Chased by the frost – Final stretch

Road 159 follows a creek drainage through still green forest before climbing up and over a saddle exposing the remnants of yet another past fire. John takes the lead on a series of forest road switchbacks that drop elevation quickly before depositing us at the Prairie airstrip.

I recall this spot when it was still vibrant forest … now burned and the trees cleared it will be a hot and arid landscape until the forest regrows and decides to reclaim its place.

We pass through the tiny community of Prairie following Blacks Creek Road as our final egress for the day.

Passing by the impressive South Fork Boise River Canyon. This geographic feature alone is worth the short drive out of town to view.  It appears as if the landscape just breaks into two with a river running hundreds of feet below.

A few miles down the road with the sun now in our visors … we look back to find our final view of the day … the sun illuminating the river and surrounding landscape.

A bit over 200 miles for the day and still spared of any pending rainfall. This was a great ride to end the season knowing that Winter is close to setting in with its frigid grip.

Until next season!

April Extreme – Following the Pioneers

There are many paths through the Ring of Life. They are a constant movement toward self-fulfillment through growth of your mind.”

– Frosty Wooldridge, Golden, Colorado

With a mild Spring and the urge to ride becoming more persistent, my friend John E sent out a txt …. “weather looks good, we should ride Immigrant Rd and Prairie“.  The route we had in mind was attempted about a month prior, but rains helped to maintain the roads in a slimy muddy condition that forced a postponement. However with sun in our forecast … this weekend we shall not be denied!

The first part of our days route will actually be following a section of the old Oregon Trail otherwise known today as the Oregon Trail Back Country Byway. As the Oregon Trail extended northwest from the Snake River plain, it followed along the foothills of the Danskin Mountains on what we know today as Foothills Rd passing through old stage stops and Mayfield pointing towards Boise.

TrailStart

While our equipment is not quite as primitive as from the day …. the remoteness of the route still reflects the solitude that must have been felt along this section of trail.

oregontrail

Fueled up I point the DRZ towards John E’s house. The air is cool and perfect allowing the Z to properly atomize the on board fuel translating into flawless forward propulsion. I connect with John E and we head onto another staging point where we meet up with another friend of Johns … Mike who will also be joining us on this loop. John E and Mike typically ride mid week taking advantage of less congested roads, but they make an exception this weekend to accommodate my 9-5 schedule. We’ll refer to Mike as Honda Mike in this write up due to the 650 XR that Mike was saddled up on this day!

John E and the Mighty 690!

IMG_6798

We start our journey down Hubbard Lane …. a snake like country road that consists of nice flow. John E and Honda Mike, both being on 600 plus cc fire breathers wick up the pace leaving my mortal 400 to play catch up!

After Hubbard we point our fenders east along Kuna/Mora Rd with Backs Creek positioned right along the tip of our visors.

More flow-

IMG_6801

IMG_6803

John E and Honda Mike stop to let their beasts take a breather. They’ve been twisting it hard enough on the last stretch that we need to let some of the atomized air molecules catch up! … We reconnect along the Blacks Creek turnoff. At this point we are officially on the byway beginning as Slater Flat Rd, Foothills Rd, eventually connecting with Immigrant Rd.

Fresh knobbies were indeed harmed in the making of this ride!

IMG_6804

Redneck target practice-

IMG_6805

Mileage for this day is a little bit unknown. My DRZ will reliably get 160-175 miles out of my Clarke 3.6. I can extend another 50 miles with my Rotopax that is carried on my rear rack, and about another 20-25 miles from a couple of fuel bottles carried over my tank in my OBR ADV Gear Fuel Bottle Wraps.  A 250 mile range should be good for today.

IMG_6806

Foothills Rd flows smooth and fast over dragons backs and around hidden curves. The surface consists of hard dry pack with sections of loose gravel (that can turn to impassable mud if it is raining). Attention is a must if one is to avoid overshooting a turn.

IMG_6807

Foothills Green with prehistoric stone-

IMG_6809

Big Sky- John E and Honda Mike

IMG_6810

Over yonder-

IMG_6811

The Byway-

IMG_6812

Foothills Rd continues it’s south easterly path skirting the sage brush edge and the transition up into the Danskin Mountains first passing by the old ruins of Mayfield.

Old Homestead-

IMG_6815

Creek side-

IMG_6819

First point of interest would be Inscription Rock. Travelers of the Oregon Tail would lay over in the immediate draw. When boredom would win over few would write their initials on the rock using wagon grease.

Pioneer graffito-

IMG_6820

IMG_6822

Moving on-

IMG_6824

Dust monkeys-

IMG_6825

Foothills Rd eventually bumps into Rd 167 (seen extending up into the hills in this shot) which climbs up towards Danskin Peak Lookout and connects to a few trailheads.

IMG_6826

Over the horizon-

IMG_6828

Yonder getting closer-

IMG_6829

Speeds naturally pick up through this section spreading out the group a bit, which is good as it allows a few moments for the drifting dust to clear out.

As the road continues its meandering path we crest over a rise only to quickly drop into a little creek side oasis known as Canyon Creek. This was another known lay over point for wary trail travelers with an actual stage stop being built sometime around the latter 1800’s.

IMG_6831

IMG_6830

IMG_6832

Just past Canyon Creek the road splits and we jump onto Immigrant Rd to the east.

IMG_6833

Over the pass-

IMG_6834

The valley from which we came-

IMG_6837

Over the hill to Hwy 20, our next stop-

IMG_6838

Once on Hwy 20, we make a 5-6 mile run to Prairie Rd otherwise known as Cow Creek Rd. Cow Creek Rd is subject to winter closures, but with our recent stretch of good weather it should be open.

Bennett Mountain-

IMG_6839

IMG_6840

IMG_6841

Cow Creek is a nice transition road that eventually drops you down into the South Fork of the Boise River, but not before displaying still green mountain tops with a contrast of snow.

IMG_6845

Cow Creek Bridge-

IMG_6846

We point our bikes north and run along the river for a few miles before Rd 131 starts it’s ascent away from the waters edge and out of the canyon.

This stretch of the South Fork of the Boise below the Anderson Ranch Dam is a very popular stretch if you are keen on fly fishing. It is for the most part a catch and release section with monster trout if your so lucky to hook into one.

IMG_6847

That’s a view-

IMG_6849

IMG_6848

IMG_6853

Out of the canyon, we are now running over the Prairie Plateau.

IMG_6854

Next stop Y Stop-

IMG_6857

Our next planned rally point is to be the Y Stop, a local store/cafe’. From there we will grab some lunch and seek out local intel on snow conditions and whether or not we might be able to make it over Long Gulch to the Middle Fork.

Reports or in our favor …

IMG_6859

Long Gulch runs about 20 miles to the North out of Prairie. The road winds over a couple of passes (hence the snow intel) and through a few valleys. There is a mixture of open range land and recovering timber corridors from past fires. This particular stretch of road is really nice in the Fall once the Aspen trees change color.

-Re-group

IMG_6862

-Pressing on through one of those valleys

IMG_6864

-Honda Mike

IMG_6865

-John E

IMG_6866

Honda Mike takes point as John E and I leap frog each other on our way to the Middle Fork ….

IMG_6867

-John E stunting it up across the Long Gulch/Middle Fork Bridge

IMG_6868

From here we continue our run west towards Arrowrock Reservoir passing by  what ends up being the hords of lake sheep clustered together like cattle at a feed trough. BLM patrols … Boats and Jet Ski’s racing in every which direction as a simple reminder of why we enjoy dual sporting like we do … to escape such chaos!

IMG_6869

The day is running long. We make Hwy 21 and promptly point our rides towards Boise. My mileage registers approx. 170 miles … I make note of this as my bike sputters to a stop before I can activate my reserve. No worries though … my 1 gal Rotopax sits in reserve on my rear rack.

-Top side of Arrowrock

IMG_6870

-Bottom side image from a previous ride

DSC_0004

…. and so comes the time at the conclusion of each ride where we split off on our own separate ways until the next ride!

 

4x Snow Day …

“People do not seem to realize that their opinion of the world is also a confession of their character.”

                                                                       – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Back on a cold and snowy November day … for some reason, which eludes me, I thought it to be a good idea to grab the fly rod and see if I could make the traverse over Long Gulch from the Prairie side over to the Middle Fork of the Boise River. Mother nature had been giving us a bit of a smack down early in our season with most of our ski areas already in operating status. The possibility of snow was recognized and like the saying “Don’t touch a hot stove” … one must go!

With coffee in hand I made my way out via Blacks Creek Road … the weather had actually warmed the last few days, so clear roads were mildly anticipated …

I suspect that a thousand years from now Archeologists will be trying to piece together the story of why we waged war against road signage!

IMG_6549

Immediately upon Blacks Creek Road the surface evolved from wet to slush … like I said “mildly anticipated”

IMG_6551

… and then to fresh tracks!

IMG_6553

… there is a peace that comes over you as you start to break trail… the quiet calm that occurs when tires run over fresh snow. There were a set of tracks before me, but still plenty that I am able to make my own.

-“Fronty” glamour shot with the Owyhee foothills in the distance

IMG_6556

-Across the valley

IMG_6558

Over three Point Mountain and the snow gets deeper …

IMG_6564

Blacks Creek Road is one of our popular summer dual sport through routes as it provides back road access all the way through to Ketchum or Hwy 21 and Stanley.

-Anyone want to ride … not today!

IMG_6566

Further on down the road passes Willow Creek, another popular trailhead accessing the Danskin trail system and Fiddler Flat.

Look Ma, no bullet holes!

IMG_6567

-Back on top

IMG_6574

Obligatory view of the Arrowrock headwaters …

IMG_6579

-Inclement

IMG_6580

-Contrast

IMG_6577

IMG_6583

-Neil Bridge

IMG_6586

-South Fork Boise Canyon

 

IMG_6588

-Eat Mor Chikin’

IMG_6592

-A single evergreen clinging to the edge

IMG_6594

The South Fork Boise River Canyon is an approx.  14 mile long basalt crevice that is commonly regarded for world class fly fishing and whitewater rafting.

“The 101-mile-long (163 km)[2] South Fork rises in northern Camas County in the Smoky Mountains and Soldier Mountains of the Sawtooth National Forest north of Fairfield, 65 miles (105 km) east of Boise. It flows generally southwest, descending through a basalt canyon to fill the Anderson Ranch Reservoir, then turns northwest in central Elmore County. It joins the main stream as the southern arm of Arrowrock Reservoir, 20 miles (32 km) east of Boise”  (Wikipedia)

IMG_6597

With this shot of the canyon in my rearview … I roll the direction of the Prairie Plateau and turn up Long Gulch. Not long after turning onto Long Gulch I reach the end of the maintained road and again start breaking trail up towards the Lava Mountain turnoff.

IMG_6601

This is the point where I start to question my plan of pushing forward. The road is untracked and actually quite fun, but with 20 miles of snow covered road that also includes a few small valleys to pass through … and the small fact that I am alone … it seems prudent to backtrack.

The closest fishable water from here being Neil Bridge … back we go.

IMG_6602

Back at Neil Bridge and just below the snow line … I spend the next hour or so swinging some flies. It has been quite awhile since I wet a line, so the fact that no fish were stirring was of no consequence … it felt good just to be outside, in the snow, the rain, with the only sound being the water passing by ….

IMG_6603

 

Mayfield-Danskin Peak-Anderson Ranch #6

As I continue along the Oregon Trail Byway, I drop into a small agricultural valley to find yet another historical point of interest …. Canyon Creek Station.

IMG_5915

http://www.idahoheritage.org/assets/popups/sw/sw_canyoncreek.html

Efforts are currently underway to stabilize the remains of this stage stop after fire destroyed most of the station back in the 70’s ….

Immediately on the opposite side of Canyon Creek I pick up Immigrant Road …

IMG_5916

Immigrant Road continues east across the desert, north of Mountain Home, and south of the Danskin Mountains ….

As I proceed along Immigrant Road I stop to adjust my OBR ADV Gear 38l Adventure Saddlebag … while doing so I see a dust plume, which would be hard to not to be explained as a middle eastern dust storm … over the rise reveals the source as a southern Idaho ranch truck … and trailer. Not wanting to find myself behind this dust generator… I hastily complete my adjustment, fire up the Z, and maintain my lead in front of  the ranch truck!

Not all flat desert… there are a few ups and downs…

IMG_5919

After a few miles… Immigrant Road makes it’s connection with Hwy 20. By connecting with Immigrant Road I have shortened my pavement connector to Cow Creek to approx. 4 miles ….

IMG_5920

Cow Creek Road connects Hwy 20 to Rd 113 that runs along the South Fork of the Boise … a very popular section amongst fly fishermen.

Cow Creek Road

IMG_5921

IMG_5922

I suppose this is how this stretch got it’s name?… do cows appreciate the view?… I named this one double w/ cheese!

IMG_5923

Cow Creek winds along before dropping down into the river canyon making the connection to Rd 113 via the Cow Creek Bridge ….

IMG_5924

Now a decision has to be made …. left through Prairie and the shortest route back to the truck …. or right along Anderson Ranch to Fall Creek, then up towards the Trinities?

Which way do I go? …. to be continued (luggage by OBR ADV Gear)