Canyon entrance |
Sister canyon to Wildcat Canyon |
Wonder how this landed here? |
Rhyolite lava rock |
Hi all,
It's been a gorgeous week weather-wise in SW Idaho, with temperatures reaching into the 80s today! But change is afoot and 60s are expected this weekend. It might be wet Saturday morning, but Sunday should be a nice cool day for a hike.
I thumbed through my Owyhee Canyonlands guide, and I thought of the Wildcat Canyon loop, near Marsing. It's a 3.5-mile cross-country loop, climbing a slot canyon in Wildcat Canyon, and then descending in a canyon that runs parallel to it. Rated moderate, with some strenuous pitches. It's a spectacular rocky rhyolite canyon with spires and cliff walls. The scrambling is challenging but doable -- a sturdy pair of boots helps!
I zipped out there this afternoon to get some fresh photos, and everything was very green, even the slopes that burned in the big Soda Fire last fall. The creek was dry today. We flushed three chukars. It took me about an hour to reach the trailhead from my house in Boise.
How to get there: From
From my Owyhee Canyonlands guide: "This is a nifty slot-canyon hike less than an hour from Boise . It’s best to wear shoes or sandals
that can get wet. It’s pretty easy going up Wildcat Canyon
creek, with beautiful, impressive rhyolite and basalt cliffs rising above you.
There are a number of spots where you’ll need to scramble up a short steep
ledge, and then it’s easy going again. After climbing up the draw two miles,
you’ll loop back on a parallel draw that is more open, and then narrows down to
a cliff, where you’ll climb out of the draw and hike to the ridge between the
two canyons and cruise back to the trailhead. This hike is good for kids 10 and
over – they’ll enjoy scambling up the creek and checking out the rocks. Nimble
dogs could make it, too.
Hiking notes: "Take your time and enjoy the setting –
it’s only two miles to the top. I rated
the hike moderate to strenuous because you still climb nearly 1,000 vertical
feet to the top end of Wildcat Canyon Creek. After you break out of the slot
canyon, you’ll come to a fork. Follow the right fork and climb over a small
hump to the next draw. This may be a good place for a lunch break. Continuing
on, turn right and hike downhill in the draw a little over a half mile, and
you’ll notice the canyon narrowing up, and there’s a cliff ahead. Before that
happens, bear right and climb up the slope to the top of the ridge between the
two draws. Cruise over to the cliff area to check it out from above. Then
scramble down the nose of the ridge back to the trailhead."
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Outdoor notes: Next Wednesday, April 27th, 5-7 p.m., SWIMBA invites mountain bikers young and old to attend a ribbon-cutting for the new, kid-friendly Snoop Loop Trail at the Eagle Bike Park. SWIMBA re-routed the trail to make it safer for our young riders in the community. Members of BYRDS will lead a ride on Snoop Loop. Free refreshments and speeches! Come support your bike community!
New Ridge to Rivers management plan in the works! Click on this link to get more information. An open house is being held tonight (Thursday) from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Jim Hall Foothills Learning Center.
- SS
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