The Shoofly Oolites - A Geologic Wonderland in the Owyhee Canyonlands!

The author poses for a pic at the Shoofly Oolites. (courtesy Steve Schaps)

Guest Column
By Steve Schaps

The Shoofly Oolites are a geologic wonderland located about 60 miles southeast from Boise near Grand View, Idaho, at the foot of the Owyhee Canyonlands.

This location is probably the closest you can come to hiking on the surface of Mars. The hike is 1-3 miles in length. 

It is both dog friendly and kid friendly, so you can bring either one or both. This is a great place to bring kids or grandchildren. It’s about an hour’s drive from Boise, and a far less snowy or icy drive than if you were heading to the mountains to the north.

One of the main reasons to visit the Shoofly Oolites is the educational opportunity for kids and adults to learn about this geologic wonderland.

Oolites, known as “Egg Rocks,” are rocks made up of small round calcium carbonate deposits (not sand), which look like tiny BB-sized eggs. The Shoofly Oolites are one of the largest outcrops of Oolites in North America and possibly the largest freshwater Oolite accumulations on earth.

These Oolites were deposited in beach/shoal environments along the sides of ancient Lake Idaho around 2-5 million years ago in the Pliocene Era. Lake Idaho was in a large closed basin like the Great Salt Lake is today. It stretched from Eastern Oregon across most of the Snake River Plain, from Boise to the foothills of the Owyhee Mountains.

Most of the Treasure Valley’s groundwater and farm fields are in Lake Idaho deposits. It’s one of the reasons that the area has such abundant groundwater and agricultural resources.

Courtesy Steve Schaps 

The Shoofly Oolites are unusually thick, very homogeneous, and create an interesting area for a hike and geologic field trip. You can take home a few pieces of Oolite rocks, if you like. Bring a big. They are a bit crumbly.

The Oolite road-side stop is managed by the Bureau of Land Management. It includes a few educational interpretive signs and a parking area.

There are lots of weird and interesting rock formations to see. The kids love this part … there are all kinds of caves, holes, arches and bathtub features to explore. A game of hide and seek, anyone?   

The Idaho Museum of Mining and Geology will be leading a geologic field trip to the Shoofly Oolites on April 16. Go to https://www.idahomuseum.org/ for more information.

There’s also a historic cemetery located one-half mile up the road that you can also explore.

How to get there:

·      Take I-84 east toward Mountain Home

·      Go right at Exit 74, Simco Road.

·      Follow Simco Road south for about 20 miles.

·      Turn right on Idaho Highway 167 and follow that to Grand View. Stock up on gas or any supplies at the Grand View quick stop.

·      Go left on Highway 78 and go east for about 2 miles to a Y-junction.

·      Veer right on Mud Flat Road, the Owyhee Backcountry Byway, a paved road to begin with, and follow that for about 9.5 miles. The Oolite BLM site is on the right. GPS coordinates are 42.837128/-116.121980.

Courtesy Steve Schaps 

Steve Schaps has a bachelor's and master's degree in Geoscience. He worked for over 30 years as a geophysicist in Houston, Texas. He's retired now. He's lived in Idaho for six years. Steve is also a volunteer at the Idaho Museum of Mining and Geology. 

Amazing convergence of perfect weather, water levels makes a guy feel lucky on the Owyhee River

Pruitt's Castle rises from the sagebrush on the Owyhee River. 

Hi all, 

It's a special thing when you can escape to a never-never land like the Wild and Scenic Owyhee River, tune into the nature channel all around you, and enjoy some very special moments that stay with you long after the trip.  

Pulling out of camp, floating on a quiet section of the river, it's mesmerizing to just sit back and listen to the river, the birds, and the bugs, while dipping your oars in and out of the water in a rhythmic motion. 

And then the rapids come up around the corner. You're greeted by a thunderous sound of whitewater in a tight canyon, and it's time to focus on the river!    

Katie Metzger on the sticks in the cataraft; Make and Shane on the SUPs

Over 25+ years of doing spring trips on the Owyhee River, I feel like I've experience such an amazing array of challenging conditions with any combination of stiff headwinds, torrential rain storms, horizontal snow, muddy roads, even medical evacs. 

But in my most recent trip, March 22-25, the stars aligned for the most perfect conditions imaginable - conditions that I'm sure will never happen again! But we had a combination of solid river flows, perfect weather and ... shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh no wind!  

OMG, that never happens on the Owyhee River! 

Bruce and Norm are pumped about the river trip at the put-in ... 

I'd been watching the river gauge daily, and I knew with a flow of 2,000 cfs in mid-March, that flow would not last long with 70 percent snowpack! 

And I'd been watching the weather daily, and the Rome, OR, forecast that week was amazingly nice and sunny with afternoon highs in the 70s. 

So I pulled together a trip in a matter of days. I got commitments from my friends Katie Metzger and Dan Popkey immediately. They both have their own rafts, so that meant we had 3 boats including mine, and our trip was a go! Just had to fill in with passengers. We were really lucky to get a bunch of super fun people together who could take off Tuesday-Friday during the middle of the week. 

Shane and Mark getting into their dry suits at the put-in.

My longtime friend Bruce Reichert, Mr. Outdoor Idaho, jumped at the chance to join us, as did my friend Norm Nelson. Morley Nelson's oldest son, Norm's spirit soars when we see golden eagles, prairie falcons and hawks flying above. Mine does too! We ended up seeing a ton of eagles, falcons and hawks! So special! 

My friend Mark Anderson and fellow SUP expert Shane Preston paddled their SUPs while I carried their gear. And Katie invited her friend Eric, a BSU math professor, to join us and ride in her cataraft. 

Natural hot springs along the way ... 

We had a crew of 8. Everyone took turns cooking. We ate like kings and queens every night. 

The trip: We floated 48 miles from the BLM put-in at Rome to the BLM takeout at the old Birch Creek Ranch. This section is known as the Lower Owyhee. You hire locals to drive your shuttle. It's a pretty gnarly 4WD high-clearance road to go from the Birch Creek takeout back to U.S. Highway 95, so you need a solid vehicle for the river trip. It's all pavement to the put-in. 

Norm does an oil painting of Pruitt's Castle in camp 

Trip map: BLM river guides are available for all of the forks of the Owyhee River and the Jarbidge-Bruneau river.  

I'm just going to share a few photos from our trip. Not much more needs to be said about the Owyhee River canyon's beauty. The pictures do the talking. 

Bruce works on his Chicken piccata dish with plenty of butter, garlic and morels in the Dutch oven.   

Katie is talented with her magical colored balls at night ... check out the video. 

Many local boaters know about the Owyhee River. But if you don't have your own gear, plan a trip with an Idaho outfitter. There are several that do the Owyhee, including ROW Adventures, Far & Away, Barker River Expeditions, and Wilderness River Outfitters. 

- SS

Dan made delicious salmon filets on night 3, combined with mushroom
risotto  and salad. Pineapple upside down cake for dessert in the D.O. 

Another angle on that camp ... pretty much paradise to me!  

With sunny afternoons through Sunday, enjoy low-elevation trails like the Wilson-Reynolds Loop in the Owyhees

Entrance to Reynolds Creek canyon from the north. Took this pic in the spring.

Hi all, 

One more week of this unseasonably warm weather in December before winter weather is forecast to descend on Idaho next week.

So you might as well continue to enjoy low-elevation trails in the Boise Foothills or the Owyhee Front.  Please keep tabs on the Ridge to Rivers Facebook page for the latest trail conditions ... trails that are on north slopes or in permanent shade are going to be muddy and should be avoided. 

Trails in the Snake River canyon, such as this recent post detailing trips to an old homestead or Celebration Park to Halverson Lake would work well as would these must-do hikes in the Owyhees - Leslie Gulch and Mary's Creek/Sheep Creek.   

The China Ditch Trail ... Courtesy Idaho Hiking Club

Another sweet hiking loop is the Wilson Creek-Reynolds Creek Loop, which is featured in both my Boise Trail Guide and Owyhee Canyonlands guidebooks. It's 7.5 miles round-trip, travel time about 3.5 hours, vertical gain 750 feet, and it's super scenic. I saw that the Idaho Hike Club hiked it earlier this week. 

Here's a description in All Trails as well. 

My writeup on the hike:  

General remarks: This is a great hike/trail run in the foothills of the Owyhee Mountains, about 45 minutes from Boise. The trail weaves through rock formations on the way over to Reynolds Creek, and then you'll hike along on top of the China Ditch Trail - an old Chinese-built irrigation ditch high above the creek. The red rock canyon is spectacular. Bring your camera, plenty of water and a lunch.

Example of the cool rock formations you'll see going over to Reynolds Creek canyon.

Getting there: From downtown Boise, hook up with I-184 west and head for Nampa. Take the Franklin Road exit (City Center) in Nampa, and turn left. Follow Franklin to the intersection with 11^th Street. Turn right and take 11^th into downtown Nampa. Follow signs for Idaho 45 south. Take ID 45 to Walters Ferry at the Snake River and turn right on ID 78, heading for Marsing. In a couple miles, turn left on Wilson Creek Road. Proceed up the paved road until it turns to dirt and pull into a dirt parking area on the left for BLM Trails #300 and #400. The hike/run starts here.

Directions: To begin, pick up Trail #300 out of the parking lot. Ignore trails branching off to the left in the first mile. At mile .9, you’ll cross a road and continue on the singletrack trail. The trail climbs one last hill and then widens into a two-track and descends to a T-junction at a dirt road (mile 1.8). Go right for a short bit, and turn left on Trail #410, a sandy wash going downhill towards Reynolds Creek. At mile 2.3, go right on Trail #310 and proceed for a half mile to a junction with Trail #600, the "China Ditch” trail. Go right and walk upstream along Reynolds Creek canyon for about a long mile. After walking next to vertical rock walls, the trail opens up on the right at the junction with Trail #510, #601 and #610. Go right on #510 and climb out of the canyon. At mile 4, bear right at a Y junction on #510 and stay on #510 to BLM dirt road #37154. Go right and follow the road to the junction with Trail #400. Go left on #400 at mile 5.28 and head back to the trailhead. At the top of the first hill, you can either stay on Trail #400 or branch off on #300. Both ways head over to the Wilson Creek Road and the trailhead.

Hiking notes: Even though the route is 7+ miles, the elevation gain is pretty minimal, so the hike may be suitable for kids 8 and over. My kids enjoyed the hike, especially throwing rocks into the creek on the China Ditch trail.

Wondering what's going on with the winter storms predicted next week? See my post in opensnow.com for the Idaho Daily Snow for details. 

- SS  

Make sure you bring the kids! This was Quinn and Drew a few years ago!

 

Four spring hikes - 2 in the Boise Foothills, 2 in the Owyhees, plus Boise Bike Week!

Jump Creek Falls, near Marsing

Big Jacks Creek canyon as it looks as you're hiking down from the Parker Trailhead. 

Hi all,

After a week of unsettled weather, this weekend looks fabulous with clear skies and temperatures in the mid-70s in the Treasure Valley. There's a 30 percent chance of thunderstorms on Sunday. We've seen that all week, and sometimes the storm happens, sometimes not!

My outdoor tip this week will focus on a couple of handy hikes close to home. But first, I wanted to mention this we are in the midst of Boise Bike Week, sponsored by the Treasure Valley Cycling Alliance. Tomorrow is national Bike to Work Day  So if you need a little extra motivation to get your bike lock and gear together for biking to work, there you go!!! Plus, a bunch of coffee shops are offering a free cup of coffee to people who ride to work ... so there's another boost for ya! See Boise Bike Week Facebook page for details.

Now to the hikes. First, a couple in the Boise Foothills:

Lupine going off big-time on the way to Central Ridge Trail and Bucktail Trail in Military Reserve this week. 

1. Jumpin' Jeepers Figure-8 Loop - 6.75 miles. Rated strenuous as a hike or run with moderate sections. Rated intermediate for biking. Hiking time, 2.5-3 hours; running time, 1:20; riding time, 1:10. This is one of my favorite rides in Military Reserve that connects to Shane's Trail. It's an equally nice run or hike. The name comes from the Boise Police Dept. shooting range at the end of Mountain Cove Road. The unexpected blast from a gun might cause you to jump out of your skin! Thank goodness the city finally moved the firing range! The flowers are still popping along the way ... I saw a field of arrowleaf balsomroot and purple lupine on Wednesday. To start, go to Fort Boise and then the main trailhead on Mountain Cove Road, after the sharp right-hand corner heading west. Take the Toll Road Trail #27A to #20 Ridge Crest and climb to the top of the hill. Turn right on Central Ridge Trail and climb at a moderate pace to Shane's Junction. Take Shane's #26A to the left, and climb to the top of Shane's. You've climbed 1,000 feet over 3+ miles. Give your puppy a drink and a snack. Descend Shane's for less than a mile, turn right on the Shane's Loop and return to the Central Ridge-Bucktail-Shane's jct. Take Bucktail downhill and enjoy the big GS turns as you wind across a big downhill on a large flat. Bucktail drops into the Central Ridge alternative trail. Go right and then left on that and it'll take you back to the trailhead. It's a great view of Idaho's Capital City as you cruise downhill on that sagebrush slope to the trailhead.

2. Camelsback - Kestrel-Crestline-Red Cliffs Loop - Distance: 5 miles. Rated moderate for hikers and runners. Rated intermediate for biking. Hiking time, 2-2.5 hours; Running time: 55 minutes; Biking time: 45 minutes. This is a popular loop with hikers, runners and bikers. Start at Camelsback Park off of Heron and 13th Street in North Boise. Head over to the trailhead in the east side of the park, and follow Owl's Roost Trail on the right by the ponds. Follow Owl's Roost to the Foothills Learning Center area. Turn right at the junction with Kestrel, and climb Kestrel to Crestline, it's about .6 miles of continuous climbing. Turn left onto Crestline, climb a short abrupt hill, and then watch for a left-hand junction with Red Cliffs in less than a half mile. Turn left onto Red Cliffs and enjoy a fun descent for over a mile back to Hulls Gulch. Follow Hulls back toward the Foothills Learning Center, cross 8th Street, and take Chickadee Ridge back to Camelsback Park.

Now, a couple hikes in the Owyhees:

3. Jump Creek Canyon, near Marsing - Follow this link to see a write up in the Nampa Press-Tribune about visiting Jump Creek Canyon. They used my Owyhee Canyonlands guide for reference and driving directions. Be forewarned that there is poison ivy on the trail to the falls. Watch your step and keep the kids close at hand through that small section as you approach the falls. Once you arrive at the BLM recreation site, you'll notice that you can explore some extensive trails above Jump Creek Falls. Give that a go if you're up for hiking a greater distance than the quarter-mile trail to the falls.

4. Big Jacks Creek, Parker Trailhead - Big Jacks Creek is a gorgeous canyon. Go see it and judge for yourself.

Driving map for Parker Trailhead

The hardest part of the whole trip, like many in the Owyhee Canyonlands, is finding the trailhead. A good 4WD vehicle or a high-clearance Subaru is recommended for the drive, once you hit the dirt roads.

How to get there: Take the freeway to Mountain Home. Take the first exit. Follow signs for Idaho State Highway 51 and Bruneau. After you reach Bruneau, take note of your odometer. Stay on Idaho 51 for approximately 25 miles. You'll be watching for a right-hand turn on a good dirt road, called the Wickahoney Road, just past milepost 45. The road is not signed, but it's a BLM public road.

Follow Wickahoney Road 4.9 miles to a T-junction by Wickahoney Creek. Turn right and go 2.8 miles to the Parker Trailhead. Park and hike from there.

Leo Hennessy follows the Parker Trail into the Big Jacks Wilderness

You'll follow a two-track road over to the rim of the canyon, walk over a barbed-wire fence via a wooden step-over gizmo, and descend into Big Jacks Creek. Take your time, take some photos and enjoy the scenery. There's a foot path going down into the canyon; it's marked by rock cairns along the way. Watch for snakes. They could be out.

Once at the bottom, you can explore a little and eat lunch by the campsite area. Return the way you came.

Beautiful campsite at the bottom of Big Jacks. 

----------------------------------------------------------
The BLM is hosting two events this weekend related to the 25th anniversary of the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area.

1. Join in on a Naturalist Photo Safari of overlooked and underappreciated components of the NCA ecosystem. On Saturday, it's "Insect Day." On Sunday, there's a plant and geology hike in the canyon. RSVP to Cory Coffman at ccoffman@blm.gov. For the full event schedule, go here.

Have fun!
- SS

The Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area turns 25 this year ... Here's how to plug into the raptor channel

Ferruginous hawks on a nesting platform in the NCA. 

Joe Welson of the BLM checks on a golden eagle chick in the NCA. 

Hi all,

I've been kind of a nut about birds of prey since I saw bald eagles swoop down and catch crimson-red Kokanee trout in West Glacier, Montana in college. But ultimately, I owe my love for birds of prey to the late Morley Nelson, the great champion for birds of prey who lived much of his adult life in Boise. Morley touched literally thousands of people in Boise, in Idaho, and many more in the nation and the world via his many films for Walt Disney's Wide World of Color series, his own personal falconry and birds of prey films, and his conservation work with the Peregrine Fund. Many people observed Morley flying birds in his North End backyard as a falconer, he gave countless presentations all over the West with a golden eagle on his fist, and he hosted many boat tours in the Snake River canyon with outfitter Steve Guinn. 

Morley Nelson with a prairie falcon 

Morley personally discovered what is known as the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area. I know this because I wrote Morley's biography, titled Cool North Wind: Morley Nelson's Life with Birds of Prey (Caxton Press, 2000). Soon after moving to Boise in 1948, he visited the Snake River canyon for the first time. He saw an incredible diversity of birds of prey flying around, hunting for prey on the sagebrush flats above the canyon, and golden eagles and prairie falcons nesting in the canyon walls. How fortunate it was that a man like Morley, who already was totally passionate about raptors, discovered this wildlife resource that was unique in the world.

Morley always said that it was important to let people "feel a part of the environment" by showing them the magnificent birds of prey in action. He knew the birds would sell themselves if people had a chance to see them in person or in a movie.

The Snake River canyon was where Morley worked on "Ida, the Offbeat Eagle," for Walt Disney, a movie that required 12 trained golden eagles for various scenes. He took Marlin Perkins to the canyon to film a Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom segment about golden eagles and sheep. He put an 8-pound weight on one of his golden eagles, and they filmed the bird trying in vain to leave the ground. This was proof positive for all the sheep ranchers to see that there was no point in killing eagles for fear they might cart off a newborn lamb, a frequent assumption at the time.

Morley doing the "hero" shot with
a golden eagle on his fist. His first wife,
Betty Ann, is holding a prairie falcon.  

In the late 1960s, Morley worked with Bureau of Land Management officials to catalog all of the golden eagle nests in the canyon with help from University of Idaho graduate students. They confirmed 25 active nests in 1968 and 36 active nests in 1969. The BLM recommended a protective withdrawal of 26,255 acres that would provide rim-to-rim protection for the area in 1971. Rogers Morton, the Interior Secretary at the time, signed it. Over the next two decades, numerous research projects laid the ground work for protecting the "dinner table" for birds of prey that nested in the canyon. In 1993, the Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area was created, protecting 485,000 acres of land and 81 miles of the Snake River between Walter's Ferry, south of Nampa, to Bruneau. It was a remarkable achievement backed by all of Idaho's political leaders, particularly the late Gov. Cecil Andrus, Rep. Larry LaRocco,  Sen. Larry Craig and the late Sen. Jim McClure.

This year is the 25th anniversary of the original designation of the birds of prey area. And the BLM has put a HUGE amount of effort into creating a year-long celebration to commemorate the original achievement and pay tribute to the many people who made it possible, including Morley.

"A lot of people don't understand the incredible resource we have here at the NCA," says Amanda Hoffman, area manager for the BLM. "It's the largest and densest population of nesting raptors in North America, if not the world (approximately 800 pairs of nesting birds of prey). The rich history of people caring so passionately about this area is important, and what we're trying to do is recognize the people who were involved in the designation, and introduce the NCA to a whole new set of people who might not have been familiar with it before."

This would include school kids in the Treasure Valley. Through Feburary and March, there will be multiple presentations about the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area at branch libraries throughout the valley. On Friday, there is a presentation at the Boise Public Library branch at Cole & Ustick at 4 p.m. On Saturday, there's a presentation at the Nampa Public Library at 11 a.m., and another presentation at the library branch in Bown Crossing at 11 a.m. Go see them! You'll see educational birds of prey up close, learn about the NCA, and about more events coming up this year.

I would strongly encourage everyone to participate in the events coming up this year. The BLM wants to create Idaho's Largest Trash Cleanup event on Saturday, April 21st. Sad but true, a lot of people see the edges of the birds of prey as a place to dump old furniture, tires, appliances, building materials and more ... Let's get hundreds of people out there to help! Let's break the record! To inquire and sign up, contact Cory Coffman at the BLM, ccoffman@blm.gov or call 208-384-3485.

Northern saw-whet owls nest in the NCA.  

There will be guided hikes, raptor identification classes, raptor identification field trips, interpretive trips to learn about biological soil crusts, reptiles, insects, plants and geology. You can go out and help band ferruginous hawk chicks! See the event flyer online or contact Cory for more information.

On Saturday, June 2nd, there will be a Snake River Raptor Fest hosted by the Birds of Prey NCA Partnership at the Indian Creek Winery in Kuna from noon to 5 p.m. There will be live birds of prey, presentations, live music and interactive activities for all ages. I am definitely planning to attend.

In August, they will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the NCA with a panel of speakers. There will be more interpretive hikes and activities continuing through the fall.

Watch the Birds of Prey NCA Partnership Facebook page for the latest information as the year progresses.

Joe Siratnak of the BLM led a volunteer planting effort at
Kuna Buttle last year. Hundreds of people helped out.
You can sign up to volunteer this year as well! 

It's my personal opinion that the Birds of Prey NCA needs more love. The habitat out there has been degraded by numerous wildfires, and when things burn more than once, the sagebrush shrub component gets burned up, annual grasses like cheatgrass and noxious weeds take over the landscape, and the birds of prey and their prey base suffer. Approximately 50 percent of the habitat out there is rated in "poor" condition, according to BLM experts.

So let's do our part to help make things better. The BLM has been marshaling volunteers for planting  sagebrush, native perennial plants and forbs, all of which are important for the habitat structure out there. Watch for opportunities to participate in planting efforts to make the habitat better. Again, contact Cory for more information, ccoffman@blm.gov or call 208-384-3485.

For people who might want to try to see all the birds of prey in the NCA, here's a list of birds to identify:  

Nesting raptors: Prairie falcon, American kestrel, golden eagle, red-tailed hawk, ferruginous hawk, 

Swainson's hawk, northern harrier, osprey, great-horned owl, burrowing owl, barn owl, short-eared owl, long-eared owl, northern saw-whet owl, western screech owl, turkey vulture. 

Non-nesting/wintering/pass-thrus during migration: peregrine falcon, bald eagle, merlin, northern goshawk, Cooper's hawk, sharp-shinned hawk, rough-legged hawk, gyrfalcon (very rare winter visitor). 

BTW, my biography on Morley Nelson, Cool North Wind, is still in print. I've heard people say it's a good read! And probably the most complete history of the creation of the NCA from soup to nuts. I will be giving some presentations about Morley and the book in the coming year. Stay tuned! 

-SS