South Fork Payette River "Canyon" section is a must-do trip to cool off from the heat in August

Blackadar Rapids (courtesy Cascade Raft & Kayak)

Lone Pine Rapids! (courtesy Cascade Raft & Kayak)

Kayaker doing otter start below Big Falls (courtesy Payette River Co.)

Hi all,

Well, it's been stinkin' hot in the Boise Valley with temps in the high 90s or around 100, so we have to find ways to cool off. Last week, I recommended heading into high mountains of the Sawtooth Range to explore high mountain lakes and climb peaks.

This week, I'm recommending a raft trip on the "Canyon" section of the South Fork of the Payette River.  As I noted in my guidebook, Paddling the Payette, the South Fork Canyon "is the most challenging Class 4 section in the Payette River Basin. Get ready for an action-packed adventure." It's a total hoot!



Thanks for the cool vid Mica!
Idaho Whitewater Unlimited puts it this way: "This is the biggest, baddest river section we have to offer. Not intended for scared-ee cats, this segment of the South Fork will immerse you in the wild action of Gateway, Blackadar, Lone Pine, Little Falls and Surprise Rapids, to name a few. View the power of Big Falls (a 35-foot drop and mandatory portage) and soak up the warmth of Pine Flats Hot Springs ...."

Cascade Raft and Kayak: "Get wet and wild as you plummet 13 miles down one of the West's most magnificent river corridors. The steep drops, towering canyon walls and clear water make this the legendary crown jewel of continuous Class 4 rapids."

The low-water run in Little Falls (courtesy Payette River Co.)

I've always felt that the South Fork Canyon section is the highest quality day trip in the state of Idaho because of the solitude, hot springs, non-stop whitewater action, wildlife (seen mink, black bear and deer in the canyon), and the whole experience of doing the portage around Big Falls. After the day is over, you feel like you've had so much fun, the only way to top it off is to plan a big BBQ with your floating buddies, sip favorite beverages and swap stories about the day.

Now is a great time to float the South Fork canyon because:
1. There's still plenty of water to do so, but river flows will decrease as the month progresses, so the sooner the better. The canyon was running more than 1,200 cfs as of today, combining South Fork flows (690 cfs) with releases from Deadwood Dam (600 cfs).
2. It's hot, and the guaranteed cold waters of the South Fork, coming directly out of the Sawtooth Wilderness and the Deadwood River, will keep you plenty cool during the float trip.
3. It's a ton of fun with a great group of friends, family or work-mates. Paddle boat crews must work as a team to negotiate the rapids successfully.

People with their own raft may know about the South Fork Canyon, but a surprising number of private boaters haven't gone there before. The best thing is to go with someone who knows the lines in the many rapids in the 12-mile canyon and has the extra-long rope for portaging boats around the falls. Private boaters with catarafts should have enough helpers to carry the heavy crafts around the falls. Light-weight 14-foot paddle rafts are ideal. It's also a great trip for advanced kayakers.

If you don't have your own boat, you can book a trip with one of four outfitters who run the South Fork Canyon. All of these companies know their stuff and have excellent guides. Generally it costs about $100 for a canyon trip, including a hearty lunch. Check with the outfitters on any group rates or special deals.

The outfitters are Cascade Raft and Kayak, Bear Valley River Company, Idaho Whitewater Unlimited and the Payette River Company. Because of the challenging whitewater, kids need to be 12 or over to participate.

If you try the "Canyon" reach on your own, remember that the rapids are "pushy" - flips, pins and swims are always possible, and you should be ready to deal with any kind of mishap. I remember losing my entire paddle crew from the sheer jolt of crashing through Blackadar Rapids, and I barely caught the chicken line (rope around the outside edge of a raft) with one hand on the way out, held onto my paddle with the other hand, climbed quickly back into the boat, and pulled everyone in as fast as I could before we came to the next drop immediately around the next bend. Safety kayakers are really helpful to rescue any swimmers along the way.

The South Fork Canyon chapter in Paddling the Payette has a mile-by-mile description of the trip and a detailed map. You can buy the paddling trip for 99 cents on my web site. Laminated maps cost $2.95 each.

If you can't make time for a full-day canyon run, and you are thirsting for some high adventure, think about doing the Lower South Fork and Main Payette as an alternative. All of the outfitters mentioned above do this trip as well.

Have fun and stay cool!

Also ... in case you haven't heard about Idaho's new mountain bike license plate, check out this segment on the Green Room about the cool plate. Geoff Baker and I talk about the plate's benefits for our multi-use trails in Idaho. The segment aired last Monday on The River, 94.9 FM.
- SS

It's prime time to head into the Sawtooth Mountains for a hiking or backpacking adventure

Fishhook Creek with the Sawtooths in the background. (Courtesy Matt Leidecker)

Everly Peak in the background, Lake 8696 (Courtesy Matt Leidecker) 

Sawtooth Lake (Courtesy Matt Leidecker)

Hi all,

Several weeks of hot weather has melted most of the snow in the high country, so it's a perfect time to go day hiking or backpacking in the mountains of Idaho.

Here's the audio from Steve's appearance on 94.9 FM The River Friday, July 27, discussing this blog. 

This week I'm going to focus on the Sawtooth Mountains, Idaho's crown jewel. The inspiration for this week's blog comes from Matt Leidecker, a native Idahoan from the Wood River Valley who has created a new guide to the Sawtooths titled "Exploring the Sawtooths - A Comprehensive Guide."
The 144-page full-color spiral-bound guide is hot off the press. It retails for $33.

Leidecker broke into the guidebook business with a full-color guide to the Middle Fork of the Salmon River several years ago. His guide was very well-received. Being a licensed river guide, he could speak with authority about negotiating the Middle Fork's many rapids at various river flows, and provide lots of other helpful information.

I was kind of surprised when Leidecker mentioned that he's been working on a guide to the Sawtooths because that area has been covered quite extensively by other authors. Margaret Fuller published her 5th edition of "Trails of the Sawtooth and White Cloud Mountains" in 2011. Scott Merchant published "The Day Hiker's Guide to Stanley, Idaho" in 2009. There also are rock-climbing guides to the Sawtooths and valuable online sources such as summitpost.org, which has excellent information about climbing peaks in the Sawtooths. 

In the summer of 2011, Leidecker decided that he would try to produce the most comprehensive guide yet published on Idaho's most spectacular mountain range. He and his wife, Christine, spent the summer base-camping out of a motor home with their two young children, aged 2 and 4, and set out to the hike all of the trails in the Sawtooths and climb many of the peaks. They logged 751 miles on the trail, and spent 55 days hiking, backpacking and mountain biking, logging a total of 157,000 vertical feet of climbing and descending. Whew!

The Leidecker Family 

"On the off days, we shared the Sawtooths with our children, playing on the lakeshore beaches, exploring the trails in the foothills, and camping with family and friends. Needless to say, it was an incredible experience," he says.


What's different about Leidecker's guides is that they are in full color inside and out, which makes them more expensive. Among guidebook publishers (I am one of them), the rule of thumb has been that there is a magical price point of $20.00, and you need to stay below that. To do so, the inside pages must be black and white to keep costs down. Leidecker decided that he'd rather produce a book in color and see if the market follows him. At $33, he is really pushing the envelope with his Sawtooth guide from a price perspective, but the well-heeled Sun Valley market is the most likely place where people will pay that kind of money for a guidebook.

Leidecker's guide contains some nifty regional maps for all corners of the Sawtooth Mountains to show the big picture, and then it provides detailed color maps, color photos and written descriptions for all of the key trail and destinations. There are notes about mountain biking in the Sawtooths, but most of the Sawtooths are designated as wilderness (meaning no bikes allowed), and Leidecker notes that mountain biking in the range is very rocky and not as biker-friendly as many other venues.

A colorful guide to wildflowers in the Sawtooths is a nifty component to the book. I've always carried a separate wildflower guide on my mountain adventures, so that's cool to have the wildflower guide incorporated into the guidebook.

I asked Leidecker, after all the research, where are the "hidden gems" in the Sawtooths that no one knows about? As we all know, the mountains are very well traveled and probably the single most popular summertime backcountry destination in the state. He paused for a moment, and then said "If you go deep into the wilderness, you won't see as many people." The trails in the Atlanta side of the Sawtooths, for example, are the least-traveled because it's a long drive to reach the trailheads in that area. I certainly would agree.

I remember backpacking from Little Queens River to Browns Lake one time, and it was fabulous. We didn't see another human for 3 days. I caught some nice fish in Browns Lake with my fly rod. Leidecker's guide notes that this hike is 9.2 miles one-way, it features 3,220 vertical feet of climbing, and it's rated "hard." I agree with that as well.

How about the best trips for kids? Alpine Lake, accessed from the Iron Creek Trailhead near Stanley, is a great trail for kids. I took my kids on a day hike to Alpine Lake last year over Labor Day weekend. We saw an amazing number of families with young kids backpacking into Alpine Lake. I was impressed.

My boys on the hike to Alpine Lake 

It's about 4 miles one-way to Alpine Lake, with 1,173 vertical feet of climbing, and it's rated easy. Sawtooth Lake is just another mile or so up the trail (and 600 more feet of climbing) but there aren't hardly any places to camp there. It's a gorgeous location, though, to be sure! 

If you'd like to day hike to a peak in the Sawtooths, Leidecker's guide has all of the details for you to choose from. I also found a great list easy scrambles to Sawtooth mountain peaks on summit post. The #1 suggestion is Observation Peak, which has utterly spellbinding views from the summit, and it's the only peak in the Sawtooths with a trail to the top. That peak is 8.1 miles from Stanley Lake, with 2,664 vertical feet of climbing, and it's rated moderate. It's a great introduction to climbing peaks in the Sawtooths and getting a taste of what you'll see up there -- a veritable sea of spires and peaks for as far as the eye can see.

No matter how many books and maps you have on the Sawtooths, you'll have to check out Leidecker's guide and compare. Here's a web site where you can pre-order an autographed copy of the guide for just another 5 days. After that, the guide will be available in outdoor stores and book shops in Boise in a week or two. You also could buy it online on Leidecker's book site.

Before you go ... listen to these words from Liese Dean, the Forest Service wilderness manager for the Sawtooths, whom Leidecker quoted in his guide: 

"During your trip you will find that the Sawtooth Wilderness gets into your soul. What you don’t see is as important as what you do see. Climb a peak and you can sense that you are the first. Look up to the sky and see the stars as you’ve never seen them. Know that you’re alive with a dip in one of the hundreds of icy clear lakes. And when you return to everyday life, remember that the Sawtooth Wilderness remains a place where you can find yourself in a way that is not possible anywhere else.

"I have a responsibility to ensure that the Sawtooth Wilderness lasts forever. This responsibility
is not mine alone. With the freedom of wilderness travel also comes responsibility - to care for and to protect the land, the water and the wildlife. As you embark on your visit please take time to think about the fact that the choices you make on your wilderness trip can have far-reaching consequences. With Federal protection, careful management and responsible use, the Sawtooth Wilderness will remain an enduring resource to be enjoyed by all generations."


If you go to the Sawtooths this weekend, be sure to take in the Sawtooth Music Festival!

Here's the audio from Steve's appearance on 94.9 FM The River Friday, July 27, discussing this blog.


Have fun!
- SS

Finding Paradise on the famed Salmon River, the "River of No Return" in Central Idaho

The Salmon River cuts a mile-deep canyon across Central Idaho ... it's BIG COUNTRY! 

Hi all, 

I had the privilege of floating the Idaho's famed Salmon River (aka River of No Return) last week, and it turned out to be a perfect time to float the river in terms of river flows and great weather. Combine that with great people, delicious gourmet meals and the best campsites on the river, and geez, how can life get any better than that? 

Craig Bachman, a friend and antitrust lawyer in Boise, had drawn the permit, and Craig invited an all-star crew of Bachman peeps, friends, musicians and 5 dogs. We had a total blast.

The 85-mile-long Main Salmon River of No Return section is considered one of the top venues in North America for a week-long wilderness whitewater vacation. There are three others that I love to do as well -- the Middle Fork of the Salmon, the Grand Canyon of the Colorado and the Selway. Hells Canyon and the Lower Salmon are great multiday trips as well, but they're typically done over a long weekend. 

The Main Salmon is arguably the best family wilderness whitewater vacation in America because it isn't as difficult to navigate as the Middle Fork, the Grand Canyon or the Selway, so it feels safer for kids, seniors and others who may not know how to swim very well. It's also an excellent river trip for beginning kayakers, novice inflatable kayakers and novice rafters -- large pools follow rapids, making it easy to recover swimmers. Follow an experienced boater down the river, and you'll learn a ton. 

My son Drew enjoyed the river and caught a fish

Being on a more mellow river trip also reduces the stress meter. The Salmon is bordered by beautiful, spacious campsites where you can hang out and relax, swim, or play volleyball, bocce ball and horseshoes. The sweet river flows we had for our trip allowed us to float just a couple of hours during the day, and then relax and hang out in camp, go for a hike, take a nap, whatever.

There are a couple of new rapids on the Main Salmon that created some excitement because I hadn't run them before. Alder Creek is the first one to come up, just a few miles from the put-in, but at higher water, it was washed out and not an issue. Black Creek is the more significant new rapid. On Day 2, we paddled up to what used to be Salmon Falls, a Class 3+ rapid, and that's gone now, buried by a deep pool. A short ways downstream, you hear the roar of Black Creek Rapids. A horizon line  provides a hint that it's a steep drop. We scouted left, and at our water level, we could run it either on the left or right; there was a large hole in the middle. Two of our kayakers got knocked over by strong lateral waves and swam the left route. But there's a big pool below for an easy rescue. 

Paul, Rachel and Mike in Barth Hot Springs 

Below the rapids, Barth Hot Springs awaits for a soothing soak. The water was quite hot on the day we visited -- we guessed it was 105-106 degrees. 

Day 3 is always fun on the Main Salmon because it's a whitewater day ... we ran Bailey (big wave train on the right), Five Mile Rapids (stay left to avoid huge holes on the right), Big Mallard (always run left) and Elkhorn (watch out for big rock or hole in the middle of the wave train). And we topped it off with landing at Ground Hog Bar, one of my favorite campsites of all time. Ground Hog has a sweet swimming beach next to a sandy, shallow water landing. We set up the volleyball net in that shallow area, making for a nice, cool game on a 95-degree day. 

In-water volleyball court at Ground Hog Bar  

Volleyball action ... we never lost the ball! 

Lawrence and Rico kept us entertained in camp

The top of Ground Hog Bar has a shady "kitchen" area and tons of choice tent sites, also in the shade. Plus, there's room for a horseshoe pit and bocce ball court. 

Sylvan Hart aka Buckskin Bill 

On Day 4, we floated to Buckskin Bill's place on Five Mile Bar, and my son Drew was thrilled to learn that he could get a chocolate ice cream bar there. He didn't know that would be an option on a wilderness river.  Buckskin Bill's also has a small museum with many pictures of Sylvan Hart, a mountain man who lived on the Salmon River for many years beginning in the 1930s. He made knives and deer skin clothes, built custom rifles and and battled with the U.S. government over various issues. Drew and I climbed up into a little fortress that Buckskin Bill built into the mountainside, including a turret where he could hide and protect himself from unwelcome intruders. 

Buckskin Bill's fortress

The River of No Return is steeped with history. Be sure to bring the book of the same name with you on the float trip to learn all the great stories that Cort Conley and Johnny Carrey put together in the highly entertaining book. You can learn who were the first people to float the Salmon River, you'll see Pine Creek Rapids, the spot where Lewis & Clark turned back and took an overland route via Lolo Pass, Jim Moore's Place near Campbell's Ferry, an historic site with old cabins still standing, and much more. 

On Day 5 and Day 6, the Salmon River slows down as the gradient decreases and long flat-water sections can be difficult to push through in big headwinds. Luckily, at our water level, we just cruised through the flatwater with ease and practically no wind. That's just lucky. Having slogged through "Lake Salmon," as it's fondly referred to, in low water many times, I kicked back and smiled as we glided through the canyon. We did a little fishing at the mouth of large streams like Warren Creek and Mann Creek and had some success. Way to go Drew! 

On the last day of the trip, I felt a tinge of melancholy, knowing that our magic carpet ride was about to end ... but we had some excitement as well, knowing that Chittam Rapids, a well-respected drop in high water, stood between us and the takeout at the Carey Creek boat ramp. We took a moment to scout it, and there was plenty of room on the right side to avoid some holes in the middle. Vinegar Creek Rapids had some big splashy waves down the gut, and even Carey Falls had some punch, especially for the kayakers. 

It always feels like a river trip ends too soon, especially one as sweet as this one was. But there's always next year~! 

A few notes: 

• Logistics - Put-in is at Corn Creek, northwest of Salmon, Idaho, and the takeout is at the Vinegar Creek or Carey Creek boat ramp, east of Riggins. 
• Hire a guide or do it yourself? If you don't have your own whitewater rafting/kayaking equipment, maybe you have friends who can take you on the river. If not, you can hire an outfitter to enjoy a vacation on the Main Salmon. Go to www.ioga.org for information on outfitters who run the Main Salmon. 
• Shuttle - One of the biggest costs of doing the Main Salmon is shuttling your vehicle from the put-in to the takeout. You can do a vehicle shuttle for $350-$400 per vehicle; hire a jet boat to carry your group and river gear from the takeout to Corn Creek (price varies); or hire a bus and trailer to drive your group and river gear to the put-in, and pick you up after the trip is over. For our group of 17, it was most cost-effective to hire a bus. We used Caldwell Transportation, and it worked out great. 
• Trip timing - When the summer gets hot, it's a perfect time to float the Salmon River. July and August are a great time to go. Trips in June may encounter high water and sometimes the weather can be iffy in June. In May, same drill as June. A late-season trip in September can be really nice, with more moderate temperatures in the 70s and 80s, and stable weather. In October and November, it's steelhead season on the Salmon River. Try doing that sometime. 
• Getting a permit - For do-it-yourselfers, you need a permit to float the Main Salmon. That's because it's very popular, it's in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness area, and only 8 launches are allowed per day. To get a permit, go to recreation.gov and apply for one next year. Permit applications are due by the end of January. You'll be notified if you got a permit or didn't get one in late February. If you hire an outfitter, no permit is necessary. Last-minute cancelations can be picked up on recreation.gov as well. 

There you have it! Have fun! 

- SS

Don't miss several must-see paddling, mountain biking events coming up in the next 10 days

National Cross-Country Mountain Biking Championships at Sun Valley (courtesy USA Cycling)

Hi all,

For this week's outdoor tip, I'm highlighting several must-see events coming up in the next 10 days, and suggesting some side trip activities that you can enjoy as well.

On Thursday night, June 28, the new Boise River Whitewater Park will be dedicated from 5-7 p.m., with a few speeches and paddling demonstrations. In this video from KTVB-TV Channel 7, you can watch Emily Dickerson from Idaho River Sports kayak on the main play wave.




Idaho River Sports will be having a paddler's-only raffle for all participants who register and then show up with their boats and SUPs to paddle at the event. No purchase is necessary. IRS is hosting a reception after the dedication is over. There will be free food and Payette Brewing will be serving beer. It's supposed to be a warm evening. Should be a perfect spot to hang out with some of your paddling friends.

The new wave-shaper gizmo that the Boise Parks & Recreation Department had installed in the Boise River is just the first phase of the whitewater park. A second phase for flatwater paddlers will involve tying together Quinn's Pond with two other ponds located nearby as part of the new Esther Simplot Park. That will allow people to peacefully canoe or kayak in the ponds and waterways and paddle a full circuit between the ponds. Given how popular Quinn's Pond has become, when they tie together the other ponds, it will become even more popular, and it will create an extensive stillwater paddling experience for canoeing and flatwater enthusiasts that doesn't really exist anywhere in the valley today.
I'm looking forward to that.

Next weekend, Kelly's Whitewater Park in Cascade will host the Ford USACK National Championship, which is a kayak freestyle event. The preliminary heats run on Saturday, July 7, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Sunday, July 8 from 10 a.m. to noon for the championships. The nation's best freestyle paddlers will be there. It should be quite a hoot to watch them do cartwheels, spins and flips in the middle of a frothing play wave. It's easy to watch because there's a new pathway along the Payette River called The Strand. At 5 p.m. on July 7, Muzzie and Billy Braun will play a free concert, and that will be followed by fireworks. That all sounds like heaps of fun.

If you'd like to get some exercise while you're hanging out in Cascade, check out some of these hiking and biking destinations, including Eagle's Nest Loop, an advanced 13-mile mountain bike ride or the Crown Point Trail, a 6-mile out-and-back beautiful trail along Lake Cascade (great for families and kids). You can go biking and swimming on the same trip. I've heard that the Boise National Forest has built a new trail in the Stolle Meadows area, near Warm Lake, but I have yet to hike it or ride it. Check with the Cascade Ranger District for more details, 382-7400.

If you're more inclined toward mountain biking than paddle sports, the National Mountain Bike Cross-Country Championships will be held July 5-8 in Sun Valley. The Sun Valley Chamber of Commerce puts on a number of recreational rides for us average joe's leading up to the event as part of Ride Sun Valley, and that's a great way to try out some new trails that you may have not experienced before in the Wood River Valley. Check out the whole schedule ... things start happening on Saturday, June 30, and continue through the following week.

In case you haven't heard, you could compete for the Sun Valley All Mountain crown between Saturday and Tuesday, by winning the Galena Grinder xc race, the Super Duper Downhill at Bald Mountain, and the Fat Tire Criterium. Whew! Whoever wins that one is a real stud!

Here's one date to remember ... July 28th is the date for the 4 Summit Challenge in Cascade, a bike race and recreational ride from Cascade to Landmark and back. The ride features approximately 7,500 vertical feet of climbing and descending over 75 miles. Need an incentive to train? There you have it! There's also a family fun ride (less than 10 miles).


Have fun! I'm heading out on the Main Salmon for a week of vacation. You'll hear all about it after I get back.
-- SS

10 reasons to head for McCall this weekend - hiking, biking, boating, beaching, hanging out

The good ship "Idaho," the new tour boat provided by Payette Lake Cruises. (Courtesy Ellen Ganz)

Bike racing at Jug Mountain Ranch. (Courtesy JMR)

Hi all,

I'm heading for McCall this weekend, and you should too!

In this week's outdoor tip, I'll give you at least 10 reasons to visit McCall. I'll start with Reason #1 -- Beat the Heat! When it hits 90 degrees in Boise, I automatically think about migrating to the lush, shady forests of McCall, where the wildflowers are beginning to bloom, and it will be at least 15 degrees cooler than it is in Boise.

Here's Reason #2: Payette Lake Cruises, a brand new tour boat service in McCall just started operation this year. The cruise service has a 65-foot, two-level tour boat named "Idaho" with daily tours of the lake at 1:30 and 3:30 p.m., a Sunday brunch tour, private dinner tours and more. Daily 90-minute tours cost $20 for adults and $12 for kids. The Sunday brunch tour includes food for $39 for adults. Sounds like a lot of fun! Not everyone has their own power boat or sail boat to cruise around on Payette Lake.

Reason #3: The Wild Rockies series moves to Jug Mountain Ranch in Lake Fork this weekend. It's the 5th annual Jug Mountain Ranch cross-country race and Super D. The cross-country course is 12 miles long on mostly singletrack with a few two-track sections. That's on Saturday. It's a national qualifying event. The downhill is on Sunday. Plus, there's a trail-running event on Saturday. I've been riding a lot at Jug the last few years. The riding out there keeps getting better as Jug Mountain Ranch, CIMBA and others enhance the trail system by building new xc trails and freeride trails. See the Wild Rockies web site for details about the race this weekend. 

Mountain biking in McCall is totally fab!  

Reason #4: I just reprinted and updated my guide Mountain Biking in McCall with new singletrack at Jug Mountain Ranch, the latest routes and map for Bear Basin Trails, a new meadow loop at Tamarack Resort, and other important updates to reflect logging impacts on trails or washouts (Teapot Mountain Loop in the South Fork Salmon River area is now an out-and-back ride). Some good bets for mountain biking this weekend include Bear Basin (can't go wrong), Tamarack meadow loop (great for all abilities), North Valley Rail-Trail (easy), and Loon Lake (advanced).  All of the local outdoor stores are stocked up on my guidebook, including Gravity Sports, Hometown Sports, McCall Drug, May Hardware, Shore Lodge gift shop, Paul's, Ridley's, the McCall gift shop and Ponderosa State Park. 

Morel mushroom

Reason #5: It's still possible to hunt for tasty morel mushrooms in the forests around McCall. I would look for them above 6,000 feet elevation. Make sure you know how to identify morels. 


Reason #6: Reilly Coyote will be playing Saturday night at the Salmon River Brewery, a very popular hangout in McCall with great food on Colorado Street. 


Reason #7: The snow is melting fast, but according to the McCall Ranger District, the snow level is hovering at approximately 6,700 feet elevation. That means the forest road to Lick Creek Summit is snow-bound at the summit, but you may be able to reach lower elevation trails. Some good bets for hiking would include the Huckleberry Trail at Ponderosa State Park, 20-Mile Trail near Upper Payette Lake, Bear Basin Trails and the North Valley Rail-Trail. 


Reason #8: It'd be a sweet weekend to paddle the Meanders on the north end of Payette Lake with your sweetheart. Start and finish at North Beach. If you have your own canoe, inflatable kayak or sit-on-top kayak, any of those crafts would work great for the Meanders. It's about 3-4 miles out and back. There also are rental boats available in McCall at North Beach, at The Hub, and Gravity Sports. The trip is featured in my guidebook "Paddling the Payette." 


Reason #9: It's always a good time to lounge on the beach in McCall. Bring your lawn chairs, some beverages and find some beach space to hang out on the south end of the lake (two public beaches), the north end by North Beach, or dispersed sites on the east side of the lake. 


Reason #10: All of the local golf courses are open and ready for play. The McCall city course is really fun and challenging to play ... it has 3 different nines. You also could play Meadow Creek in New Meadows, Osprey Meadows at Tamarack (closed temporarily until June 30), Whitetail by Shore Lodge or Jug Mountain Ranch. 


Hopefully this gives you a few ideas. I didn't even mention road biking to Secesh Summit,  circumnavigating Payette Lake on your bike (some dirt involved on the east side road) or soaking in the wonderful pool at Burgdorf. I could go on and on. 


If you don't have a place to stay in McCall, try to snag a hotel room, or check with InIdaho.com or vrbo.com for a condo or rental home. You can always pitch a tent in the national forest nearby, too! 


Don't forget your bug juice. The mosquitoes will be a factor ... at least in the evenings. 
Have fun! 
-- SS
Steve shares his weekly outdoor tips with Ken and Tim on 94.9 FM The River each Friday morning in Boise at approximately 7:10 a.m. You can hear archived audio segments on River Interactive.com. Detailed descriptions and color maps of Steve's hikes, bike rides and paddling trips are available for 99 cents each at www.stevestuebner.com, plus the full ebooks and hard-copy guidebooks.

Weiser River Trail Bike Ride; North Fork kayak races; SWIMBA 20th anniversary event ... lots of fun things to do this weekend

Fun underpass section of the Weiser River Trail, north of Council 

There are numerous planked bridges along the Weiser River Trail.

Here's Steve on the Weiser River Trail south of Cambridge ... the upper end is mostly forested. But the southern part is worth riding as well ... plenty of open space along the Weiser River away from U.S. 95. 

Hi all,

This is one of those weekends where you may wish that you could be in two places at once, or even three ... because there are a number of fun events going on, and you'll have to choose which ones work best for you.

There's still time to sign up for the sixth annual Weiser River Trail Bike Ride on Saturday, June 9. This is a fund-raiser of sorts for the Weiser River Trail -- the longest rail-trail in Idaho -- and it's a great cause to support. Plus, you can have fun riding 28 miles mostly downhill on the upper end of the Weiser River Trail!

I've ridden the Weiser River Trail multiple times over the years. It runs for 84 miles from Rubicon, a few miles west of New Meadows, to the city of Weiser, along the Weiser River. The surface is compacted gravel for most of the route. The upper end is the most scenic and fun, in my opinion. After you pass by the Evergreen sawmill, the trail winds along the upper Weiser River canyon, and you can really crank up the speed through here, with the aid of gravity. You'll pass by occasional meadows and ranches in a forested setting.

The tour stops for lunch near a WRT trailhead by Starkey Hot Springs. You will have traveled 18 miles by this point, and have 10 miles to finish. Once the downhill section ends, the final push to Council is mostly flat through a tranquil valley away from U.S. 95 most of the way.

The event starts at 9 a.m. Saturday in Council, where you can register, pay fees, get a T-shirt and board a shuttle vehicle to the start of the tour. Volunteers with Friends of the Weiser River Trail will take good care of you. The bike ride costs $35 for members, and $45 for non-members. Be sure to join the Friends of the Weiser River Trail and support this wonderful trail!

You can register at this online link, or for more information, contact Ride Coordinator Ed Allen at edgart@frontiernet.net or call 208-630-4836. Be sure to dress warm if you go ... it might be quite chilly on Saturday morning at the top end of the trail.

Another can't-miss event this weekend is the North Fork Championship on Friday evening and Saturday on the world-class North Fork of the Payette River. On Friday evening, starting at 5 p.m., a ton of expert paddlers will race downriver from Otter's Slide Rapids to Banks, a distance of about three miles, in an all-out downriver sprint. The top five finishers will join 30 pre-selected elite paddlers who will compete in a slalom course on Class 5+ Jacob's Ladder and Golf Course rapids beginning at noon on Saturday.

Jacob's Ladder is the gnarliest and steepest rapid among the many Class 5 drops on the famed North Fork. Jake's flows into Golf Course, named so for its many "holes" (recirculating frothing reversal features). Racers will have to maneuver around four gates on the course through Jake's and Golf Course. There will be time penalties for hitting the gates or missing them. Ultimately, the winner will be crowned "King of the North Fork," along with a cash prize.

Map of the mighty North Fork and its many Class 5 rapids  from my book "Paddling the Payette"

I'm planning on going up to watch both events. It will be a total rush to watch the downriver race on Friday evening, and see local paddlers like Jim Grossman, Jared Alexander, Tyler Allyn, Will Parham, Joe Carberry and many others vie for those five spots to compete on Saturday. On the "Lower 5," the paddlers will negotiate Otter's Slide, Juicer and Crunch, all Class 5 drops. The North Fork is running around 2,000 cubic feet per second, which will be plenty of water for the competition.

Beyond the paddling competition, there will be lots of fun stuff going on in Crouch in terms of food and drink. Check out these videos to get a sense of the kind of rapids these guys will be running.

On Sunday, the Southwest Idaho Mountain Biking Association (SWIMBA) will be turning 20 years old. Wow! Some of you may not realize that I was the founding president of SWIMBA, so this anniversary is especially meaningful to me.

We formed SWIMBA in 1992 to protect our access to trails, maintain trails in Hulls Gulch (this was before Ridge to Rivers existed), build new trails and work on mountain bike manners and etiquette. The group has thrived over the years, and gotten stronger through the Fat Tire Festival and significant funds generated through that event. My proudest moment was working on the Boise Foothills Open Space Campaign and winning 60 percent of the vote, securing $10 million to preserve open space, build new trails and bring some existing trails into public ownership.

Anyway, there is a group costume ride Sunday morning at 11 a.m. Need a costume idea? Well, what were you wearing 20 years ago on a mountain bike ride? There's a bike and gear swap from noon to 5 p.m. in Hyde Park by Joyride Cycles, and there will be beers and burgers happening at Harry's.  Sounds like a blast to me!

If you're hungry for more bike events, the Boise Bicycle Project is sponsoring Pedal 4 the People June 9-23. See the event calendar for details. There's a whole bunch of cool stuff planned.

- SS

New version of Mountain Biking in Boise aims to please with new rides for everyone

Ride the Memorial Bench on the Mahalo Trail 

Roberto, Mark and Jim take a breather at Eagleson Summit

Zooming down Hard Guy is too much fun 

Summit of Stueby's Death March

Hi all,

Ah, mountain biking in Boise, is a wonderful thing, isn't it? I've been riding in the Boise Foothills for more than 25 years -- to date myself just a little -- and I always find it invigorating. Between the top of Shafer Butte, Stack Rock and the Boise River, we've got over 200 miles of trails to explore. We are truly blessed.

Mountain biking is one of my favorite things to do because each ride has so many benefits -- fresh air, blue sky thinking, fitness, socializing with friends, running the dog, etc. With more than a dozen trailheads to choose from between the Eagle Cycle Park and Harris Ranch at the edge of the foothills, we can hit the trails just minutes from home and go exploring. 

I rode one of my favorite loops today - I call it the "Sidewinder-Fat Tire Connector-Trail #5 Loop. This 11-mile ride became doable when Ridge to Rivers built the Fat Tire Connector Trail in 2010, a trail connects Sidewinder with the Trail #5-Trail #6 ridge to the east. That trail opens up a lot of new opportunities that didn't exist before. And it was built with Fat Tire Festival beer money. How about that! Here's some video.

You start at Camelsback Park, ride up to Crestline via Kestrel, climb Crestline to Sidewinder and take that to the top, and then cruise over to Trail #5 via the Fat Tire Connector. From there, it's a fun zoom down the ridge to Military Reserve, and then back to Camelsback via the Military Reserve connector.

A cool variation on that loop, adding another 600 vertical feet of climbing, is to climb go left and climb Trail #5 from the Fat Tire Connector to Trail #6, climb some more to the Trail #4 junction, and then take Trail #4 back to Sidewinder. This ride is a pleasant variation to what I call "Stueby's Death March" in my guidebook, Mountain Biking in Boise. It's much more pleasant because the old route involved climbing Trail #5 up the backbone of a steep ridge through deep sand. Fat Tire Connector allows you to avoid that nasty climb, and still reach the upper part of Trail #5.

My friends Glenn Oakley, Mark Lisk and I used to do Stueby's Death March all the time. Glenn compared it to Bataan Death March, which is probably where the ride got its name. We dreaded the climb especially in the heat of July, but the ride always told me what kind of shape I was in, and it felt like a great accomplishment later. Now I do the same ride frequently except I go up there via Sidewinder and Fat Tire Traverse.

This variation on Stueby's Death March is one of 65 rides in my latest version of Mountain Biking in Boise. This brand new 6th edition is hot off the press. The 184-page book contains all of the favorite rides in t12he Boise Foothills such as Watchman and Far Tire Traverse, all of the popular rides near Bogus Basin such as Freddy's Stack Rock Trail, Mahalo, and Eastside, a number of rides out at Avimor and in the Eagle Foothills, and much more.

My guidebook complements the Ridge to Rivers maps by providing mileage, distance, travel time, and many, many variations on typical mountain bike loops.

Here are several other rides from the book that you'll enjoy:

• Deer Point Trail - Mahalo - Boise Ridge Road Loop. Distance: 12.6 miles. Travel time: 2.5-3 hours. 2,590 feet of vertical gain/loss. Difficulty: Advanced. Strong intermediate riders should be able to complete the ride by taking plenty of rest stops, as needed. Drive to the Bogus Basin parking lot. Ride Deer Point Trail #91 to the Sidewinder saddle. Turn right and ride over to Deer Point and a gate by the Boise Ridge Road. Go left on the ridge road and cruise downhill to Forest Road #275C on the left. Go left, go over the gate, and watch for the beginning of Mahalo Trail on your right. Mahalo is a fun singletrack built by SWIMBA in coordination with the Boise National Forest. The trail is all singletrack, winding through the forest for about 4 miles in some tight switchbacks, roots, rocks and various obstacles, plus some smooth and fast trail. Once at the ridge road, turn right and head back to Bogus and ride Deer Point downhill to the parking lot. One variation that strong riders do is finish this ride by going down the Dry Creek Trail after completing the Mahalo Loop. 
• Chris' favorite lunch ride. Distance: 9.1 miles. Advanced. Travel time: 1 to 1.5 hours. This one was contributed by Chris Haunold, owner of Idaho Mountain Touring. If he's got a little over an hour, this is the ride he likes to do to get a good workout in the footies. From Camelsback Park, he rides up Red Fox and Chickadee Ridge Trails to Hulls Gulch, then he climbs Hulls to the Crestline junction, takes Crestline downhill to Sidewinder, and climbs to Sidewinder Summit, and takes Trail #4 back down to Crestline, and takes Red Cliffs and Owls Roost back to Camelsback. That's a good, quick workout with 1,277 vertical feet of climbing and descent.
• Do you feel like king of the mountain? Are you feeling strong and eager for a challenge? Try Tom Patek's 3-hour Tour. This is more like a full-day ride for me. 26.8 miles. 6,843 feet of climbing/descent. Start at Camelsback. Ride Red Fox and Hulls uphill to the motorcycle parking lot. Climb Corral's Backwards. Climb Scott's Trail to 8th Street. Take 8th Street to Eagleson Summit. Go downhill to the Dry Creek turnoff, and ride Dry Creek downhill toward Bogus Basin Road. At the Dry Creek junction with Hard Guy, climb over to Hard Guy, descend to the Corrals Trail, and ride to Corrals Summit, and downhill over to motorcycle parking lot and downhill on Hulls back to Camelsback. I swear, anyone who can clock that ride in 3 hours is super-human. 
• How about something a little easier? Try Leo Hennessy's Howling Coyote Ride from Quail Ridge to Polecat Gulch. Distance: 11 miles. Travel time: 1.5 hours. 2,050 feet of climbing/descent. Strong intermediate to advanced. From Hill Road, climb to the top of the Quail Ridge subdivision, go to the water tank, climb over the step-over, and take the ridge north over to Polecat Gulch trails. Drop over to Quick Draw, climb to the Polecat Ridge, and climb the Polecat Loop trail to Doe Ridge. Descend Polecat Loop trail to the Polecat Gulch area, and then climb back to the ride leading to Quail Ridge to finish the ride. 
• Here's a fun intermediate ride - Jumpin' Jeepers Figure 8 Loop. Distance: 6.75 miles. 1+ hours travel time. Start/Finish in Military Reserve Park. Climb the Toll Road Trail to Central Ridge to Shane's Junction. Climb to Shane's Summit and complete Shane's Loop. Take Bucktail downhill back to Military Reservoir Park. This is a super fun descent on Bucktail. Finish along Freestone Creek or Central Ridge trail back to the trailhead. I call it Jumpin' Jeepers because of the potential of getting spooked from gunfire at the police firing range when you're on Bucktail or descending to Freestone Creek. But it's a fun and fast ride.

Well, there's a little bit of sneak peek at the new book. You'll still see Ian Fitzgerald of Eagle flying through the air at the Eagle Cycle Park on the book cover.

The rides in Mountain Biking in Boise  (detailed descriptions and trip maps) also are available for 99 cents at stevestuebner.com and the entire book is available in full color as an ebook. The hard-copy guidebook retails for $14.95. 

In my experience, a lot of people ride the same trails over and over again. But diversity is the spice of life, right? With 65 rides, there are enough ideas in Mountain Biking in Boise to keep you busy for several years. 

Have fun! 

- SS