Some ideas for Labor Day Weekend ...

Wah Hoo Review

The Big Hitch

I'm sure a lot of people already have plans for Labor Day, but here are some ideas in case you're still on the fence about what to do:

It's going to be crowded in many popular outdoor locations this weekend, so you might as well dive into the crowds in Ketchum/Sun Valley to experience the Wagon Days Celebration. This is a great outing for families. The Blackjack shootout is at 7 p.m. Friday on main street in Ketchum and the Big Hitch parade on Saturday begins at 1 p.m. The parade is billed as the largest non-motorized parade west of the Mississippi. Your kids will love seeing the covered wagons and people decked out in pioneer garb.

Check out the Ketchum/Sun Valley Chamber web site to look for the best deals on hotels, or you can camp out north of Ketchum or even in the Stanley area. Here's the calendar of events for the weekend.

On Friday and Saturday night, the "Wah-Hoo! Review" puts on a knee-slappin' foot-stompin' Wild West performance at the Sun Valley Opera House. You can do a BBQ and performance, or just the performance to save a little money. The performance costs $20 for adults and $15 for kids; BBQ and show costs $40 for adults and $30 for kids. Reservations: 208-622-2135.

While you're in Ketchum, you can ride the chairlift to the top of Bald Mountain and take a l-o-n-g gravity ride down the Cold Springs or Warm Springs trail on your mountain bike. Here's my writeup in Mountain Biking Idaho. It's 11 miles downhill the Warm Springs Trail or the Cold Springs route. If you don't bike, you can hike down. The descent is more than 3,000 vertical feet, so you'll get big views of the Pioneer and Smoky mountains and the Big Wood River Valley.

If you'd like to go mountain biking or hiking in the Wood River Valley, check out this web site for some trail ideas.

Some other possibilities:

• Go backpacking in the Sawtooth Wilderness, the White Clouds or near McCall, in the Payette Crest off of Lick Creek Road.
  
• It's the last weekend to go hiking or biking at Brundage Mountain. Take Elk Trail dowhill from the top of Brundage and enjoy an awesome trip through open meadows and deep forest to the bottom. On Monday, Brundage is offering a two-for-one special. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children.
  
• Go camping in the Boise National Forest, Payette National Forest, Sawtooth National Recreation Area or along Owyhee Backcountry Byway in the Owyhee Mountains.
  
• Go flatwater paddling on scenic lakes in the Sawtooths. Statesman outdoor writer Pete Zimowsky wrote about this in the Idaho Outdoors section this week.
  

Climb Mt. Borah - it's easiest in late summer

Photos courtesy of SummitPost.com

A friend of mine, Scott Turlington, inspired this week's outdoor tip -- climbing Mt. Borah, Idaho's highest peak (12,662 feet) in the Lost River Range near Arco, Mackay and Challis.

Scott took his 12-year-old son on the adventure last weekend. He said it took them 8 hours to bag the peak, and 6 hours to come back down. There were at least 75 other people on the trail on the day they climbed the peak. His legs were still sore on Wednesday. No wonder ... The typical route involves ascending 5,262 vertical feet (1604 m) from the trailhead to the summit in just over 3.5 miles. Whew, that's steep! The trail grade averages 30 percent.

Experts say it's best to climb Borah in late summer when most of the snow has melted from the summit, and the most technical aspects of the climb can be accomplished without ropes. An ice axe might be handy when you're scrambling across "chicken-out" ridge, a narrow rocky spine with major dropoffs on both sides. Scott said the ridge still had snow on it last week.

Most people drive to the trailhead the night before, make camp, get up about 3:30 a.m., and make the summit before noon. Most people do it as a "day hike."

It's all self-support. Be sure to bring lots of food and water. There is no public water at the trailhead. Even if it's hot to begin with, cold and wet weather can roll in, so be prepared for that.

Here are some links with detailed information about the climb and the mountain:
- Wikipedia
- Peak Bagger.com
- SummitPost.com. This site has driving directions to the trailhead and other useful information.
- YouTube has tons of videos from people who posted their pix and video from the trip. Here are links to a couple that seemed helpful:
- Short clip
- Longer clip: Mt. Borah - the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
- Tips from a woman who's been there

Have fun!

Fat Tire Traverse in the Boise Foothills

Trip map (click to enlarge)

Hi all,

This week's outdoor tip of the week is dedicated to a new trail in the Boise Foothills that's called the Fat Tire Traverse. In observance of the Tour de Fat Festival coming up on Saturday, everyone should know that the Fat Tire Traverse was built by Ridge to Rivers with Tour de Fat Festival funds donated to SWIMBA.

So that means it's a smart thing to attend the festival on Saturday, spend money, drink beer and be merry and enjoy the wonderfully wacky festive atmosphere. The dollars you spend at the festival will go toward more new trails in the future. Wa-hoo.

The Fat Tire Traverse is an awesome new trail that opens up a whole world of new loop opportunities. Check out a short YouTube video. It's a critical connector trail that allows people to travel from the central foothills to the Rocky Canyon foothills, and trails above and below. Only your imagination is the limitation now.

The 12-mile route described here climbs Sidewinder via Owls Roost and Kestrel, and then traverses on the Fat Tire Traverse over to Trail #5, and descends the steep ridge down to Military Reserve. Take the Military Reserve connector over to Crestline and then Kestrel and Owls Roost to Camelsback to finish the ride.

You could climb from Sidewinder over to Watchman, or from Watchman over to Sidewinder. You could go from Three Bears over to Sidewinder and vice versa via Trail #6. The list goes on.

Many thanks to Fat Tire Brewing, SWIMBA and Ridge to Rivers for creating this outstanding connector trail.

-SS

Make it a lifetime project to tackle the Idaho Centennial Trail

Hi all,

Back in Idaho's Centennial Year (1990), the Lasting Legacy Committee of the Idaho Centennial Commission created the notion of developing a statewide north-to-south trail that become known as the Idaho Centennial Trail. We have Roger Williams, a retired Idaho Fish and Game biologist and avid outdoorsman, to thank for creating the vision for the trail and charting the course.

The ICT is a 900-mile route that weaves through the most scenic portions of Idaho’s wild country, from high desert canyonlands in southern Idaho to the Sawtooth Wilderness and Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness in Central Idaho to the wet mountain forests in North Idaho.

Right now, Ken and Marcia Powers are cruising the length of Idaho along the ICT, and they're more than three-quarters of the way to the finish line at the Idaho-British Columbia border. Check out their trip journal for notes and photos along the way. Their motto is "gotta walk." Love it.

When I was president of the Idaho Trails Council in the 1990s, I helped the non-profit group publish the first-ever guidebook to the ICT. Its titled Discover Idaho's Centennial Trail. The book is still available, but the best information about traveling on the ICT rests on the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation web site. Here you can trace the entire route on a detailed topo map, learn about strategic food drops, mail drops, access issues, etc.

It's a very challenging trip to do on foot because of the rugged country to pass through in the high desert along the Jarbidge and Bruneau rivers, not to mention walking through the Sawtooths and the Frank Church, and then continuing north through the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, Kelly Creek, the Stateline Trail on the Idaho-Montana line, and then the Cabinet Mountains and the Selkirks in the Panhandle. Long-distance hikers like the Powers are beginning to discover the ICT.

I have personally been on many sections of the ICT but have never done the whole thing. I plan to make it a lifetime project to not only experience the whole thing, but also take my kids on it as well.

Few states have the kind of diverse countryside and awesome scenery that we have in Idaho. The ICT is a perfect way to experience that up close and personal. - SS

Go zipping with Tamarack Canopy Zipline Tours

I've always looked at eagles flying in the sky with a bit of jealousy. Wouldn't it be awesome if we could fly like an eagle? Hang-gliders might come close, and so do para-sailors, but both of those activities carry a fair amount of risk, and the downside is really bad.

But to go flying on a zipline adventure is really close to flying, and there is really no risk at all. You stap on a climbing harness, a carabiner is clipped from your harness to the cable, and you step off the platform and zip down the cable to the next zip station, flying along at high speed several hundred feet above of the ground. It's a rush!

So I was psyched to hear that Tamarack Canopy Zipline Tours were back in business as of last weekend. They're running multiple tours Wednesday - Friday of every week until the snow flies. It'd be a great activity to enjoy this weekend or anytime.

Reservations are required. Call 208-325-1006 to reserve your spot. Groups of up to 8-10 can be accommodated. It costs $99 per person.

Kids over 80 pounds and adults up to 275 pounds are welcome. There are no age restrictions otherwise, but young kids can get scared of heights, according to Tamarack zipline operations director Randy Hall of McCall. There are two guides per group. The zip course features eight different zips, with big views of the surrounding countryside and the canyons below.

The word about Tamarack's zipline tours reopening has traveled fast. They've had 70 people taking zip tours in the last four days. Wa-hoo!

Here's a YouTube video that shows what it's all about.

Don't worry about the weather, Hall says. Some of their most exciting days have occurred when people are zipping through the fog or the clouds. If it's raining, bring a raincoat and it's no big deal.

Have fun! - SS

Sift the white sand through your toes on the Salmon River

Our private Idaho

Tommy made a monster

Elena found some tadpoles

Camping on the other side of the river from the road is ideal

Tom and Carolyn clown around

My son Drew and Elena

The beaches on the lower half of the Salmon River, upstream of Riggins or downstream from Whitebird, remind me of the Caribbean.

That's why we love to go there ... not only to float the whitewater on the Salmon River, but to camp on those enormous white sandy beaches, let the kids make sand castles at the water line, play badminton and volleyball, and about once every 15 minutes, you dive into the Salmon River to cool off, and do it all again.

If it's especially hot, set your lawn chair in the water and submerge at least half of your body to guard against the heat. The water temperature right now is absolutely purrrfect!

For this week's outdoor tip, I would recommend heading up to the Salmon River upstream of Riggins, and go camping on the beach, float the river and camp along the way, or do some combination thereof.

If you don't have your own raft or kayak, you can book a trip with Exodus in Riggins while you're up there and enjoy a bunch of super-fun whitewater Class 3-4 rapids on the Riggins day trip section. It's an awesome place for water fights and rapids that make the kids scream with delight. Half day trips start at $66/person.

Check out this video from Exodus on rafting the Riggins day trip.

If you plan to go there, remember that this is a popular destination, especially this time of year. So try to get up there early on a Thursday or Friday to nail a great campsite, or go on a Sunday when everyone is heading back home for work.

Don't forget your sunscreen and a big sun tarp that can withstand a major wind.

So why are the beaches so huge? Because the Salmon River is free flowing with no dams for 475 miles from Galena Summit north of Sun Valley to the mouth in Hells Canyon. It's a natural fully functioning river system. During high water, sediments are carried from hundreds of creeks and deposited high on the river bank. Beaches move around each year as the river dynamics always change. There aren't any big beaches left in Hells Canyon because of the high dams. But the Salmon will always be free flowing because it's a federal wild & scenic river.

How to get there: Take Idaho 55 north to New Meadows. Go north on U.S. 95 to Riggins. It's about three hours from Boise. Turn right in Riggins on the Big Salmon River road and cruise upstream to find your campsite. It's about 30 miles to the end of the road. If you have your own raft, you can nail some beautiful camps that are across the river from the road, so that will give you a distinct advantage.

Have fun! -- SS

Cool off at Loon Lake in McCall

The loop is best done counter-clockwise

Secesh River bridge; sweet singletrack along the river coming up

Flowers amid the burn

I ran into people camping with llamas last year in the meadow 1/4 mile from Loon Lake

Bear Grass in bloom next to the trail

It's going to be sizzling hot this weekend, so you've got to head for higher elevation to get cooler weather, and you need to be near cold water for cooling off. Duh. If it's 100 in Boise, the temps will be nudging 90 in McCall or Ketchum. So I'm recommending going to McCall, and doing a 10-mile (round-trip) hike or mountain bike ride to Loon Lake.

One could backpack into Loon Lake, too. There are some great campsites near the lake, but a lot of people go there, so it's not, shall we say, "secluded." Car camping at Chinook Campground, the Loon Lake trailhead, also is a beautiful spot.

Check out this video on YouTube about mountain biking the Loon Lake trail by Kevin Mullin of Boise. It's got great flow ... just like the ride itself.

Loon Lake is a major-big mountain lake. It's more than a mile across. You might see a moose or a loon. Certainly a merganser. But one thing that's really neat about Loon Lake is that the water is shallow, so it warms up nicely by this time of year, and you can swim a long ways out into the lake and really enjoy it. (I have a story about Wendy swimming naked out there -- and getting stuck out there -- when some Boy Scouts showed up, and she couldn't come back into shore for some time!) Most high mountain lakes are so fricking cold that you can't do anything more than a quick skinny dip! Wendy was out there for like 20 minutes!

There's also a plane-crash site on the west side of Loon Lake that provides information about these guys who miraculously landed a B-23 Dragon bomber in the snow in the dead of winter and survived. They hiked out, and they were 50 miles from civilization! Whoa. It's worth hiking to the wreckage site if you haven't done so already. The Forest Service has put up interpretive signs that tell the story.

Check out the wildflowers along the way to the lake. Watch for salmon in the Secesh. And hit Burgdorg Hot Springs after your trip, if you're so inclined.
-- SS