Bogus Basin mountain bike festival, hiking Granite Mountain and house party for Lauren McLean

Riding at Bogus Basin is a pleasant alternative with cooler weather, shade and great trails! 

Hi all,

If you haven't been mountain biking at Bogus Basin this summer, this weekend looks like the perfect time to go.

Bogus is hosting a Mountain Bike Festival from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday. Chair #1 will be running to take folks to the top of Deer Point. There are guided rides for men, women and kids, professional riders competing in the "Whip-Off" big air challenge, demo bikes, raffles and more.

The event costs $45 through Friday, and $50 on Saturday. Register here: 

The goal, according to organizers, is to celebrate mountain biking by "bringing our passion-filled mountain bike community together." Meet new riding friends, meet local shops and services, get out and ride the trails and enjoy what should be a nice cool mountain day. Participating bike organizations and shops include SWIMBA, Central Idaho Mountain Biking Association (CIMBA), George's, Idaho Mountain Touring, Reed Cycles, Boise REI, World Cycle, Eagle Bike Shop, McU Sports, Rolling H Cycles, and Kore North Bicycles.

I love the trails at Bogus. If you haven't gotten to know the trail system up there, you need to. IMBA rated the Around the Mountain Trail at Bogus the best in the state of Idaho! 


------------------------

Granite Mountain summit and USFS lookout. Elevation 8,500 feet.

Hike Granite Mountain

I went for a fun hike to the top of Granite Mountain last Saturday while I was in McCall. Here's a link to my Facebook pics. I'd rate the hike "moderate." It was 3+ miles to the top of Granite Mountain from the trailhead off the Goose Lake Road. Travel time was about 4+ hours round-trip.

The views on top are fantastic. There's a manned Forest Service lookout tower on top. You can see the Wallowas and Seven Devils to the west, Meadows Valley and the Little Salmon canyon leading down to Riggins, the northwest corner of "the Frank," the Payette Crest off to the east, and Brundage Mountain, and Long Valley to the south.

Granite Mountain is the giant hulk of mountain that looms to the west of McCall when you approach the mountain community. Brundage provides snowcat powder skiing trips on Granite, and I have had some legendary times up there on the mountain.
--------------------------

House party for Lauren McLean 

The political race for Mayor of Boise is under way. I have known Lauren McLean since the first $10 million open space campaign 1999-2001, and she has been a proven champion of open space and trails for the Boise Foothills ever since. I still feel that winning that initial open space campaign was a transformative event for the City of Boise, and now there's huge community support for open space, trails, conservation and water quality.

Mayor Bieter has had four terms to lead Boise, and I think a lot of people feel they are ready for a change.

My partner Wendy Wilson and I are co-hosting a house party on Thursday, Aug. 29, for Lauren at our home at 3209 N. 39th Street in NW Boise. Sam Sandmire and Cary Hattabaugh, Diane Ronayne, Zack Waterman, Nicole LeFavour, Suki and Bill Molina, and Elena Lansing are co-hosting. 

We are inviting folks to come hear Lauren speak about her priorities for the City of Boise moving forward, even if you haven't made up your mind. We are inviting outdoorsy and conservation types. Shiny Shoe Bob is playing music, and we'll have food, wine and beer.

If you're interested in coming to the house party, please RSVP to wwwilderness3920@gmail.com. 

Please see our Facebook invite for more information.    
- SS