Whoa baby! Here comes the heat! Here are 13 tips on how to stay cool close to home ...

Lake Cascade 

Boating at Lucky Peak 

Floating the Salmon River

Floating the Payette River 

SUP'ing on Payette Lake ... Photo courtesy Lolo Nelson 

Redfish Lake near Stanley 

Round the Mountain Trail, Bogus Basin 

Hi all,

Well, I see the summer heat is going to hit us right between the eyes -- all too soon -- here in the last week of June. I just finished a 6-day trip on the Main Salmon - River of No Return, and the temperatures were most pleasant, with highs in the mid-80s to low 90s. But looking ahead to this week, we're going to get hit with temperatures in the triple digits for the next week! Yikes!

Here are 13 recommendations on how to stay cool:

• Start super early if you'd like to go hiking, biking or trail-running in the Boise Foothills. That means get out before 7 a.m. 
• Go to Bogus Basin and start your hiking, trail-running or biking trip up there. It should be 15 degrees cooler. Hike or ride the Around the Mountain Trail, Freddy's Stack Rock Trail, Eastside or Sweet Connie. This weekend, Bogus is hosting a trail-running event on Saturday. 
• Float the Boise River - Put on plenty of sunscreen, wear a big goofy hat, and float the Boise River with your friends and family. See info. at Ada County Parks & Waterways. Take your time, hang out by the water and stay cool. 
• Go swimming, tubing or water-skiing at Lucky Peak, Arrowrock or Anderson Ranch. 
• Go swimming or SUP'ing at a local park or pond. See Boise Parks & Recreation for ideas close to home. 
• Hire a guide or rent a boat and go float the Payette River. The Main Payette River from Banks to Beehive Bend is best for those breaking into the sport. If you'd like to crank up the adrenaline meter and float the South Fork, put a bunch of friends together and hire a guided service. Bear Valley, Cascade Raft and Kayak, and Idaho Whitewater Unlimited all provide quality guided trips on the Payette River.
• Go swimming or SUP'ing at a local park or pond. See Boise Parks & Recreation for ideas close to home. 
• Go camping, fishing, swimming, water-skiing or SUP'ing at Lake Cascade State Park in Cascade or Donnelly.
• Go swimming, tubing, surfing or water-skiing on Payette Lake. Find a place to stay overnight in McCall or go camping in the Payette National Forest. 
• Go camping, fishing, swimming or SUP'ing at Redfish Lake or Stanley Lake in the Sawtooths. Go to recreation.gov to make reservations.   
• Drive to Riggins and hang out on a big beach on the Salmon River. Go swimming, camping and fishing. Get there early. There will be competition for the primo camping spots.  
• Plan a personal trip on the Salmon River or book a trip with an outfitter, if you don't have your own gear. Here's a few notes from my trip last year on the Salmon. It's a trip-of-a-lifetime to vacation for a week on the Salmon River, but since we live in Idaho, we can do it every year! 
• Backpack or day hike into a high mountain lake and stay cool in the alpine forest environment. See my blog about five of my favorite kid-friendly hikes near Stanley and McCall for ideas. 

There you have it! Have fun! 

- SS 

The Mountains beckon! Go biking or hiking in the pine-scented forests of McCall!

Huck cools off in Loon Lake. 

Morgan Hine cruises to Loon Lake on the sweet singletrack ... 

Wendy on the Payette Rim Trail 

Overlook of Payette Lake from the Rim Trail. 

The new Huckleberry Trail comes within 10 feet of the lake at times ... Very cool! 

Hi all,

As the clock turns forward into June, the summer heat has been turning on in the Boise Valley, which in my mind, means it's time to head up to the mountains of McCall to go hiking, biking or boating.

We were up at our cabin in McCall last weekend, and took the kids rafting on the Cabarton section of the North Fork Payette River on Sunday. Then on Monday evening, I rode the new Huckleberry Loop in Ponderosa Park and hung out with the mule deer, which looked nice and tan in their summer coat. On Tuesday mid-morning, I rode the Payette Rim Trail with a friend, and my, it was riding as smooth as ever!

It's SO nice to sniff the cool mountain air while riding the trails and enjoy the wonderful smells and sounds in the deep woods. You look out through the trees to the azure lakes below, and know you could be swimming there on your way home. Plus, the air temp is 15 degrees cooler than it is in Boise!

This week, I'm recommending several hikes and bike rides in the McCall area. June is less busy in McCall than July and August, so it should be possible to find some lodging deals through inIdaho, vrbo or the local hotels. I'm also including a link from Roger Phillips' story in the Statesman today about biking at Brundage Mountain, Tamarack and Jug Mountain Ranch. All of those venues are excellent as well! See my guide, Mountain Biking in McCall for 40 rides in the area.

1. Check out the new Huckleberry Loop trail in Ponderosa State Park. There's a new singletrack trail along the east shoreline of the peninsula that connects to the old Huckleberry hiking and biking trail, and there's another singletrack that takes off from the main beach area and goes north through the huge ponderosa pines to the road to Osprey Point. You pop out on the road just short of the very top. I think the loop is about five miles long in total. It has some steep, technical sections. But overall, I'd rate it strong intermediate as a bike ride. For hiking, I'd rate it moderate. It'd be beautiful to hike it or ride it, whatever your preference might be. Riding time is 1.5 hours. Hiking time is 2+ hours.

Here's a map of the route ...

GPS tracks of the new Huckleberry Loop Trail. There are several variations
that you can enjoy in the southern part of the park on your way out. 

2. Ride the Payette Rim Trail. This loop is best done on a bike. You could hike from the bottom end uphill and go out-and-back to avoid hiking on Bear Basin Road. Distance: 10 miles. Difficulty: Strong intermediate. Rocky sections can be walked. Riding time: 1.5-2 hours. Getting to the trailhead: Take ID 55 north of McCall 1.5 miles to Bear Basin Road. Turn right. Go 1.3 miles to a buck fence parking area by the east side of the Bear Basin Trails. Park. The ride starts here. Proceed up Bear Basin Road. Go straight at the four-way junction. Stay on #451. It gets progressively steeper as you go. At mile 3.1, you'll reach the top of the initial grade, and you'll see a red gate and two-track road on the right. Take this road over to the Rim Trail. It's about 1.8 miles on the two-track to the Rim Trail junction on the right. The turn is marked by a rock cairn. The entrance to the singletrack is rocky and technical but it's gets better. Enjoy the Rim Trail as it winds slightly downhill on a bench above Payette Lake. At mile 6.3, you'll come to a creek crossing. I rode it on Tuesday. Gear down for a steep little climb after the creek. Zoom downhill some more for several miles through the grassy forest, aspen and pine trees. Bear right at a Y-junction and climb abruptly for a short section before zooming along some more on the high bench. This route leads to Bear Basin Road. You'll come to one more junction, and turn right to reach the Bear Basin Road trailhead. The singletrack drops out very close to the parking lot.

3. Ride Jug Mountain Ranch.  See the link to Roger's article above for details. JMR has built a new trail with banked corners called "Berm and Ernie." I can't wait to ride that new trail! See the trail map above. As Roger said, they have the coolest shuttle rig anywhere that'll take you to a point where you can do gravity rides on the trails. JMR is dead east of Lake Fork off of ID 55.

Upper Drain is fast and smooth! 

4. Ride Upper Drain at Bear Basin. If you like to cruise on banked corners, the Upper Drain trail is a hoot! The Bear Basin Trails are close to McCall, and they're built for all abilities. Access is via the Bear Basin Trailhead, north of McCall, off of ID 55. The Upper Drain is a little more challenging because of the banked corners, but I've taken kids there, and they do fine. There are multiple ways to reach the Upper Drain, but one way is to take Baby Bear to Sleepy Hollow and then Blue Ridge Loop to a high point in the forest. Take the Shortcut to the left to Polar Express, and then you'll see a sign for Upper Drain. The trail goes for about 1/2 mile before it goes into the winding corners. Half-way down, you'll come to a junction with Grand Traverse. This goes back to the Bear Basin Trailhead. If you're having fun, continue onto Lower Drain. Then take Westy back to the trailhead. Check out this YouTube video of the Upper and Lower Drain.

Loon Lake route (click to enlarge)

5. Ride Loon Lake Loop. This is one of my favorite rides in the whole state. It's a 10-mile loop (short version), with world-class scenery, a lunch stop at Loon Lake, where you can go swimming, and you might even see a moose! This is a strong intermediate to advanced ride. Take Warren Wagon Road 25+ miles, past the turnoff to Burgdorf, to a signed turnoff for Chinook Campground on the right. Proceed to the Secesh River and Loon Lake trailhead. I recommend doing the loop counter-clockwise. Cross the bridge and grind up a granny-gear climb for several miles to an initial summit and then zoom down to a junction (watch out for other trail users). Turn right, cross the creek, and climb again to a big view overlooking Loon Lake. Enjoy the downhill slalom through the burned snags. Ride across the meadow to Loon Lake (mile 4.5). Have lunch and take a swim. Then ride down to the Secesh River. Cross the bridge, and ride 3.5 miles back to the trailhead. This section is technical and rocky in places ... keep the momentum going and let the bike roll through the rocks!
---------------------------------
Don't forget the North Fork Championships are going on Thursday-Saturday. The event is free, and it's totally worth driving up to watch expert kayakers negotiate the mighty North Fork, some of the gnarliest whitewater in the nation. This year there's a BoaterX race with 6 paddlers racing down S-turn rapids all at once. That's tomorrow at 3 p.m. Saturday at 1 p.m. is the big giant slalom event through Jacob's Ladder, the steepest section of the North Fork. Kayakers zip down a steep slide and leap into the river to run the gates in Jake's and Golf Course. It takes phenomenal skill and experience to compete in that event.

Have fun!
- SS

Idaho biking events create big incentive for training and fitness; End result is FUN!

Steve's ready to put the hammer down at Banner Summit! 

Jeff Gould was one of our workhorses in the LP 200. He put in 89 miles on Saturday. 

Steve Doud was our chief hill-climber in the LP 200. He's an animal!  

Paul Hilding, left, was not smiling soon after he started as he and Jeff got
buffeted by headwinds and rain between Stanley and Smiley Creek. 

The big climb from Warm Lake to Landmark Summit in the 4 Summit Challenge.

Big pack taking off on the Warm Lake Highway in the 4 Summit Challenge 

Hi all,

I'm flying down the Lowman grade on my Specialized road bike on Idaho 21 at 35-40 mph, my eyes are watering from the wind resistance (even with good sunglasses on), but I'm totally focused on my line around every curve, being careful to retain as much speed as possible.

The 20-mile segment from Mores Creek Summit, above Idaho City, to Lowman was one of three legs that I rode in the Lyle Pearson 200 last Saturday. I practiced the section the week before, so I knew I had to hammer as hard as I could on the downhill to keep my speed up to the maximum possible. Plus, it's a blast to go fast!

This section also featured about 1,000 feet of climbing, but at a pretty moderate grade, so I pushed myself as much as possible before the downhill in hopes of not getting passed and holding up my end of the deal in the LP 200 relay race. And you know what, I didn't get passed!

It was my first year in the LP 200. My friend Paul Hilding put a great team together of 50-something guys who like to ride road bikes -- Paul, Jeff Gould, Steve Doud and me. The LP 200 is a race, but it's pretty much a recreational ride with your team-mates and friends, riding at race pace as much as possible. The main reason you train hard for the event is for personal pride. You feel the pressure to do well in your part of the race for the team! Our team's main goal was to reach Ketchum while the BBQ and beer were still flowing.

Everyone on our team was ready for the big day after three months of training. We ended up finishing 46th out of 70 teams -- not bad for a bunch of 50-something average guys -- and we got to Ketchum at 4:30, when the BBQ was in mid-swing, so we reached our goal. Our team name was Low-X, or Low Expectations. Ha!

In the last two years, I've been doing more road rides as a way to boost my fitness and create an incentive for training and fitness. With every week of training, you will get stronger, you might lose some weight (I burned 3,000-5,000 calories on a lot of my training rides), and when it comes to race day, you know you're ready. Then, you can actually have fun!

We are lucky here in the Treasure Valley because there are a bunch of great biking events during the summer season that can create an incentive for training and fitness. Last year, I trained for the Four Summit Challenge in Cascade in late July. This year, by doing the LP 200 in late May, I'm a full two months ahead of training and fitness, compared to where I was last year. Now I'm ready for any century rides that come up, and I'll be stronger for mountain biking. I'm also signed up for Ride Idaho, a grand tour of N. Idaho this year, in August.

Here's a short list of some fun biking events coming up this summer that you might want to consider. Start out with distances that you feel are doable and work up from there:

• Great Owyhee Ride Against Hunger  - Saturday, June 21. You can sign up to ride a full century, 50 miles or metric century, 62 miles. 
• Bob LeBow Blue Cruise - Saturday, June 27. They've got something for everyone in this event ... Distances: Full century, 62 miles, 35-mile City Tour, 25-mile Lake Lowell Tour, 10-mile Upper Dam Tour, and 3-mile Greenbelt Tour. I rode the Metric Century last year to tune up for the Four Summit Challenge.   
• Four Summit Challenge in Cascade - Saturday, July 25. You can ride the full 4 summit ride (75 miles), 3 summits (60 miles), 2 summits (50 miles), 1 summit (30 miles) or an 8.2-mile family fun ride. Again, something for everyone. I loved doing the Four Summit Challenge last year. Good food and snacks at aid stations. Great BBQ at the finish! Most people camp at Lake Cascade.  
• Ride Idaho - Aug. 15-22. This is a 7-day ride starting and finishing in Coeur d'Alene. Total mileage is 390 miles spread over that time. Think timbered mountains, lakes, beach time, and scenic beauty. My friend Mark Anderson and I are signed up. Can't wait! The week includes a side trip on the Route of the Hiawatha, near Wallace. That's the ride on an old RR grade with multiple trestles and tunnels. It's a hoot! Ride Idaho carries all your gear to each night's camping area and provides all the meals. 
• Cascade Gravel Grinder - Sept. 12 - This is a gravel road ride for the peeps who like to grind it out on gravel mountain roads. Distances of 35, 57 or 76 miles.    
• Bogus Basin Hill Climb - I think this is scheduled for Sept. 5th. Practice during the summer and work on improving your time! 

Want more? George's Cycles has a complete schedule of roadie rides and events on their website. Also check with the roadie clubs such as Lactic Acid, St. Luke's/Lost River, Community Bicycle Rides, and more. Here's the Community Bicycle Rides ride calendar, which has more events than I've listed here. 

Speaking of biking events, the Weiser River Trail ride is on Saturday, June 6th. Distances are 28 miles from the northern trailhead near New Meadows to Council. Optional longer ride is 48 miles from New Meadows to Cambridge. Register at  www.bluecirclesports.com. 

Big thanks for those of you who voted for Jeanne McFall of Boise for the "Extreme Huntress" contest in Texas. Jeanne was one of the top 6 vote-getters and made the finals. She's a former bike racer and triathlete and avid hunter. I think she'll do well!  

-SS

Don't forget the BIG TARP! Nine last-minute outdoor tips for Memorial Day weekend

The Owyhees near Leslie Gulch (courtesy WildOwyhee)

If you do go camping in the mountains, bring a big tarp! Party under the tarp! 

View toward Silver City from Toy Pass, near Oreana, Owyhee Mountains 

Camping on the big white sandy beaches on the Salmon river is deluxe! 

Lochsa River madness! 

Hi all,

Memorial Day weekend is upon us! Typically, Memorial Day weekend marks the beginning of the summer camping season, and I'm sure there will be tons of people heading into the high country this weekend to their favorite camping destination.

And, as often happens on Memorial Day weekend, the weather forecast this year calls for scattered rain showers in the mountains. Sixty percent chance Friday, 50 percent chance Saturday, and less chance Sunday and Monday. If you're heading into the mountains near Cascade, McCall, Idaho City, Stanley or Ketchum/Sun Valley, bring a BIG TARP! Make sure your tent is rain-worthy.

Looking south to the Owyhees, I see more favorable forecasts for the Grand View and Marsing areas in the front side of the Owyhees. I see a 40 percent chance of scattered showers Friday, 30 percent chance Sunday, and only 20 percent chance on Monday. Deeper in the desert, I see higher chances of rainfall in Jordan Valley, Oregon.

I see a similar forecast for Riggins, with a 60 percent chance of showers on Friday, 50 percent chance of thundershowers on Saturday, and 30 percent chance on Monday.

So here's some last-minute camping recommendations for Memorial Day weekend, tailored to the weather:

• Camping in the Owyhees should be good, but be forewarned, the rattlesnakes are emerging. See my spring camping blog post from March ... places like Bruneau Dunes State Park, Leslie Gulch, Succor Creek State Park or the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area would all be good bets.
• Morel mushrooms are popping in the Boise and Payette national forests. Morels are delicious and easy to identify. Look for them above 5,000-foot elevation. Take a day trip to Smith's Ferry, Cascade or McCall and hunt for morels. 
• Salmon River beaches! A great spring camping location is on the HUGE white sandy beaches along the Salmon River, upstream of Riggins. There are numerous big beaches up there where you can set up a great camp, hang out by the river, do some floating on the Salmon and/or go hiking. The hike on the Wind River Trail via the Wind River Pack Bridge about 25 miles upstream of Riggins has a number of switchbacks as you climb higher and higher up the Salmon River canyon. The trail eventually leads into the Gospel Hump Wilderness, but you probably won't get that far. That'd be a great hike right now.
• If you're in the Riggins area, the day hike up Rapid River is a sweet one. The trailhead is about two miles south of Riggins. 
• Take a day hike on the front side of the Owyhees ... See my Owyhee Canyonlands guide, available at most outdoor stores and book stores. I'd recommend Little Jacks Creek, the West Fork Shoofly Quick Loop, Between the Creeks, Toy Pass hikes, Reynolds Creek, Wilson Creek, Jump Creek Canyon or Wildcat Canyon. The roads could be iffy depending on how much it rains, so exercise good judgment. 
• Head up to the Lochsa River and go rafting on the biggest whitewater weekend of the year on the Lochsa.  
• Stay home and hike/ride/run in the Boise Foothills - Trails are drying out pretty quick after the rain. Check on the Ridge to Rivers web site or Boise Foothills Trail Conditions page on Facebook to check on the latest trail conditions before you go. Stick to the sandy trails. 
• Stay close to home and go for a road bike ride. See my Boise Road Cycling Guide for ideas. 
• Stay close to home and check out the Memorial Day sales at your favorite local outdoor stores. Idaho Mountain Touring is having a tent sale (20-50% off), McU Sports is having a 20% sale, Boise REI is having a 30% sale, Sierra Trading Post is having a 40-80% sale, and I'm sure I'm overlooking some other sales.  

There you have it! Have a great weekend no matter what you do! 

- SS 

Capitalize on early snowmelt! Hit the rivers early, plan more trips in the mountains

Staircase isn't going to get huge this year, but the runoff is happening now! 

South Fork Boise is expected to turn on after Memorial Day weekend.

The Cabarton run won't have boatable flows until 2nd week of June ...  

Black Creek Rapids on the Salmon River. The Salmon is peaking early this year ... 

Hi all,

Unseasonably warm weather this spring is melting the mountain snowpack earlier than normal, which means that the higher-elevation backcountry trails will be opening up sooner than normal, and our whitewater rivers will peak sooner than normal ... in fact, some of them are peaking right now!

You've heard farmers talk about how everything is early this year -- early snowmelt, early planting, the onset of irrigation season, etc., etc. Everything is about a month ahead of normal. The same is true in the mountains. I was struck how quickly the snow was melting in the upper story of the mountains when I was up in Cascade and McCall last week. The snow level was about 7,000 feet.

Morels! Yum yum! 

And in case, you haven't heard, it's morel-picking season, too! All of the rain in the forecast in the coming weeks should prolong the morel season.

So this week's outdoor tip is a reminder that the early snowmelt offers an opportunity to squeeze in more camping, hiking, biking, backpacking, whitewater or flatwater boating trips than you might be able to do otherwise. Maximize on outdoor fun!



For river floaters, it's important to get out there and enjoy the rivers right now! Here are the latest conditions and forecasts:

• Payette River - The South Fork is running about 2,000 cubic feet per second, with a 500 cfs bump from the Deadwood River. Good flows for the South Fork Canyon and Staircase section. The Middle Fork has already peaked, and it's at a great level right now for SUPs, IKs, small rafts, canoes and kayaks. Main Payette is 3,500 cfs at Banks, the equivalent of a typical summer flow. The North Fork Payette is running low right now, but it's expected to come up to 1,300 cfs or more by the mid-June. 
• South Fork Boise River - The Bureau of Reclamation will ramp up the South Fork to 1,600-1,700 cfs after Memorial Day weekend.  
• Salmon River - The Salmon is running about 25,000 cfs at Whitebird. It's probably not going to get much bigger unless it really rains hard in the next couple of weeks. The National Weather Service does predict an above-average chance of wet weather in the next 10-14 days. 
• Middle Fork Salmon River - It's running at 4 feet at the moment, and expected to climb toward 5 feet next week, if they get more rain. The Middle Fork is expected to hit 2 feet on the gauge by mid-July. August trips will be rocky and low.  
• Lochsa River - Recent wet weather brought the Lochsa up to 5+ feet on the gauge. Go get it while you can! There isn't much snow left in the Selway high country. 

See the USGS Idaho River Flows web site for all of the rivers statewide.  

Camping - Car-camping in the North Fork of the Boise River areas near Idaho City and in the Middle Fork of the Boise River areas is doable anytime. The Boise National Forest will be opening campgrounds in those areas next week prior to Memorial Day weekend. 

Car-camping in the Middle Fork Payette River area or in the Stolle Meadows area near Cascade is all free of snow and available for dispersed, self-support camping. Check with the Forest Service on full-service campgrounds. 

Most of the Lake Cascade State Park campgrounds are open now. Camping areas in Ponderosa State Park are still closed. Lower-elevation sites like Three Island Crossing and Bruneau Dunes State Park are great for spring camping, and day use sites like Eagle Island State Park and Thousand Springs are great places to visit, too!  

See the Idaho Statesman's roundup on campground openings, etc., from their camping guide published today. 

Nearby Forest Service trailheads - Lower-elevation trails are open now, such as Cottonwood Creek trail near Arrowrock Reservoir, Station Creek trail near Garden Valley, the One Spoon trail near Crouch, and the Eagle's Nest Trail near Cascade. Check with the local ranger district offices to check on trail conditions before you go.

In the Wood River Valley, the Croy Creek trails near Hailey are open, Greenhorn-Mahoney Loop is open, Adams Gulch trails are open, and higher-elevation trails are still closed. See the Blaine County Summer Trails Link for more information. Most trails in the Sawtooth Valley are still closed but there are a few exceptions near Redfish Lake.

In the McCall area, I've heard that the Bear Basin Trails, Payette Rim Trail and the Jug Mountain Trails are open. Trails in Ponderosa State Park are open as well. Higher-elevation trails are still closed by snow.

Looking ahead to June, you might want to plan some backpacking trips in the high country ... things should be melted out by then, and you can get a jump on your summer season!  

Have fun!
- SS 

Steens Mountain, Malheur National Wildlife Refuge are a great spring camping destination

Kiger Gorge 

Steens Mountain from the Alvord Desert side by Mann Lake 

Here's Steve biking the Steens Mountain Loop road from our camp to Fish Lake C.G.
You can see that there's still some snow on the top of Steens Mountain. 

We camped in the meadow below the junipers off the loop road ... 

We had the place to ourselves ... very quiet all weekend

Hi all,

Wendy and I had a fun little spring camping trip over a three-day span to Steens Mountain and Malheur National Wildlife Refuge last week, and I wanted to share some highlights from our trip for those who might want to visit this unique area in Eastern Oregon.

It had been more than 10 years since I'd last visited the Steens Mountain area, but it's a place I've visited from time to time since the early 1980s. When I used to live in La Grande, Oregon, way back in the day, working for the local newspaper there, we used to head down to the Steens Mountain-Malheur NWF area every spring to go birding, hiking, hot-springing and camping.

Nowadays, you also can bike the graveled Steens Mountain Loop Road (59 miles total distance), which climbs the north slope of Steens Mountain from Frenchglen and takes you to the very top of the mountain at nearly 10,000 feet and provides access to super-cool hiking or backpacking trips in a variety of canyons.

You also could bring your road bike and cruise around the Malheur NWF on paved roads or ride from Frenchglen to Burns or vice-versa, if you're so inclined. Since I'm training for the Lyle Pearson 200 in late May, I decided to crank out the 60-mile route from Frenchglen to Burns, and really enjoyed it -- mainly because I didn't have a bad headwind. : - )

Camping - Page Springs Campground is a beautiful spot in the springtime near Frenchglen, Oregon. I was expecting to camp there for our trip, but then they opened the Steens Mountain Loop Road before we arrived, so we were able to find a cool meadow to camp in near the loop road about six miles from Frenchglen. We brought all the stuff we needed for self-support car camping. There's also cool digs at Fish Lake Campground and Jackman Park (higher-elevation sites).

Steens Mountain Loop Road 

The Frenchglen Hotel has a limited number of rooms, if you'd prefer to stay in a cozy bed. Make your reservations well in advance. The hotel is popular with birders and fills up quickly.

Birding - Wendy is an expert birder -- in case you didn't know. She identified 72 species in the three days we visited last week. Because of the drought that has gripped Southeast Oregon for several years in a row, Malheur Lake was VERY LOW, so the birding was not nearly as good as it could have been. Malheur NWR was established in 1908 as an important venue for nesting and migratory birds. You can thank Teddy Roosevelt for preserving the area. At this time of year, there were a number of shorebirds frequenting the area, a diversity of ducks, sandhill cranes, great blue herons, songbirds and much more. The refuge reportedly supports between 5 and 66 percent of the migratory waterfowl species in the Pacific Flyway. One of Wendy's favorite sightings last weekend was the American avocet. If you go, I'd recommend visiting the Malheur NWR headquarters, about 30 miles south of Burns, and see what refuge officials recommend as to the best locations to observe birds. It's hard to know when the lake has receded so far below its full level.

Hiking - There's a nice trail that follows the Blitzen River for about four miles (one-way) from Page Springs Campground. That's an easily accessible trail close to Frenchglen. It is a fairly rocky trail, and as of last weekend, people were seeing rattlesnakes along the way. I decided to skip the trail so my dog Huck didn't get zapped. Farther up on Steens Mountain, there are multiple hikes to consider. See the Less Traveled Northwest web site to see specific hiking recommendations ... many of them are short trails that start and finish on the Steens Mountain Loop road.

Biking the Steens Mountain Loop Road - The gravel road grinder-type rides are getting more and more popular these days, and the Steens Mountain Loop road is a well-compacted gravel road for almost 60 miles with lots of elevation gain from Page Springs (4,500 feet) to the Steens Mountain summit (nearly 10,000 feet). I rode a portion of the loop road to the Fish Lake Campground with a cross-biker from Portland, and really enjoyed it. To do the full loop road route, I'd recommend riding it over several days and camping along the way with vehicle support or carrying bike-packing equipment.

Hot springs - Back in my La Grande days, we used to hit Alvord Hot Springs all the time on the Alvord Desert side (southeast side) of Steens Mountain. It's an old tin shack with a nice, hot, deep pool. Since those days, Alvord Hot Springs has been commercialized by the property owners to maintain order. The day fee is only $5. You can camp there, too, if you want. There's also a hot springs on Hart Mountain, about an hour from Frenchglen.

Pete French Round Barn

Roof construction 

Inside the Round Barn ... they kept the horses inside in stables, and then
worked on breaking them in the outer loop of the barn. 

Round Barn - Harney County cattle king Pete French built several large round barns with his men in the early days to break and train horses for use in his big ranching operation. One of the barns is still standing near Diamond, Oregon, north of Frenchglen, and it's quite the masterpiece of construction. Worth the visit, I thought.

- SS

Try the Boise "Grand Slam Peaks" - Climb Four Mountain Peaks Close to Home

Mt. Heinen (courtesy Tom Lopez) Grand Slam Peak #4

It's a long ridge walk from Three Point Mountain to Kepros Peak (courtesy Tom Lopez)
Kepros is Grand Slam Peak #2

Boise State students band birds of prey and songbirds on the top of Lucky Peak
in the fall during the migration season. Good time to visit!
Lucky Peak is Grand Slam Peak #3

Top of Cervidae Peak - Grand Slam Peak #1

Hi all,

A friend of mine casually mentioned the "Grand Slam" to me recently about bagging four mountain peaks close to Boise. It's an intriguing idea, and I thought I should pass it on! The Grand Slam is the brainchild of Tom Lopez, author of the excellent book, Idaho: A Climbing Guide. He calls them the "Grand Slam Peaks" in a great blog post detailing the routes on his web site.

If you have been thinking about climbing some mountains this year or backpacking in the high country, these local mountains are a great starting point for getting your legs and lungs in shape. As Lopez points out, these mountains melt off early and provide plenty of challenge to prepare you for tackling taller mountains in Central Idaho this summer.

Plus, it just so happens that the Idaho Hiking Club (Facebook Meetup group) is leading hikes to all four Grand Slam Peaks in the next week or so. The hikes are being led by Chad Rohr. When I spoke to Chad today, he had 12 openings for climbing Cervidae on Friday afternoon, three for the Lucky Peak hike next weekend, and five openings on the Mount Heinen hike on Sunday, May 10. Sign up via the Idaho Hiking Club web site.

Two of the four mountains in the Grand Slam -- Cervidae Peak and Shaw Mountain/Lucky Peak -- are featured in my new book, Boise Trail Guide: 90 Hiking & Running Routes Close to Home. Cervidae is a steep, 2.2-mile hike one-way with 2,000 feet of vertical gain, starting from the trailhead near Spring Shores Marina next to Lucky Peak Reservoir. The hike is rated strenuous!

There are multiple ways to climb to the top of Shaw Mountain/Lucky Peak ... either from the Homestead Trail near Harris Ranch or from Highland Valley Road off of Idaho 21. It's a 13-mile loop with 3,158 feet of vertical gain, to climb to the top of Lucky Peak via Homestead Trail and Trail #8, and then descend on Trail #E and Trail #11 to end up at the Crow Inn for a beer. Lopez says he likes to mountain bike to the top so he can enjoy the fast descent. I'd recommend that too for hikers who also mountain bike.

The other two peaks involved in the Grand Slam are Kepros Peak (5,428 feet) and Mount Heinen (6,336 feet). Hiking to Kepros involves 1,700 vertical feet of gain as you walk a total of 10 miles out and back from the trailhead at the summit of Black's Creek Road (take I-84 exit and head toward Prairie). You hike up to a saddle above the road near Three Point Mountain (5,324 feet) and then do a giant ridge walk to Kepros Peak. This hike is rated strenuous because of the distance.

Mount Heinen is the tallest of the four Grand Slam peaks at elevation 6,336 feet. The trailhead is along the Middle Fork Boise River Road, which goes by Lucky Peak Reservoir and Arrowrock Dam. The trail starts up the mountain just past the Irish Creek Boat Ramp. The trail goes directly up the mountain, reaches the first ridgetop and then you do a long ridge walk to the top of Mount Heinen. The hike is 4.5 miles one-way. Lopez rates it strenuous. Allow about 7-8 hours for the hike. Carry plenty of water and food.

"My favorite is Heinen because it s straight up for the first 1.8 miles, then you discover that you're not even halfway to the peak," says Chad Rohr, who's leading a series of hikes to the Grand Slam Peaks for the Idaho Hiking Club. "If and when you make it to the top, the accomplishment is felt deeply in your body."

Lopez likes to hike the Grand Slam Peaks in this order:
1. Cervidae (usually melts out first)
2. Kepros
3. Lucky Peak
4. Mt. Heinen.

This year, snow is not a limiting factor on any of these mountains, so I'd say go for it! Many thanks to Tom Lopez for the inspiration, and to Chad Rohr of the Idaho Hiking Club for leading the hikes! But none of these routes are hard to follow in my opinion, so feel free to pick them off when you have time. Take your kids!

BTW - Two of these peaks are located in the Boise River Wildlife Management Area, owned by Idaho Fish and Game, and two of them are in the Boise National Forest.
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Alpenglow mountainsport is having their used boat swap on Saturday, May 2nd, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Great place to find discounted flatwater kayaks, whitewater kayaks, inflatable kayaks, whitewater rafts, paddles, life jackets, wet suits, dry suits, etc.!

Pam Conley is leading a family birding walk on Sunday, May 3rd, starting at 9 a.m. from the Jim Hall Foothills Learning Center, on N. 8th Street after the road turns to dirt. Email Pam at pam_conley@q.com.

-SS