the North Fork Payette River.
Photo by SS 

Hi all, 

I stopped by the North Fork of the Payette River today on my way down to Boise from McCall, and I had a chance to watch a number of kayakers participating in the North Fork Championships practice the slalom course in Jacob's Ladder Rapids, the largest and steepest Class 5 drop on the North Fork. 

It's just amazing to stand by the North Fork and feel its thundering power - especially at the top of Jake's! It scares me just to stand there and watch boaters go through the expert-only super-challenging rapids! 

The first slalom gate comes immediately following the first steep drop into the rapids. Competitors have to fly into an eddy on river left as they make the drop, do a quick 180-degree turn, paddle upstream, go around the slalom gate, and then dig in the paddle and carve into a ferocious eddy turn into the center of the raging river, where the kayakers can get churned up in the major turbulence or best case, make a clean entry and zip to the next slalom gate. 

These are some of the nation's best Class 5 kayakers, and they're here kayaking on the North Fork of the Payette River for the North Fork Championships. The event started on Thursday, June 16, and continues through Saturday, June 18, for the North Fork slalom event. I think it's well-worth watching! 

Hang on to that brace buddy! Photo by SS

On Thursday, there was an expert downriver race in S-turn Rapids, just above Big Eddy Campground, on the North Fork. Friday, there's a downriver Boater X race, also in S-turn Rapids, starting at 12:30 p.m. 

The main event, the elite North Fork slalom race in Jacob's Ladder, starts at 1 p.m. Saturday. The kayaker with the fastest time and clean slalom runs wins the race (best of two runs). There are men's and women's elite divisions; a total of 150 kayakers will be participating. 

If you can get up there early and stake out a spot on the North Fork to watch the races, it will be a spectacular thing to see!   

With the warmer weather this week, it seems like summer is finally kicking in! 

Steve Jones amid the flowers in Ponderosa State Park. 

The snow is finally melted around McCall. Hiking and biking trails in Ponderosa State Park are in great shape. The campers are beginning to filter in! Lots of people are hiking and biking at Jug Mountain Ranch as well as on trails around McCall, like the North Valley Rail-Trail, McCall Greenbelt, and Spring Mountain Ranch bike trails.  

Brundage Mountain Resort opens their mountain bike trails this weekend, plus people are encouraged to ski/ride off the top of the mountain as well. Ha! That's kind of a hoot! The Bluebird Express will be running all day Friday-Sunday, plus food and beverage services at the base area. See their announcement about opening weekend, beginning on Friday, June 17, and about future events. The Brundage concert series starts on July 8, plus there's a 4th of July music fest. 

Plenty of snow still at the Brundage summit.

Tamarack Resort's mountain bike park and Tam Express chairlift begin operating this weekend as well on Friday, June 17, and then Tam will remain open seven days a week through the summer season. Riders can enjoy 1,700 vertical feet of downhill riding on the Tam downhill trails, plus there's xc trails worth exploring at the Tamarack base area. There's also zipline tours, waterfront services with boat rentals, and food and beverage. 

Bogus Basin also will be opening for 7-day-a-week operations on Friday. People can ride the Deer Point or Morning Star chairlifts, ride gravity mountain bike trails, ride the Mountain Coaster, go hiking. or engage in other activities in the base area. Food and Beverage as well.    

There you have it! Have a great weekend! 
- SS 

 

Grand Ronde River still worth visiting post-fire ... plus Idaho Free Fishing Day and Boise Mountain Bike Festival!

Wendy is happy to be on the Grand Ronde River! 

Hi all, 

Boy, rivers all over the Pacific Northwest have been bursting with life - more like peaking! - in the last week or so. The Salmon River was running higher than 55,000 cubic feet per second, and the Boise and Payette were roaring with big spring runoff, all precipitated by bursts of warm weather and plenty of rain. 

The Salmon seemed too high for our taste, so we checked on the Grand Ronde River in Eastern Oregon. It was rising to more than 11,000 cfs last week. And I thought, Dynamite! I'm going! I've run it at that level before, and it pretty much remains a Class 2-3 FAST whitewater experience in a solid raft. 

We put together a quick 5-person two-boat trip and set off for La Grande, OR, last Thursday afternoon. We stayed with our friends Russ and Mary West at their ranch in Imbler the night before launch, and that worked out great since it stormed all night.   

We awoke to sunshine and partly cloudy skies Friday morning, and launched on the river by 11:30 a.m. We had four days of wild river bliss to look forward to, floating from Minam to Powatka Bridge, a distance of about 35 miles. 

Our main concern was dodging rain storms in the forecast. Nearly every day had a good chance of rain. But with the river ripping at more than 10 mph, we covered the miles with ease. (My friend's Strava feed recorded our max speed at 13 mph! Ha!; raft speed at summertime flow = 3-5 mph) Our strategy was to make camp early, get the tarp set up, and be prepared for the inevitable rain storms. 

My tarp covers the whole kitchen area plus room for lawn chairs 

I've got a Cascade Outfitters deluxe 16' x 20' foot rain tarp, and that kept us dry all weekend.  

I love the expression on Wendy's face ... 

With the weather drying out somewhat here on June 9, the Grand Ronde should be a fabulous destination for multi-day river trips in the next month and beyond ... it is so verdant and gorgeous in the canyon right now! 

We saw a lot of yellow lupine on the river banks ... a rare treat! 

One thing to keep in mind is that the Bureau of Land Management is restricting camping on the Grand Ronde from Bear Creek 13 miles downstream due to a 23,000-acre wildfire that burned last July. That takes a lot of primo campsites out of play during your trip. So plan accordingly. 

We like staying high in the canyon and laying over at nice camps in the forest. You can still do that. 

Fire perimeter map

After floating through the burn zone, we thought it must have been a pretty fast-moving burn. The land seems to be recovering quickly judging from all of the regrowth we saw everywhere! 

Typical views of the fire from last year. Seemed like a positive mosaic burn. 

We saw quite a few green ponderosa pines that survived the fire. 

To learn more about floating the Grand Ronde River, go here. It's a National Wild and Scenic River, and deservedly so. 

Also going on this weekend ... it's Free Fishing Day in Idaho! You can go fishing on a pond, lake, stream close to home, use free fishing gear in selected locations and teach your kids how to fish! 

Here's a post from Recreate Responsibly Idaho about Free Fishing Day in Idaho! 

At Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area, the Boise Mountain Bike Festival will be happening on Saturday, starting at 9 a.m. The main trails that are open right now are accessible from the Morning Star quad. Bogus has a detailed listing of what trails are open on Saturday. 

Weather looks good this weekend through Saturday to do just about anything outdoors. And then the temperature drops over 20 degrees Sunday, and a chance of showers is forecast ... so you might try to get out on Saturday for sure! 

Have fun! 

- SS 

Wet & Soggy weather coming for Memorial Day weekend in Idaho - oh well!

Radar image from OpenSummit.com 7 a.m. Saturday, May 28. 

Hi all, 

This is one of those Memorial Day weekends when you might be better off finding a place to practice your axe-throwing technique, binge-watch movies on your favorite streaming channels or catch the opening of Top Gun: Maverick.

The weather forecast looks positively soggy no matter if you're heading south into the Owyhee/Bruneau desert, east to the Thousand Springs region, or north to Cascade, McCall or Stanley. 

Even the Boise forecast is calling for quite a few showers Friday afternoon-Monday, though it appears there will be a few gaps between storms when you can get out for a quick ride or dog walk. If it really pours, the R2R trails will need to dry out, so stick to the Greenbelt or all-weather trails if need be.

Because of the wet forecasts, I wouldn't recommend my usual destinations (post from 2021) for Memorial Day weekend. But if you do go, be sure to bring a bomb-proof tarp! 

Gold Fork Hot Springs 

Instead, you might head for an Idaho natural hot springs (post from Visit Idaho: 7 must-visit primitive hot springs) or commercial hot springs like The Springs in Idaho City (reservations required), Gold Fork Hot Springs near Donnelly (vax cards required), or Zims Hot Springs near New Meadows. Don't think you can get to Burgdorf yet without a snowmobile? Maybe Valley County will plow it? 

Or you might go morel-picking in rain-gear? See my post from last week. 

Or rent a cabin in the Boise National Forest or rent a cabin through vrbo or airbnb?

Just as a reminder, please Recreate Responsibly when you're outdoors this summer. Spread the word! 

 

Have a fun and relaxing Memorial Day weekend! 
- SS                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

 

Morels are beginning to Pop in the forests of SW Idaho!

 

Wendy was excited about our mushroom haul ... 

Hi all,

For me, it's always exciting to go hunting for morel mushrooms in the forest. 

When you see the trilliums beginning to bloom, you know morels are beginning to pop! 

Then, it's a matter of finding them amidst all of the downed trees, brush, moss, wildflowers, and rotting logs. You really have to focus your eyes on the forest floor at a very small scale! It takes a lot of staring at nothing, patience and persistence!  

Weekend weather is going to feature high temps in the 60s in Boise, and cool in the mountains, with highs in the low 50s. But the sun has been shining enough lately to allow things to grow on the forest floor. 

When it warms up more next week, the mushroom crop might be better than it is now, but there's only one way to find out, right? 

Maybe you have your favorite morel-hunting spot. If not, go morel hunting in forested areas that have burned in recent times. The disturbance of fire tends to lead to the growth of fungi and mycelia. You can look up burns from previous years on this site. 

No permit is needed to hunt morels. You can explore in the Boise or Payette National Forest, state parks or on Idaho Department of Lands property open to recreation. 

What's so special about morels? If you like to eat mushrooms, morels are a delicacy. They are positively delicious, especially sauteed in butter and garlic, and mixed with eggs or served with steak, mixed into soups -- there's just all kinds of applications.

Morels are fun to pick because they're very distinctive ... they have a conical shape, kind of like a Christmas tree, but with honeycombs inside. My suggestion is to walk very slow through the woods, and stare at the ground, looking for morels. Once you see some, you'll find more. 

I seem to find morels more under fir trees than pine trees on open ground. If there's a lot of bear grass growing on the slope, it's not a good site for morels. Sometimes you'll find groups of morels popping up underneath alder brush. Once you find a fertile area for morels, you'll keep coming back to those spots for more.

If you stay in the Boise Valley this weekend, it should be great conditions for hiking and biking outings. I'd also recommend:

• Hiking the Grand Slam peaks. 
• Hiking, running or biking on Ridge to Rivers trails, especially those mid-elevation and below.  

Have fun!

-SS