out west august '06

[Nullifier]

Well this is a driving year to the annual Outdor Retailer show in SLC, UT. It is over on Aug, 13 and after that the wife and I are free to go. We will have 2 weeks to explore. There are so many great options that we are undecided and are having troubles commiting on a plan. We have been all over UT. and AZ. We've also been along hwy 50 in Co. before across the continental divide.

This leaves out First thought as Idaho. Niether of us have been there before, and I know there are alot of nice places. As usuall 2 weeks is only long enough to wet your appetite, but it's all I got because of the long drive back.

Wyoming is another option. I have been from Medecine Bow to Green River and through flaming gorge it is beautiul there as well. We could head north up to the tetons and yellowstone I guess.

Oh man what to do? What do you guys know about Idaho? It's one of the few states I haven't been to before. any links or resource maerial suggestions would be great.

 

[sacto_patrol]

Idaho is beautiful. My family moved to Garden Valley around a year and half ago. Garden Valley is about 1 hour north of Boise. Beautiful town, with lots of ATV trails not to many trails for vehicles however. If you go further north you have the Sawtooth mountain range and even further Cour d' lane.

Attached is a photo of Garden Valley this last summer. Wonderful class III and IV rafting in Garden Valley with the middle and south fork of the Payette River.

 

[kcowyo]

Idaho is amazing! I'd highly recommend a trip to Idaho if you'll be in the area.
I'll suggest a "loose itinerary" for you based on the areas I've visited.

From SLC head north to Logan, UT on 89. Then on to Bear Lake. Logan Canyon is a beautiful drive and Bear Lake is a remote, serene area. Canoe and kayak rentals too! Montpelier, Soda Springs and Lava Hot Springs are cute western towns, not too touristy. Soda Springs and Lava Hot Springs have natural hot springs for a soak.

89 continues north into WY, towards Jackson Hole. Very touristy, but everyone should walk the square at some point. Great restaurants, pricey souvenirs. You can take the chair lift to the top of Snow King ski resort, even in the summer. Pretty cool. Take a drive through Grand Teton National Park and head over Teton Pass to Idaho Falls. A trip to Yellowstone Natl Park should be saved and savored on its own, but it can certainly be squeezed in.

Idaho Falls is a "big town", but their Museum of Idaho is one of the best in the west. Lots of Lewis and Clark history in the area too. From Idaho Falls, you could head west on 20 over to Craters of the Moon National Monuement. A super scenic drive through mountains and lava fields. It's like being on another planet. Highly recommended. From there I would not miss going north on 75 through Hailey and Sun Valley to get to the town of Stanley, set in the middle of the Sawtooth National Recreation Area. By far my favorite place in Idaho. A small, hidden mountain town on the Salmon River. The Sawtooth Mountains are really special. Good fishing in the area too.

You could head north to Salmon, ID if you have time. This area is some of the most remote in the lower 48. Or head south to I-84, back towards SLC.

Timewise, this trip could easily be done in two weeks and allow for a night or two in the same place. Others may have some different suggestions, but I have visited these places personally and would go again as soon as the opportunity presents itself. Hope this helps a little! :beer:

 

[Ursidae69]

Sounds like we need to plan an EP Meet in Idaho!

 

[sacto_patrol]

I would up for it, as I drive to Idaho 4 to 5 times a year.

Stanley is a beautiful town, my brother works at the restuarant. You could then cut over on Highway 21 and be in Garden Valley and Crouch. That takes you to Highway 55 and you could head north to Cascade and the Tamarack lodge http://www.tamarackidaho.com/.

 

[Pskhaat]

Big Sun Valley area fan here, but it doesn't seem right to be so close to Moab and not go. I've been travelling there multiple times a year since I was 15 and still have not explored all the places.

 

[VikingVince]

damn, KC, thanks for the great info on Idaho...you got me goin there the next chance I get and doing some of that itineray you posted...I agree with Chuck; we should have EP trip to Idaho...you could lead it:exclaim:

 

[Nullifier]

Man thanks for the feed back. Your outline looks really good. No major mileage to do at one time ( well except for the 2300 miles to SLC!!! LOL) I will start scowering my topo map program to see how much ohv there is. but it looks like plenty of opourtunity, especially around stanley.

If anyone wants to attend let em know.

 

[calamaridog]

If you've never been to Teton Nat. Park and Yellowstone then you must go there. Also, stop by Cody, WY. They have absolutely the best western museums there. Cody also has one of the finest rodeo's anywhere.

Aug. is the best time to visit WY, in my experience. The skeeters are dead and the weather is great.

Idaho is nice too

 

[Pskhaat]

Yeah, an EP trip would be great in ID! The eastern edge is a great place for this, from wide open valleys to the hilltops.

 

[Westy]

Clearwater Drainage

If you are near the headwaters of the N. Fork Clearwater River I highly recommend vistiting that area, awesome mountains, rivers, streams and wildlife.

I was there 2 summers ago when I spent an entire summer working in Montana and my cousin and I were fortunate enough to spend several days on the Clearwater River, more specifically Moose Creek, Cayuse Creek and Kelly Creek. If you have any interest in fishing or catching a few to eat...there isnt a better place in Idaho to catch wild trout.

We saw everything from moose to porcupines...look it up in the atlas.

the weather that time of year up there will be great too, north of Coeur D' Lane (yeah i spelled it wrong) is very nice as well.

 

[Nullifier]

Thanks for the tip. I have a friend that lives out there and I just spoke to him. He said after going through the tetons that I should head up 93 to 12 and the cut in to the selway area He also told me it is possible to do almost that whole leg offroad which sounds good.

I have a Gazateer on order for Idaho should be here next week.

 

[flywgn]

Nullifier, this is a duplicate of a post I made on another Forum, but maybe it's useful here, too.

My wife and I are avid fly-fishers and spend a lot of time in Wyoming, Idaho (where we have property), and Oregon.

I will second everything that's been suggested and add a couple more.

In Wyoming a nice dirt road connecting two paved ones is the trip along Greys River. Coming north from SLC take Route 89 at Brigham City north to Geneva (on the line with WY) and on to Salt River Pass where you connect with FSR 10072 to the east.

Follow 10072 to the top of the divide and hook up with FSR 10038 north over the divide and down into Greys River. There are numerous spots to camp, both improved and unimproved, along Greys, and if you feel like it maybe the folks at the Box Y Guest Ranch will have an open cabin. That's on the lower part of the Greys.

There is a FS station before Salt River Pass where you can get maps of the Bridger-Teton NF and there used to be a store just after the WY line that sold fishing licenses. Don't know if it's still there.

This road north connects back with 89 at Alpine, a comfortable little town with a couple of nice restaurants and a bunch of motels.

Going west from there into ID on Route 26 you can follow the Snake River down its course through Swan Valley until you choose to get off. There's the Big Lost River road (93) north out of Arco to Mackey. North of Mackey about 20 mi. is where you can connect to the Trail Creek Pass road. TCP is a marvelous climb with a 'windy' view at the top.

If you choose to stop off at Craters (and I do recommend a visit to the new Visitors' Center there) let me know as we have contacts there.

Out of Stanley, ID, take Route 21 west and just after the road joins Cape Horn Ck look for a road to the right (north) to Boundary Ck CG. I think it's FSR 198 (Bear Valley Road). Follow the signs out to Boundary Ck CG. This in the main put-in below Dagger Falls for the float trips on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River and that CG will be crowded (depending on time of year).

HOWEVER, turn upstream. There are a couple of seldom-used CGs there right on the river. If you think you might use one of these, send me a PM and I'll give you directions to a hot springs. When the FS ranger pointed them out to us they were definitely little-used hot springs and a WONDERFUL treat!

Another favorite dirt road is the Magruder Corridor that runs east-west and crosses the Selway R . You can begin this trip either from the Bitterroot R in MT or from the Red River Ranger Stn in ID.

If you really want to test your gearing and/or brakes take the Mackay Bar Road down to the Salmon R. Nearly six miles of 12.6% grade!!!

The Steens Mtn area in SE OR has already been mentioned. I will add that there are a bunch of dirt roads in SE OR that are marvelous. The Owyhee River corner has some outstanding scenery.

In UT we've enjoyed the Nine-mile Canyon route for rock art. You can connect either from the north near Myton or from the south at Wellington. Fortunately, when we were last there the mining company had not 'improved' the dirt road.

 

[Nullifier]

Wow great feed back! As soon as my gazateer for Idaho gets here I'll be able to get a more detailed view of the routes you posted.

 

[Nullifier]

Man I have been researching this trip hard core. I have learned so manythings about idaho I think I'm ready to move LOL! At this point we know we are going to run the Mugruder trail. We are looking into reserving the 2 look out stations along the route making it a 3 day adventure. I know there will be alot to see and do along there.

We are going to try and hit Craters on the route back but if we do not then hey next time. There is much to explore just along the route coming up the south east side and then in central we will be hard pressed to do that big of a loop in 2 weeks. Guess I'm going to have to crack the whip on this trip LOL.

We have a book coming oin on queitwater paddling Idaho. There are alot of neat places to paddle along the way but that book should plug in the gaps on paddling different areas. I want to take advantage and go to a few areas reguarding the Oregon trail and corps of discovery route while in southern Idaho. I fugure a week in that region. Then a week around the magruger corridor.

Will if you have this directions/GPS point on those springs that would be great. I want to plug them into my mapping program to get them worked into the route plan.

What is fun about this trip for me is the planning. I usually just say hey lets go to utah and we go. I now understand why you guys put so much into this part of a trip. I have a guys form the N.W. cruisers sending me a book on old mining camps in Idaho I can't wait to read some of the history there.

Anyway thanks for all the help so far.