Boise

[pmg]

Similar to dognduck's post below, but different. My cousin has moved on from Olkahoma St to the Northwest League, so I"m planning a trip up to watch him play in August. (Sure beats the Stillwater/Lubbock/College STation venues.)

I'm looking for hiking/car camping suggestions. Not the big Yellowstone/Teton NPs but just places to camp and hike. Ideally far from crowds, but I know that's hard to do this time of year. pantone's mention of Mt Borah is intrguing, as I'm always in the mood to bag a highpoint.

 

[Macanudo]

IdaHorn2 is from up around there. Hopefully he'll be along shortly to chime in.

 

[pantone159]

Some info on Borah, fyi, from my research: (I haven't been there.)

To get there, drive north on US 93 from Arco, about 21 miles past Mackay. Between mile markers 129 and 130, turn right (east) onto a gravel road, suitable for passenger cars, and drive 3.1 miles to the campsite area at around 7450 feet. There are a handful of campsites, which are supposedly pretty nice. No water.

From here, the summit is a mere 3.5 miles or so along the trail. Before that sounds easy... in that distance, you ascend one vertical mile, and have some occasional Class 3 climbing. This is STEEP! The trail, which heads east, starts out at a reasonable grade, then starts to ascend very steeply through the trees. (This part is supposedly a pain to descend.) After coming past tree line, the trail moderates for a bit, then gets really steep again as it ascends a knife edge ridge. At about 11,300 feet, you come to 'Chicken-out Ridge' where the Class 3 stuff starts. After reaching a keyhole-like notch, ascend the rock directly. Although a number of hikers turn back here, hence the name, supposedly the climbing is not difficult, and the holds are very good, although it is exposed. It is supposed to look harder from a distance than it actually is. Supposedly, there are 'use trails' that show the way to bypass most of the difficulties on the ridge. A little later, a climb up a short gulley leads to a short downclimb to a narrow saddle. This downclimb is also Class 3 and supposedly a little awkward, with the holds hard to see, but again the rock is supposedly very solid and the holds are large. The saddle is often covered with snow, which makes it treacherous, but in August, especially this year which supposedly has had very low snow, there probably won't be any. The route then curves left (north), and the trail heads towards the summit. The trail, which is a bit to the left (west) of the ridge, has a lot of scree and the footing is not so good, an alternative is to ascend the ridge directly, which is steeper but the rock is solid. Personal preference, I guess. Descend the way you came. Typical round trip time 7-12 hours. Usual thunderstorm hazards apply, start early, most people seem to start around 4:30 to 6 am, we'll probably aim at the early end of that, maybe even around 4 am, so headlamps are useful.

This hike does sound pretty popular, on a weekend for sure I'd expect to see a lot of people. It sounds like the scenery around here is cool looking, very folded layers of rock, with different colors. There was a 7.3 earthquake here around 1983.

I can provide more info, links to trip reports, etc., if anybody is interested.

 

[Idahorn2]

I know some fishing spots and several places to take raft trips. Backpacking; not so much. The last time I did this it was 12 or so years ago. We went to the Big Creek Lodge NNE of Yellow Pine. From thereabouts we hiked down Big Creek and did some fishing and camped out, then hiked back out. My knees are no longer up for such things.

Big Idahornski knows this sort of thing better than I, and there are all sorts of guide books--our Big Creek trip was based on a guide by Margaret Fuller who has several.

 

[TheBigIdahornski]

The Sawtooth Mountains are some of my favorite in the world and yes I’m comparing this to my hiking experience in Switzerland as well as the US. It’s worth the drive up to Stanley/Redfish Lake just to see them. However, you’re likely to run into crowds this time of year. Your best bet for remote car camping and hiking combination is to venture into the Boise National Forest near the areas that border the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness (the Frank). The Frank, the largest wilderness in the lower 48, is composed of several National Forests boundaries, but sounds like you’ll be closest to the Boise section. Get a forest service map. Some of the forest service roads are well maintain this time of year and 4WD is not necessary. Find campsites that are very near the Frank and use them as base. Then you can do day hikes into the Frank. I believe there is a National Forest Service trail map that is downloadable. If not, stop at any ranger station and pick up the maps you want.

Campsite notes: Most developed sites only have toilets. You’ll need to bring your own water. Also, check fire restrictions. If you don’t camp at a developed campsite with a fire ring then you’ll need a firepan. One fire restriction that Idahorn2 and I ran into recently on a proposed river trip included banning charcoal, so Dutch ovens and grilling were out. We had to plan meals based on propane stoves instead.

 

[pmg]

THanks! That sounds doable, idahornski.
I actually prefer car camping sites with no water, as that tends to keep out the casual folks. I've done similar camp/hiking in the Weminuche in Colorado.
Hope it cools off a bit before i get there.
Before I get to a map, do you happen to know what kind of elevations there are? I always look for the highest ones I can find.

 

[pantone159]

Has anybody been to Craters of the Moon NM? Is it worth a visit?

 

[TheBigIdahornski]

pmg,
I’m looking at a map right now and I’m seeing topo lines around 6000 for camping and around 8500 for hiking. Also, another note about getting maps at ranger stations-they are now closed on weekends. That makes no sense to me since more people stop at ranger stations on the weekends. It’s our government and they’re here to help. You might try to order maps online before you go.

Pantone159,
Craters is an interesting day trip if you are near by. I would avoid Craters in July and August at all costs. I made the mistake of visiting Craters in August. It was so hot, I thought I was back in Texas. There is almost zero shade and the lava rocks are hot. I thought the tires on my truck were going to melt. Having said all that, it’s still a neat place to visit for an afternoon. There’s a long cave (lava tunnel) you can hike from one end to the other. You can hike up to the top of a cinder cone. The portion of the park you access by car is really quite small compare to the entire “crater” area. Back country permits are available if you’re interested in that sort of thing. Overall, it’s an interesting afternoon stop, but not worth a special trip.

 

[pmg]

well,because of the vagaries of the Boise Hawks schedule, I have to make a straight shot up to Boise starting tomorrow then come right back to Colorado for a week. Not sure if I'll make it to Sawtooth or not, but thanks guys for the suggestions.

 

[pmg]

Why didn't you guys tell me this was Sturgis week??