Griffis Family Outdoors

2/5-6/2012: Hells Gate State Park, ID

2012-02-06T22:02:00.000-08:00

Wyatt, Sabrina, Colter, Zane and Laurel headed up to Lewiston Sunday afternoon after church. I had to pick up Jen's mom, sister and niece at the airport Monday and thought this might be a good chance to see someplace close we haven't been to before.

The state park lies just south of the city limits, a wilderness park it is not. Houses sprawl south from Clarkston on the opposite side of the Snake and the sound of passing cars is consistent. We pitched our tent in Loop A (the rest were closed for the season) and shared the campground with only a few other folks in either motor homes or campers. The sites were spacious and shaded by a few trees and the river was close at hand. I suspect it could get hot there during a L-C Valley summer.

We began our visit by stopping at the Jack O'Connor museum. It memorializes the famous Outdoor Life editor and contains a number of his trophy mounts, including one of his North American sheep grand slams. The kids had a great time looking at the mounts and watching the video. It is certainly worth a visit if at the park.

The rest of the evening was spent around a campfire with the kids running around the virtually empty campground. We settled down around 8:00 and read Jack O'Connor hunting stories until the kids fell asleep. I managed to cram all seven of us into a Black Diamond Megalite tarp.

Monday dawned to a crisp 23 degrees with a nice coating of frost and frozen water bottles. We warmed up by the fire and cooked sausage and eggs for breakfast.

We stopped by the visitor center on our way out and enjoyed the Lewis and Clark displays. We sat through the brief movie before heading on to the airport.

Overall, we enjoyed the park. I don't suspect it will rank high on our list of spots to return to, but there certainly are a few interesting things to see. We did not have a chance to check out the trail system, but it does look relatively well developed.

1/29/12: Fish Creek Meadows, ID

2012-02-06T21:33:00.000-08:00

Several of the kids and I headed up to Fish Creek with my dad for a quick 2+ miles out on the trails. We had a great time, staying out until past dark.

1/27-28/12: Fish Creek Meadows, ID

2012-01-28T09:48:00.000-08:00

I arrived at the trailhead around 9:00, after having put the kids to bed. The temperature was in the low 20's and the remnants of a crescent moon was setting. I turned on my headlamp and skied a little over two miles to get to the Fish Creek Cabin, a small warming hut on the cross country ski loop. I built a fire in the stove, threw out my sleeping bag and turned in.

The horizon began to brighten a little after 6:00 and I got the woodstove going again. I ate a Cliff Bar for breakfast and enjoyed the view of the sunrise over the Gospels.

A little after 7:00 I had packed my gear and began to kick and glide the rest of the loop. The moderate temperature (16 degress) and packed powder made for perfect skiing conditions. I finished the loop in solitude, having enjoyed a great trip.

1/21/12: Fish Creek Meadows, ID

2012-01-22T17:24:00.000-08:00

Jen (only two days away from her due date), Sabrina, Laurel and I headed up to Fish Creek for some skiing and snowshoeing. The temperature was a pleasant 30 degrees and a light snow fell as we made our way around the loop before heading back home.

1/15/12: Tolo Lake, ID

2012-01-21T14:33:00.000-08:00

Monique and I headed out to the lake Sunday afternoon for a short hike and to fish a bit.

1/8/11: Klopton Creek Trail, Hells Canyon NRA, ID

2012-01-09T08:29:00.000-08:00

I slipped away for the afternoon to explore the Klopton Trail down in Hells Canyon. It isn't a long trail (5 miles), but the logistics really lay in how to get back to my truck when I was done. I didn't have time to head back down due to the short winter afternoon and my late start. I instead dropped off my mountain bike at the top where it exits out on Deer Creek Rd as I figured I could blast the 3,000 ft back down into the canyon a lot quicker on the bike than I could on foot.

It was 1:00 by the time I made it to the trailhead. I was a little concerned as sunset was to occur just a little after 4:00. The trail started by skirting an area of grassland as it headed into the canyon of Klopton Creek. I soon arrived next to Klopton Creek, which was flowing well. The trail intermittently paralleled the creek along the margin, or plunged right in through the riparian tangle. There were a few spots where tread became difficult to spot, but it was usually easy to regain the trail.

Close to 1 1/2 miles in the topo showed the trail climbing steeply up the left slope. Indeed, when I arrived at this spot a found a trail deeply etched by the hooves of deer and elk. I climbed steeply up the trail, often on all fours, only to later realize that a good trail bypasses this route staying next to the creek. The brief diversion did give me some great views of the canyon.

The flora shifted to montaine woodland with some beautiful virgin timber at the point where Klopton Creek and its North Fork meet. From that point on to the top I passed alternating between meadow and ponderosa. I then crested the small pass I packed a bear down this last spring and headed down to where my bike was waiting.

I arrived at the bike, ate a couple of cliff bars and blasted down into the canyon. I had debated whether to take some gloves, but for whatever reason in the end I didn't. Unfortunately my mistake meant that I was to have absolutely no sensation in my hands for the trip down. On my way out I passed numerous herds of mostly mule deer does with some occasional bucks mixed in. I would guess that they numbered around 100. I arrived back at the truck around 4:30, having seen no one.

12/26-27/11: Green Creek Point Ridge, ID

2011-12-27T21:24:00.000-08:00

My parents were in town and it had been a while since the last time he was able to camp with the kids. We decided to hi some low elevation forest and see if we could find any grouse wandering around.

We drove up the Lightning Creek road to an abandoned forest road. The seven of us walked about a mile on the old road before we set up camp.

We put up the tents under a canopy of relatively young ponderosa. The early sunset (around 4:00) didn't seem to bother the kids as they spent most of the evening running around in the woods playing hide and go seek and "exploring". We turned in a little after eight.

Morning brought just a slight dusting of snow, a far cry from the 2-4 inches forecasted. We fixed pancakes and spent a little bit tramping through the forest to try and flush some grouse. Around 11:00 we headed back to the car. According to Wyatt, "This was my favorite camping trip all year".

12/18-19/2011: Hungry Ridge, ID

2011-12-19T23:45:00.000-08:00

With only a few days left of bow season I hoped to get out overnight to hunt hard and get a late season buck. I was surreptitiously packing when my middle son figured out my secret and pressed me to come along. Very quickly my oldest son also decided to come along as well. I tried to talk them out of it, describing the cold and snow and that I was going to tarp it. In the end I lowered my odds of getting a deer, but increased the odds of a good time.

Wyatt, Colter and I left as quickly as I could pack after church. A very mild and snowless winter made the trip to our destination easy, only about six inches of snow lay on the ground at 4,400 ft. We parked the truck and shouldered our packs as flurries fell intermittently.

We only walked in about 3/4 of a mile before setting up the tarp under a large Douglas fir. The thick canopy of the tree had kept the ground beneath it free of snow and the needles helped to insulate us from the cold. We then found a spot to sit and wait for deer to begin to move. The boys managed for a little more than an hour before the cold began to make their fidgeting more than either I or they could bare. With sunset upon us (before 4:00 in the afternoon) we made our way back to camp.

The boys built us a fire while I fixed dinner. In the inky blackness of 5:00 in the afternoon I had the boys guess the time. One though 8:30 and the other 9:00. We spent the next four hours by the fire before retiring to our sleeping bags.

Monday morning dawned clear and cold. The boys decided that it would be a lot more fun to warm up by a fire than to sit over a cold game trail with the bows. We warmed up, ate breakfast and as the sun crested the trees we made our way back to the truck.

The highlight of the trip for the boys was getting to walk on the ice beneath the culvert back at the trailhead. The three of us spelunked our way through it before firing up the truck and heading home.

12/5/11: Unit 15 Archery

2011-12-05T21:51:00.000-08:00

I spent a very cold morning on a late season archery hunt. Came across quite a few whitetail, but none in range. It was cold enough for condensation from my gloves to freeze to my bow. Had a great time.

11/26/11: Cutting out Christmas Tree

2011-11-27T20:02:00.000-08:00

Saturday morning the eight of us along with my parents loaded up and headed up into the forest in search of the perfect Christmas tree. While we maybe didn't find the perfect one, it was at least a little less "Charlie Brownish" than the last few years.

11/20-21/11: Upper Pittsburg Landing

2011-11-21T22:19:00.000-08:00

Jen took Sabrina for a mom-daughter overnighter in honor of her eighth birthday. Rather than keep the other five at home I decided we should head down to the Snake for an overnighter. We arrived at dusk and and I threw together the tent while the kids worked on getting a fire going. We read by the fire before retiring into the tent.

We awoke early in the morning to a temperature of 30 degrees, much warmer than we had expected. We had cinnamon rolls for breakfast and spent the rest of the morning fishing and playing by the river before heading home. It was a quick trip, but any night outside sure beats one with a roof over your head.

11/7/11: Service Flats, ID

2011-11-07T21:12:00.000-08:00

Spent a cold morning hunting Service Flats. Beautiful solitude.

10/30-31/11: Earthquake Basin, ID

2011-11-02T20:50:00.000-07:00

Colter and I headed up into Earthquake Basin for one more attempt at an elk before the end of the season. We took off after church on Sunday and headed up into the basin from the McAllister Picnic Area. The trail showed signs of some recent heavy horse traffic. We made good time up into the basin and found a sheltered spot with access to water to set up the tent.

We got camp set up and then proceeded up to a ridge where we glassed without success until night fall. We headed back to camp and spent time around a fire until rain forced us into the tent.

Monday morning we were up before sunrise and glassed another ridge until the sun came up. We then explored around the basin for a few hours before heading back home. We had a good time and did not see another soul.

10/22/11- Red River, ID

2011-10-28T20:43:00.000-07:00

Jen, the kids and I headed up to the old Red River Ranger Station and Katherine Pond Saturday for some fishing and fall colors. We had a great time enjoying the cool air and exploring some new areas.

10/12-15/11: Tenmile Creek, ID

2011-10-17T20:56:00.000-07:00

My long awaited hunting trip into the Gospels began in an inauspicious manner. Nathan, Adam, my dad and I were to leave for the backcountry Tuesday night and walk in under headlamp. I instead was forced to delay our trip until the following morning while I spent Tuesday night looking for my hunting license.

Wednesday morning we left at 4:00, picking up Adam and Nathan en route to the trailhead. We arrived under the cover of darkness, shouldered our packs, lit our headlamps and began tramping up the trail. The vegetation was drenched from rains the evening before and that water quickly transferred to us as we walked the 4.75 miles to our camp. We were encouraged by several sets of elk tracks in the trail.

Around 9:00 we set up camp along the creek. Adam had to go back to the trailhead, so the rest of us sat around making plans for the afternoon's hunt. We settled on a trip up to Tenmile Meadows for the evening. We walked the 2.5 miles up to the meadows where we encountered ample sign through the swamp to the north of the meadows. We sat on the meadows until dark, but saw nothing.

Thursday morning we split up and hunted within a few miles of camp. Nathan and Adam encountered a few does, but otherwise we were skunked for the morning. By noon we had all filtered back into camp where we ate a good lunch and planned our second assault on the meadows.

The four of us hiked back out to the meadows and split into two groups, with the plan of one group hunting the north meadow and one the south. We once again encountered tons of what appeared to be fresh sign as we waded through the swamp to access the meadows. We remained silent in our vigil as calling the previous evening had failed to produce results. We watched as low, moisture laden clouds crept down from the snowy high country towards us. We failed to see game for a second evening and ran into rain as we slogged our way back to camp through the dark.

Friday morning was cool and cloudy. The rain had stopped, but the vegetation was once again dripping. We split up again and this time I decided to push up into the high country with the intention of hitting the snow line and trying to do some tracking. Four inches of snow covered the ridge and numerous sets of deer, elk, moose, wolf and bear tracks crossed my route. My approach wasn't exactly stealthy as I crawled over, under and around the endless stacks of blow down on the ridge. I made it back into camp around 1:00, tired and saturated.

Friday evening Adam and I paired up to try and call in some elk, but were not able to get anything to answer us. we did however encounter some bear scrapes on a tree taller than Adam could reach. If we had been further east I might have thought they were made by grizzly. Rain returned and lasted through most of the night.

Saturday morning the rain had stopped but left a waterlogged woodland in its place. We seperated again and hunted within a few miles of camp. Around 9:00 the rain returned and we all drifted back to camp. We tore down camp and headed back to the truck. Tauntingly, a set of fresh elk tracks paralleled our walk down the trail.

10/1/11: Long Gulch, ID

2011-10-01T19:56:00.000-07:00

Drove down along the Salmon for some fishing with a buddy and the kids. We fished hard for about three hours. I was determined to not get completely skunked when a lone bluegill hit a fly for me. Not much of a haul, but we had a great time.

9/25/11: Cutthroat Fishing along Newsome Creek

2011-09-24T21:35:00.000-07:00

I took the boys up along Newsome Creek today for some fishing. We managed to catch quite a few fish including a few decent sized cutthroat. Our wildlife for the day included cutthroat, juvenile chinook salmon, juvenile steelhead, Pacific lamprey, terrestrial garter snakes (including the largest specimen I've seen), Belted kingfisher and Idaho gaint salamanders. We even managed to cut a little wood on the trip as well.

9/17/11: Scouting for Elk

2011-09-24T21:17:00.000-07:00

My buddy Adam and three of his kids joined with my six for a scouting trip for elk. We managed to find some sign, but amazingly the nine kids with us must have scared off any game. We had a great time and were able to lay eyes on the area we're planning on hunting here in a few weeks.

9/9-10/11: Mill Creek, ID

2011-09-15T21:54:00.000-07:00

Wyatt, Colter and I headed up the Grangeville-Salmon Road Friday evening for an overnight bow hunt. I had decided we would hunt along the upper reaches of Mill Creek on Hungry Ridge. We arrived at dusk and parked the truck. The mountains were dry and warm from a late summer heat wave. We walked down Camp Creek, forded Mill Creek and tossed out our sleeping bags in a small clearing. We built a small fire and sat around it talking before falling asleep.

Morning brought clear skies. We rolled out of our sleeping bags, ate a hurried breakfast and began slowly moving down stream, eyes and ears open for prey (we carried tags for deer, elk, wolf and cougar).

We came across an old cabin in a meadow near Corral Creek. I later found out that this was an old cow camp, probably built back in the 20's according to an old rancher in the area. The boys had fun exploring the remains.

We spooked a group of grouse. The boys had a blast stalking them through the undergrowth, though in the end we only harvested one.

As the day wore on it became quite warm. Breezes would bring smoke scented air from the fires in the area.

We left the creek and proceeded to climb steeply up Black George Creek. The boys did a great job persevering despite the very rough, trailless terrain.

Indian Pipe

Paintbrush

We hit Hungry Ridge Road where I had fully intended to hitch a ride back to our truck. Unfortunately we never saw another soul the whole trip and thus completed the eight mile loop in solitude. We had a great time even though our only quarry was a lone grouse.

9/3-4/2011: Twin Lakes, ID

2011-09-15T21:18:00.000-07:00

Our annual labor day trip led us into a different part of the Gospel Hump Wilderness than we had previously explored. We drove out to Square Mountain and headed east and then north into the Twin Lakes. I had heard from people that the tread was easy and the fishing was good.

Our route dropped steeply down from Square mountain and met up with an old wagon road that once led from Moore's Station to the Buffalo Hump mining area. We enjoyed cloudless skies as we walked through the lodgepole forest. We next turned north and as we approached the lakes we began to drop steeply down.

The first task we had was to pull out the rods and catch some dinner. We caught several rainbow trout which we cooked for dinner and supplemented with some soup.The rest of our evening was spent around the campfire reading more of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. We enjoyed laying out under the stars until finally drifting off to sleep.

Cooking up some of our fish

Upper Twin Lake

Morning brought us cool temperatures in the mid 30's. Our bags were a little damp from the dew. We built a fire to warm up and as we did a group of grouse wandered through camp. Jen requested that I not shoot them, I instead chucked a few rocks and we had grouse for breakfast.

We cleaned up, hung up sleeping bags to dry and the kids and I headed back down to the lower lake for some more fishing where we again caught several rainbows. With our bellies full we released our quarry before heading back to the campsite to finish packing up

Lower Twin Lake

We turned our eyes back to the trailhead and began the climb up out of the lake basin. On our way we ran into several of our friends out on horseback. We arrived back at the car around 5:00. We had walked about 7.4 miles round trip.

A small fire burning out over Bear Grass Ridge

We stopped on our way out on the Square Mountain Road and filled up our water containers with wonderfully ripe huckleberries. Some friends from town saw our van and stopped to pick with us for a while. We picked the berries until dark and then headed on home.

8/19-20/11: Slate Lake, ID

2011-09-12T22:17:00.000-07:00

The kids and I got out of town for a quick overnighter into the Gospels Friday night. I picked them up from the house as soon as I got off from work and the six of us (I left Laurel at home with Jen so we could actually fish a little) headed into the hills. I parked at the turnoff to the Slate Lake road as it had been a little rougher than I was comfortable with the van when we had gone in last year. We parked and started our walk. I realized that they had graded the road and the trip in would have been fine for the van. Regardless, we enjoyed the 2.7 mile walk.

We arrived at the lake just as dark was settling in. I built a raised platform out of rock to build a fire on and we tossed our sleeping bags out around it. We spent the evening reading from Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea before drifting off to sleep.

Morning dawned and after a quick breakfast of burritos we began to wet our lines in the lake. We caught several brook trout which we cooked over the fire to supplement our breakfast.

Wyatt caught another which he decided he needed to cook his own way.

We fished much of the rest of the afternoon, with each of the kids being able to land some fish before we headed back to the car.

We made it back to the car and then decided to finish driving to the end of the road to the old Square Mountain Lookout. We enjoyed the spectacular views before approaching darkness caused us to turn our eyes back home.

8/10/11: Middle Fork of the Salmon (Tumble Creek to Cache Bar)

2011-09-06T22:02:00.000-07:00

Our final day on the river was approached with a sense of sorrow from leaving the river that had been our home for the last five nights, but also the anticipation of seeing the kids again. We were also in a race to try and hit the ramp before another large party did so that we could get the boats loaded and start the drive back to Stanley. I was on the paddle boat this day and thus have very few pictures, but I will say the whitewater was a blast. We hit Cache Bar where we ate lunch, said our goodbyes to the guides and loaded up. After six days on the river I do feel that I can unequivocably endorse Adventure Sun Valley. Brad puts on a great trip and it was truly the highlight of our summer.

8/9/11: Middle Fork of the Salmon (Wilson Creek Camp to Tumble Creek Camp)

2011-09-06T21:50:00.000-07:00

Today began what was described to us as, "most people's favorite day of the trip". We were to enter the Impassable Canyon of the Middle Fork, complete with numerous cultural and natural sites.

Our first stop of the day was Rattlesnake Cave, an impressive set of Sheepeater pictographs in a shallow cave. We enjoyed the pictographs, but didn't see any of its namesake reptilians.

From there we floated down to Waterfall Creek. The creek forms an impressive set of cascades as it meets the river and is a fun place to explore.

Our next stop was Veil Falls, a large rock ampitheater with a waterfall tumbling over it. While impossible to give it justice on film, it is truly a dramatic location. After enjoying the falls we went down to the river for lunch.

More whitewater waited for us below the falls. We enjoyed the rapids before arriving at Parrot's cabin. An interesting hermit lived here during the 1930's-40's in which he experienced near complete solitude prior to the advent of recreational boating on the river. His uniqueness unfortunately led to his demise as people seeking the curiosity of his existence ruined the solitude he craved. Behind his cabin is a fantastic grotto known as Nugget Falls.

Our final camp for of the trip was at Tumble Creek. It involved a stiff little climb up to a shelf, but gave us a great view of Lower Cliffside Rapid. We had a great fajita dinner and sat around the camp fire playing the "Paper Bag Game", which involved seeing how far down one could bend over to pick up a paper bag with their mouth. We need to repeat this trip when Jen isn't pregnant so she too can appear foolish.

Day 6

8/8/11: Middle Fork of the Salmon (Johnny Walker to Wilson Creek Camp)

2011-09-02T22:05:00.000-07:00

Awake, eat breakfast, take down the cot and stuff the dry bags, figure out which raft or duckie to ride for the day. The routine was well rehearsed. Today we had a few highlights in store as well as a loss as several members of the trip were to be dropped off at a backcountry airstrip for a flight out.

Our first highlight was a large cliff a short float down the river. Jen wasn't game for it, but I figured I couldn't pass on it. One of the guys on the trip stood at the brink and had to turn back around. I stepped up, feeling quite bold, only to have my sense of self preservation kick in and scream, "Don't do it!". I overcame reason and took the plunge.

Once in the air the terror quickly evaporated and I enjoyed a brief sensation of free fall before the chilly water enveloped me.

Our next stop was the Flying B Ranch where we dropped off six of our group, two of whom had to fly back immediately and the other four were to enjoy a few days at the "B" before heading home. We ate lunch and amused ourselves with the "Duck Walk", a game whose object is to run the length of the lashed together duckies without plunging into the river.

We drifted downstream until arriving at Johnson Point, a short but steep walk to a rocky prominence 1,300 feet above the river. Jen enjoyed negotiating the treacherous trail with a center of gravity altered by pregnancy. We took our time and feasted on the ripe currant berries along the path. Peels of thunder followed by a torrential rain greeted our arrival back to the rafts.

Upon our arrival at Wilson Creek Camp for the night we found a ridge just behind us had been hit by one of the bolts of lightning and a small brush fire was working its way up the slope. This was the same camp where Brad Frei, our outfitter, had weathered the great fires of 2000. He regaled us with the story of watching the flames work their way right to the very edge of camp before hitting the moister riparian vegetation. As he talked the Forest Service sent out a chopper to monitor our own little fire advancing along the slope.

We had pork chops for dinner and hung out by the fire as the stars came out and the embers slowly died.

Day 5

8/7/11: Middle Fork of the Salmon (Stateland Right to Johnny Walker)

2011-09-01T20:57:00.000-07:00

Morning dawned significantly warmer than the previous night. I got up early and spent some time by the fire reading before most of the camp began stirring. We were treated to another fantastic breakfast before tearing down camp and loading the boats.

We jumped in the boats and began drifting down the river. Even though it was significantly warmer than it had been, waves splashing into the duckies and rafts were still quite cold. We all waited for the sun to crest the walls of the canyon.

About mid morning we stopped at an area of Sheepeater pictographs. We were all alert for rattlesnakes and thus mistook the sound of a grasshopper for a snake. However, this grasshopper actually turned out to be a nice specimen of Crotalus viridis, the western rattlesnake. It looked most like subspecies viridis, the Prairie Rattlesnake. We gave it a respectful distance and enjoyed the pictographs.

Our flotilla continued downstream, arriving at Whitie Cox Camp for lunch. The camp is named for placer miner who worked the area until a portion of his diversion ditch collapsed on him. His grave is marked by a collection of antlers, skulls and a marble headstone. We spent a fair bit of time at the camp eating and skipping stones before climbing back aboard.

Our next stop was yet another hot spring with a small waterfall running into the river. Several members of our party spent some time jumping into the river.

As the day wore on we made our final push to our camp for the night, Johnny Walker. The camp was on a nice bench below a steep ridge and made for nice scrambling as I spent time exploring the slopes. We had a great salmon dinner and the evening was capped off by getting to shoot a .454 Casull. It was my first foray into the world of large bore handguns and was a "blast".

Day 4

8/6/11: Middle Fork of the Salmon (Fire Island to Stateland Right)

2011-08-18T22:00:00.000-07:00

Morning dawned chilly and damp as a heavy dew had settled during the night. We gathered around a campfire as the sun slowly warmed the air. Today we learned the morning routine of breakfast, breaking down camp and then deciding on which boats to ride for the day.

We stopped for some cliff jumping at Pistol Creek. I was thankful for the sun as I climbed out of the chilly river. The "duckies", inflatable kayaks, were blown up and the rafts suddenly got a little less crowded as five people jumped at the chance to paddle them. Just as we left Pistol Creek dark clouds began to blow over and once again a cold rain began to fall.

It felt a little incongruous to float by the cabins of Pistol Creek Ranch, an inholding of private land accessible only by plane or horseback. We hauled out for lunch at Indian Creek Guard Station where a number of people took advantage of the composting toilet, described as "lovely" by the ranger staffing the guard station.

Our next stop was Sunflower Flat Hot Spring. This was a great series of pools culminating in a waterfall into the river. Standing beneath it felt like a warm shower in the middle of the wilderness. We spent perhaps 30 minutes soaking before making the final push to camp.

We arrived at our camp for the evening, Stateland Right, late in the day. We picked our tents and settled into camp before everyone drifted to the campfire. Luke set up a slack line. Many of us took turns looking like fools on it.

Some of us managed to look more foolish than others.

Dinner was a fantastic chicken dish. We enjoyed sitting around the fire until the moon rose high into the sky.

Day 3

8/5/11: Middle Fork of the Salmon (Boundary Creek to Fire Island)

2011-08-16T22:43:00.000-07:00

Jen and I had the opportunity to purchase a rafting trip down the Middle Fork of the Salmon at an auction back in January. We were excited to go on our first outfitted trip ever, which happened to be with the brother of one of the guys I work with at the hospital. The trip was with Adventure Sun Valley. It's run by Brad Frei, a Grangeville native, and I whole heartedly recommend both the river and the outfitter. We had an absolute blast! What follows will be a trip log of sorts of our adventure (as best as I recollect).

The Middle Fork is often described as the premier wilderness float in the lower 48. It bisects the huge 2.4 million acre Frank Church- River of No Return Wilderness. The 98.9 miles from Boundary Creek to the Cache Creek takeout descends from lush lodgepole forests at about 5,600 feet to the arid grasslands along the main Salmon at 2900 feet.

We left Stanley on the Brad's bus around 9:00, bound for the Boundary Creek launch site. We had quite an eclectic set of folks with us, ranging from several Grangeville residents (including ourselves and the Frei twins) to people from WA, CA, CO, PA, TX and GA. The road to Boundary Creek was beautiful, and before long we found ourselves at the launch site.

We got off the bus and were greeted by our guides, including, once again, another pair of Grangeville boys. It turned out I had actually done one of their sports physicals before. We grabbed our life jackets and helmets and headed down to the launch site to pick our rafts.

We loaded up in our boats and took off. Normally, this time of the year falling river levels force a launch about 25 miles down stream at Indian Creek. Fantastic snow pack allowed us to enjoy the upper part of the river this late into the season. It was a little bony on the way down, but our guide Luke did a great job piloting us through the obstacles.Jen and I enjoyed getting to know him better during the day's float.

We pulled off the river and ate a fantastic lunch. Our blue bird skies of the earlier part of the day gave way to ominous clouds, and before long a cold rain set in. Everyone pulled out their rain gear in a vain attempt to stay dry. A group of elk crossing the river enlivened the afternoon's float.

We arrived at our campsite for the night, Fire Island, where Brad had already set up the tents. The rain had passed on through. Jen and I picked our tent, unloaded our gear and then set out for the short hike to the Sheepeater hot springs. We sat in the springs and warmed up for a while before heading back to camp.

The remainder of the afternoon was spent fishing, sitting by the campfire and enjoying a tremendous steak dinner. Jen gave me a hard time as I was having trouble adjusting to having all of the camp chores done for me, but I soon got over this and was able to enjoy a little back country luxury. We turned in as the moon rose over camp.

Day 2

7/30-8/4/11: Logan Canyon, UT

2011-08-13T20:48:00.000-07:00

We left for our biggest vacation in several years on Saturday morning. We made the drive to Hailey, ID where we spent the night at my parent's place.

Sunday I woke up early and went for a run up Carbonate Peak. We had breakfast with my folks and got back on the road, bound for Logan Canyon, UT, where we planned to connect with our good friends (and my former college roomate) the Griffins.

It was a little after 3:30 when we rolled into the Spring Valley Campground in the Cache National Forest. The campground is in a pretty location, tucked in next to a small dammed section of the Logan River. We put up the tents and then headed down to the river to fish. Colter and I enjoyed tossing our spinners into the water.

Sabrina and Wyatt wanted to get something out of the car so I sent them with the keys to get some sand toys out. As they walked away the thought entered my mind, "what if they were to lock the keys in the car". I shouted out some instructions for them to be careful not to do this and they acknowledged and then ran on. About ten minutes later they returned with the toys, and no keys. It turned out they did exactly what I asked them to not do. My lesson was learned.

Brad and Missy arrived with their kids. After some greetings Brad and I drove back into town to call a locksmith. Fifty dollars later I was back in possession of my keys.

Our blue skies began to cloud over and we worked to quickly fix dinner. Not long after dinner the heavens let loose, chasing us all into our tents. It was to rain off and on all night long. As seen below, the booming thunder caused some distress among our more sound sensitive kids.

Morning dawned to leaden skies, cool temperatures and an array of soaked camping equipment. We fixed breakfast and packed up. The thirteen of us headed down into Logan so I could check phone messages (we were trying to complete the sale of our house in Texas during this trip). From there it was on to Tony Grove Lake.

Tony Grove Lake sits at 8,050 ft in a beautiful subalpine environment and has a 37 unit Forest Service campground. We were able to snag adjacent campsites and immediately set to drying out our gear. We weren't able to keep the kids from the lake for long, so as soon as camp was set up we gathered our fishing rods and sand toys and headed out to the lake. The next several hours were spent fishing, wading in the lake and hiking the 0.8 mile trail which circumnavigates the lake.

It was late by the time we headed back to camp and we were planning on cooking over the fire. Wet wood from the night before hindered our efforts and it rained a little, but in the end we managed to finish dinner and get cleaned up.

Tuesday morning we awoke and fixed breakfast. Our plan for the day was to head up the Naomi Peak Trail a ways and try and hit some snow. Our troop gathered gear and headed up the mountain. We took plenty of rest breaks as we wound our way up through the wildflower strewn meadows. We stopped at a deep pit that descended into the bowels of the mountain. The depth seemed quite impressive, as we were not able to hear stones tossed into the abyss hit the bottom. We walked about a little more than three miles.

Tuesday evening brought some time around the lake and then a much more relaxed dinner with time spent around the campfire. We welcomed the clear skies.

I woke up early Wednesday morning, bound for the summit of Naomi Peak (9,980'). It took about three hours for me to complete the 6.4 mile trail and I was suprised by the amount of snow the high country still held. I had complete solitude on the walk.

The remainder of the day was spent at the lake, fishing, wading and catching minnows in the small outflow creek of the lake.

Wednesday night we cooked over the campfire and played with glow sticks. We spent the night by the campfire.

Thursday morning we packed up early as Jen and I had to get up to Stanley to begin the next leg of our vacation, a six day float down the Middle Fork of the Salmon. We said our goodbyes to the Griffins and headed out. On our way back down Logan Canyon we stopped at Smith Spring and explored one of the caves in the limestone wall. It was an awesome trip and made us look forward to the next chapter in our adventures with the Griffins.

July 15-16, 2011: Slate Creek Stock Driveway, ID

2011-07-21T20:55:00.000-07:00

The boys and I left town and drove up to the Square Mountain Road as soon as I got off of work on Friday afternoon. Our hope was to make it in to Slate Lake where we planned to fish. Unfortunately we were only able to make it about 4 miles up the road before snow blocked our path. We then turned around and headed back down until arriving at the trail head for the old stock driveway.

The four of us got out, threw on our packs and started down the old trail. It wasn't long before the hordes of mosquitoes forced us to stop and apply repellent before we continued on. We followed a multitude of elk, deer and wolf tracks as we headed deeper into the forest.

We only made it about 2.5 miles in before darkness forced us to stop. We put up the tarp and built a small fire, sitting around it talking until a little after 10:00.

Around 2:00 I awoke to the sound of rain hitting the tarp. I pulled the kids under it and made sure all of our gear was covered as well before going back to sleep.

Morning dawned to cloudy and cool conditions. We ate breakfast and headed down trail a few hundred yards to the first crossing of Slate Creek. Wyatt was the only one of us willing to brave the mid thigh deep creek as he waded to the other side to explore.

We then decided to walk back to the truck and go fishing at the Florence dredge ponds. Our last stop was to cut a truckload of wood before heading back home to the girls.

July 9-10, 2011: Mountain Biking Fabulous Florence

2011-07-17T21:16:00.000-07:00

We had been considering several different options for a family trip this weekend. I was really hoping to get up into the high country, but the cool temps and heavy snowfall still had that option locked out (if we wanted to be able to drive to the trail heads). Instead we decided to take the bikes up to the ghost town of Florence and spend the weekend exploring.

The Florence Basin is an ideal place for biking with kids. It's gentle grades give enough of a challenge to young legs without being overwhelming and the plethora of roads and old Jeep tracks gives limitless opportunities for exploring.

We drove out to the old dredge ponds and set up camp along the banks of Meadow Creek. We then geared up and headed out on the bikes. We rode a total of eight miles, stopping at the old cemetery and frequent ruins. It was fun trying to imagine that this lodgepole forest was once host to a town of 9,000.

We arrived back at the campsite where we grabbed our fishing gear and rode over to the dredge ponds. We spent an hour or so fishing for the numerous small brook trout before heading back to the campsite for dinner.

We cooked hot dogs wrapped in crescent rolls (a nice low fat meal) before turning in for the evening.

Sunday morning the kids and I headed out for another ride while Jen relaxed at the campsite. We rode out another direction where the highlight was coming across a piped spring which the kids all stuck their heads under. From there it was back to the campsite where we packed up to head home.

7/5/11: Little Slate Creek Trail

2011-07-08T22:40:00.000-07:00

I had been on call the 4th and it had been pretty busy. I was ready to get into the forest. Jen had several appointments she had to make, so the kids and I loaded up and drove out to Little Slate Creek. We spent several hours hiking along the creek before turning our attention to butterfly hunting.

6/24-25/11: Burnt Flats, ID

2011-06-26T22:13:00.000-07:00

The six kids and I met my buddy Adam and two of his kids over at some state lands about 5 miles up the road from the house. As it was after work on Friday we needed something close and I had yet to explore the Burnt Flats area.

We parked at Chapman Creek and followed some abandoned logging roads close to two miles before arriving at a series of meadows just above Burnt Flats. We had an ample supply of wood, a nice view and a flat spot to throw out the sleeping bags, all in all the perfect spot.

We built a fire and let the kids roast hot dogs and marshmallows. It wasn't until around 10:30 when the kids finally settled down enough to go to sleep. They formed a long line of sleeping bags as the 8 kids snuggled in together.

The morning sun rises awfully early here in the summer. Fortunately the kids were content to pull their sleeping bags over there heads and sleep until after 7:00. We built another fire and cooked bacon on skewers (no easy task) before packing up and walking back to the cars. We had a great trip as we once again experienced the beauty of God's creation.

7/19/11: Father's Day in Hells Canyon

2011-06-26T20:43:00.000-07:00

After church Jen's two sisters, their families, her parents and my parents drove out with us to Pitsburg Landing in Hells Canyon to baptize Wyatt and Monique. It was a special time for all of us and we had beautiful weather as a plus. After the baptism we ate and played by the river before driving up to Cow Creek Saddle and heading back home.

6/16/11: Winchester Lake State Park, ID

2011-06-16T21:37:00.000-07:00

About half of us headed north to Winchester Lake State Park for some fishing. Despite the rain and temps in the mid-40's, we came back with quite a few trout. We later enjoyed the fish for dinner at the house.

6/15/11: Elk Creek Falls, ID

2011-06-15T23:02:00.000-07:00

We drove out to Elk Creek Falls outside of Elk River in the Clearwater National Forest with Jen's family. The falls were really ripping with the snow melt and the trails were empty. We had a great time walking the 2.6 mile loop and viewing all three falls. Afterwards several members stayed to catch some trout in Elk Creek while the rest of us headed back to the house.

6/5/11: Pittsburg Landing, ID

2011-06-05T20:50:00.000-07:00

We headed back to Hells Canyon after church with a couple of goals in mind. Colter had dropped his fleece jacket on the forest road we had explored yesterday, so I took the mountain bike up the road to retrieve it (it's not that bad of a road, just more than the minivan could comfortably handle. From there I biked the 3100' drop down into the canyon and we had dinner along the snow melt swollen Snake.

6/3-4/2011: Motthorn Saddle, ID

2011-06-04T23:12:00.000-07:00

The kids and I decided to take advantage of one of the first breaks in the weather we have had in recent weeks to get in a quick overnight trip. We left the house as soon as I got home from work and drove over to Pittsburg Saddle in the Hells Canyon NRA. We pulled off the road and began walking up FR 493F toward Motthorn Saddle.

The road travels through burned over forest along the eastern rim of the canyon and gave us views out over the Salmon River to the east. Along the way we came across some very fresh bear tracks.

About 2.5 miles into our walk we arrived at grassy Motthorn Saddle. We now had extraordinary views west out across the Snake River and to the far reaches of Hells Canyon. Snow still dusted the higher elevations to our south.

We tossed our sleeping bags out on the ground, built a small fire and spent a beautiful night out under the stars.

Saturday morning dawned to a very balmy upper 30's and heaavy dew. We dried out our sleeping bags while the kids explored the ridges surrounding the saddle.

We then packed our gear and made the walk back to the truck, arriving there about 11:30 before heading home.

5/31/11: Shroomin' at Service Flats

2011-06-02T20:40:00.000-07:00

The six kids and I ran up to Service Flats to hunt morels. It rained most of the time, but we had fun scouring the woods for the tasty little morsels.

5/29/11: Hell's Canyon NRA, ID

2011-05-29T21:03:00.000-07:00

I went hunting with my buddy Adam this morning for one last chance at a bear before the end of the spring season. It was cool, in the low 30's, as we started up one of the many ridges descending into Hell's Canyon. The grass was a brilliant green and quite a few wildflowers were out.

We headed up about a mile before separating to hunt different parts of the ridge. The views out over the canyon were spactacular. We saw quite a few elk and deer feeding and I spooked a number of grouse. I also came across some morels which I dutifully harvested.

About two miles into the walk I heard a large rock roll down into the canyon. I popped my head over the ridge to see what it was and was disappointed to see it was only a mule deer. I continued on and as I walked I noted a low black shape racing up the draw to my north. Quickly dropping my pack I raised my rifle and watched the bear as he ran up to an overlooking rock.

Disappointed that I didn't have a shot I held still behind a tree. A group of coyotes began yipping and howling about a few hundred yards to our north and the bear became distracted looking in their direction. I got down on my belly and crawled prone to another tree where I was able to find a rest and put the bear between my cross hairs. The bear was sitting, facing me, and provided a very small shot window. I squeezed the trigger and managed to put him down with a shot to the neck from 135 yards. The coyotes fell silent, but the deer I had spooked earlier came up over the ridge to see what all of the commotion was about.

Adam came over and the two of us field dressed him. We took turns packing him out over our shoulders and headed back to the truck and to the work of butchering him.

5/24/11: Fish Creek and McAllister Picnic Area, ID

2011-05-25T21:43:00.000-07:00

Driving home from my AM hospital rounds I noticed that a light snowfall was draping the peak. Wyatt, Colter and Monique joined for a trip up to Fish Creek to see how the snow was melting at 5,000 ft. By the time we got there the snow had turned to a 35 degree rain, but the woods felt inviting nonetheless. We spent our time marveling at Fish Creek which was far out of its banks and the 18 inches of snow still at that relatively low altitude. Colter skied while the rest of us walked on the consolidated snow.

Our solitude up on the hill was broken only by running into our friends, the Boehmke's. We visited for a bit before dropping down 3,000 ft to the McAllister Picnic Area along the roaring South Fork of the Clearwater. We walked a short distance up the trail to the small waterfall, enjoying abundant wildflowers along the way. From there we headed back home.

5/7-8/11: Meadow Creek, ID

2011-05-11T14:57:00.000-07:00

For Mother's Day the kids and I decided to give Jen a weekend with no kids. This meant that I would take all six kids backpacking by myself for the first time. I chose the Meadow Creek Trail in the Selway drainage as I knew it was a pretty flat trail and was supposed to have some camping opportunities about three miles in.

We drove out towards Slim's Camp, but a road closure forced us to stop at Selway Falls CG. It was raining lightly and in the 40's, which essentially kept the entire drainage empty of people. We parked and walked about 0.8 miles to the trailhead.

The seven of us followed the trail up the east bank of swollen Meadow Creek. The grasses and new leaves on the trees were a brilliant green and wildflowers punctuated the landscape. We stopped numerous times for snacks and to throw rocks into the creek.

We pitched camp about 3 miles in just past Little Creek. Our campsite overlooked Meadow Creek and a pretty little waterfall. We put up the tent, worked to get a fire going with the wet wood and fixed dinner. We sat around the campfire until a little after 9:00.

Sunday morning brought more rain and a temperature in the 30's. We fixed oatmeal for breakfast and ate in the shelter of a giant red cedar. The rain and cold temperatures motivated the kids to travel the distance back to the car quickly. From there we headed back home to celebrate Mother's Day.

5/3/11: Service Flats Area, ID

2011-05-03T16:50:00.000-07:00

I thought it would be a blast to hunt on cross country skis. As it's currently both turkey and bear seasons I strapped on both the rifle and shotgun, clicked into my skis and began skiing from the gate on Service Flats Road. About three inches of snow had fallen overnight and helped to soften the landscape as well as to provide a fresh surface for tracking. I chased a few gobblers, but didn't come across any bear sign. It was a lot of fun and a good reminder that winter is still holdeing strong in the mountains.

4/26/11: Free Use Ridge, ID

2011-04-27T21:21:00.000-07:00

Colter and I left early Tuesday morning to look for turkey. We spent several hours walking through Bull Run Cove calling and exploring, all to no avail.

After striking out in turkey Colter decided he wanted to take the "camoflage gun" and go up the ridge to the snow line to try and cut across some bear tracks.

Finally around noon we headed over to Slate Creek. We hiked up Waterspout Creek a ways before heading home. All told we walked about 6.3 miles and had a great time.

4/15-16/2011: Castle Creek, ID

2011-04-17T22:16:00.000-07:00

We met our good friends, the Boehmke's, down at Castle Creek CG along the South Fork of the Clearwater after work on Friday. It drizzled most of the evening, but Paul built a nice fire to keep us all dry. We roasted hot dogs and sausages over the fire for dinner.

"Snuggling" in the Boehmke's camper

We played Saturday morning around camp. I was able to catch a large steelhead with my hands as it struggled in the diminutive waters of Castle Creek. We then broke down camp and the Griffis crew headed home to drop off Jen and Laurel. The five oldest and I then headed down to Riggins to watch the jet boat races before calling it a day.

4/12/11- Hangin' with the Smokejumpers

2011-04-12T21:48:00.000-07:00

I spent the AM giving a talk to the Grangeville Smokejumpers and then grabbed the kids and watched some practice jumps in the afternoon. The kids got a kick out of me trying on one of their 80 pound jump suits loaded with gear.

3/26-27/2011: Fish Creek Meadows, ID

2011-03-27T17:21:00.000-07:00

Looking ahead to April, our schedule was looking pretty full. I wanted to get in one more winter trip and this looked like our opportunity. The eight of us loaded up in the van and drove up to Fish Creek. About 3-3.5 feet of snow blanketed the ground. We parked and headed south through the campground along Fish Creek. We followed the creek through its namesake meadows, cross and recrossing on snow bridges. We walked about 0.8 miles before pitching camp.

We put up the tents along the edge of the meadows. The kids played along the creek. We heard some crying and discovered that three of the kids had actually managed to fall into the creek while jumping back and forth across it. We got a fire going and worked to warm up and dry out the kids. Fortunately the temperature was in the upper 30's and not colder. We fixed minestrone soup for dinner and read several chapters from Little Pilgrim's Progress before turning in around 8:00.

Morning dawned to a couple of inches of fresh snow and a temperature in the mid-20's. We got the fire going again to warm up the cold, wet boots from the previous day. We broke down camp and headed back to the car, this time following the road which was well packed from the snow machines.

3/22/11: FR 4600, Nez Perce NF, ID

2011-03-27T16:27:00.000-07:00

I was able to run up the mountain and ski for about an hour and a half after rounding on my patients on Tuesday. About six inches of fresh snow blanketed the ground solitude reigned supreme.

After skiing I swung by the house where I picked up the kids and my parents and we headed over to Slate Creek where we hiked along the North Fork of Slate Creek before heading back to the house.

3/12-13/11: Pittsburg Landing, ID

2011-03-13T20:43:00.000-07:00

The oldest five and I headed out with some friends to Pittsburg Landing in Hells Canyon. We camped at Upper Pittsburg Landing and hiked out to Corral Creek where the kids spent time bouldering by the Snake River. The weather was sunny and warm, a far cry from our snow covered yard, and spring appeared to be just around the corner.

3/8/11: Fish Creek Recreation Area, ID

2011-03-08T21:18:00.000-08:00

To celebrate Wyatt's eighth birthday (a day early) we headed up to Fish Creek. We snowshoed and skied the 1.3 mile loop while intermittent snow squalls worked their way through. Wyatt's biggest frustration was that he prefers the downhill part of cross country skiing to the flats or climbs.

3/5-6/2010: Winchester State Park, ID

2011-03-06T14:42:00.000-08:00

Jen and I spent Saturday night in a yurt at Winchester State Park on our way back home from a conference in Pullman, WA.

The park is a 418 acre unit of the Idaho State Park system located adjacent to the town of Winchester and surrounding the 104 acre Winchester Lake. The park's activities primarily center around the lake, but it also has many campsites, four yurts available for rental and 7 km of trails which can be used for cross country skiing in the winter.

We stayed at the Lodgepole yurt. It was equipped with a bunk bed, futon, picnic table and electricity. Heat was provided by an electric wall heater which was adequate for the low in the upper 20's that we had.

Sunday morning we tried out the cross country trails and skied the campground loops as well. Conditions weren't too bad as an inch of snow during the night softened the surface. Conditions ranged from rolling with some climbs and descents as well as some nice flats along the lake. Trails weren't clearly blazed which did leave us guessing the route at times. We had a few falls, but not nearly as many as we did at the start of winter. All in all we great time and virtually had the park to ourselves.

2/25/11: Grangeville Foothills

2011-02-26T09:15:00.000-08:00

Wyatt and I decided at the last minute to climb up the hill a ways and set up a bivy for the night. Unseasonably cold air had settled in the region and we decided to take advantage of it. We threw the sleeping bags, pads and a space blanket in the pack, strapped on our snowshoes and treaded out uphill from the house. By the time we reached the clearing we were to sleep at it was 11:00 and the temperature was about -1F. We tossed out the bags, snuggled down and went to sleep under a sky bejeweled with stars.

Clouds moved in during the night and around 3:00 it had warmed up to 4F. By the time we woke up around 7:00 the skies had cleared again and the temperature was around 0F. I woke up Wyatt as the rose and the first thing he said was, "I slept so well last night. That was really fun!". We packed our gear, put on our snowshoes and tramped the 3/4 mile back to the house. Colter and Sabrina met us about a 1/4 mile up from the house as they were following our tracks through the snow and the four of us headed back home.

2/22/11: Sunset on White Bird Hill

2011-02-26T08:38:00.000-08:00

2/22/11: Winter expedition through the neighborhood

2011-02-22T21:36:00.000-08:00

Jen, the kids and I headed through the neighborhood today enjoying the fresh fallen snow. We spent much of the day outside sledding, snowshoeing and skiing on the road and in people's yards.

2/20/11: Fish Creek, ID

2011-02-22T20:57:00.000-08:00

The weekend brought the welcome return of snow to north central Idaho. Jen and I headed up for a quick ski. While out I realized that I have probably done the Fish Creek trails more times than I've ever done another single other trail. We've mountain biked it during the summer, hiked it in the fall when the western larch is a shimmering gold and now skied it repeatedly during the winter. I haven't done it during the spring "mud season". I'll probably hold off on that one.

2/15/11: Fish Creek, ID

2011-02-15T16:53:00.000-08:00

Jen and I headed up to Fish Creek Recreation Area for some cross country skiing. The tempearture was pretty warm at 35 degrees. We had high winds a few days earlier and the snow was littered with branches, needles, etc. We skied for a little more than two hours before heading back home.

2/12/11: McAllister Trail, ID

2011-02-12T22:07:00.000-08:00

My dad, the six kids and I escaped the wind by running down to the McAllister Trail along the South Fork of the Clearwater.The trail is a short but steep climb up to an area known as Earthquake Basin. It begins at the McAllister Picnic Area and climbs north. I had Laurel in the backpack carrier as the eight of us climbed through the open ponderosa forest. We passed a pretty wet weather falls where we ate lunch.

From there we continued our climb up to the meadows at Earthquake Basin, stopping to gorge ourselves on rose hips. The repeated freeze/thaw cycles had rendered the hips to a tangy paste that could be squeezed into the mouth. We all agreed it was quite delicious.

We snacked up in the meadows before turning around and heading back to the banks of the South Fork. The kids played by the river before we headed back home. It was about 2 miles round trip with a 900 ft elevation gain.

2/5-6/10: Rapid River, ID

2011-02-08T22:32:00.000-08:00

The oldest five and I left the house around 10:30 to head down to the Rapid River. We had day hiked it a few weeks earlier and that had whet our appetite for an overnight trip. The skies were intermittently cloudy when we arrived and sumptuously warm in the mid-50's. We tossed on our packs and headed up river.

The canyon is a deeply incised low elevation system draining the eastern slopes of the Seven Devils. The hillsides are primarily lowland grasses and brush in the bottom reaches of the canyon with ponderosa, Douglas fir and some grand fir and Pacific yew along the river itself. It's a great low elevation trail allowing for an often snow free destination, even in winter.

We slowly made our way up the trail as it paralleled the Rapid River, sometimes stream side and at others a few hundred feet above it. The kids did great as we headed in, with Zane (age 3) walking a total of nine miles over the weekend. We saw two other couples on Saturday, both on their way back from day hikes.

Our goal was to reach the West Fork of the Rapid River, about 4.5 miles in. Just shy of our goal I saw a small site about a hundred feet below us down a steep slope. As it was getting late and the kids were getting tired we made our way down to it. We found a use trail which required some rock hopping across a portion of the stream to reach it. I threw up the tent and cooked pizzas for dinner while the kids gathered wood and helped get the fire going. We climbed into the tent around 7:00 to a temperature of 34 degrees and read for the next hour and a half before the last of the crew fell asleep.

Morning brought 30 degrees and some snow flurries. Sabrina fixed us egg and cheese burritos while I worked at taking down camp. Heavier snow encouraged us to pick up the pace as I wanted to avoid the rock hop to get back to the trail and instead wished to climb straight up the slope.

The climb up was very steep and snow slicked. Had I realize how tough it was we would have taken another route. However, we made it without mishap and finished the short walk to the West Fork before turning around to go back to the car.

The snow turned to a cold rain as we walked out with the temperature holding in the mid-30's. We stopped several times to play along the creek. Our animal life spottings included a chukkar, some water ouzels and a dead horse. The horse was lying about 20 feet off the trail and still had its eyes (indicating that it hadn't been there long). We hadn't noticed it on the way in, so we either overlooked it (unlikely) or it had died that night. The kids wanted me to take a picture of it for them.

We made it back to the car around 2:45, having enjoyed yet another spectacular section of the Idaho backcountry.

1/29/11: Fourth of July Pass, ID

2011-01-31T22:04:00.000-08:00

Jen and I were in Coeur d'Alene for the weekend as a combined weekend getaway/church fact finding trip. We had brought our skis hoping to get a quick ski in while in northern Idaho. Generally, one would think that picking a spot only 90 miles south of the Canadian border in January would be a sure bet for snow.

Saturday brought a steady drizzle, a cloud ceiling of about 3500 feet and temps in the 40's. As we climbed up I-90 to Fourth of July Pass I began to wonder if we were going to be disappointed. We found a little snow up at the top and hoped it would be enough.

We started out skiing on old rain wet snow as we negotiated the trails. At a few points on our route the snow completely ran out and we were forced to walk. Fortunately there were only a few of these areas.

The steady rain and poor snow conditions kept the popular ski trails virtually empty and thus we were able to have a look at one of the resident moose. There were tons of moose tracks and scat. This one allowed himself to be spotted in an old clear cut as we skied by.

We enjoyed a great degree of solitude only a few miles east of town and were able to ski a loop so as to not have to backtrack. It looked like it would be a great area in better snow conditions.

1/21/11: Fish Creek, ID

2011-01-21T21:24:00.000-08:00

Jen and I drove up to Fish Creek for some night skiing. We skied a little more than five miles through very sticky snow conditions. We enjoyed watching the moon rise and were the only ones out.

1/18/11: Rapid River, ID

2011-01-18T21:21:00.000-08:00

Five days of warm temperatures and rain had degraded the snow quality our area (although as I write this it is snowing heavily outside again). We didn't want to hike through slush, so instead we headed down to the Rapid River, just south of Riggins. The day was cool and rainy, but we had a great time and walked about 2 1/2 miles. After our time in the snowless lowlands it was a bit of a shock to climb back up to the prairie and find it snow covered.

1/11/11: Hell's Canyon NRA, ID

2011-01-11T21:37:00.000-08:00

The oldest five and I left the house around noon, bound for Pittsburg Saddle on the eastern rim of the canyon. We arrived to cloudy skies and temperatures hovering around 20 degrees. We began on an old forest service road on the north side of the saddle, walking through about eight inches of snow. About 3/4 of a mile into our walk we headed off trail and to the west to try and reach the rim of the canyon. Knee deep snow and slopes as much as 45 degrees foiled our attempt. We did manage some pretty views and were able to glissade back down the mountain to the truck.

1/11/11: White Bird Hill, ID

2011-01-11T20:12:00.000-08:00

I was able to get out this morning for a quick cross country ski. The sky was clear and the temperature a brisk 13 degrees. No one had been out on the road since the last snow and I was able to kick and glide across unbroken powder.

1/8-9/2011: Selway River, ID

2011-01-09T14:43:00.000-08:00

Our original plan was to drive out to Meadow Creek along the Selway River for a quick overnight trip. We made the drive out and hit snow a lot lower than I thought we would. The kids climbed in the back of the truck and we threw it into 4WD and proceded up to Selway Falls where we got out to play for a while.

From the falls we continued up to Meadow Creek. The road at that point had a foot of snow on it. Another 4-8 inches was forecasted to fall on top of the slushy base and I became worried that we wouldn't have enough traction to make it out. We turned around and headed down to Boyd CG along the banks of the Selway to camp where the snow was a little less.

We set up camp and went for a short hike up the Boyd Glover Trail before heading back for dinner. We got the fire going and sat by the fire before turning in to the tent.

Sunday brought 8 inches of new snow and heavy snow continuing. We rolled out of the sleeping bags and began to fix breakfast. The snow was coming down at a rate of an inch or two per hour.

By the time we cleaned up from breakfast at least ten inches of new snow were on the ground. We loaded up and headed back on unplowed roads. We pased a buddy of mine cougar hunting on our way out. We made it back home a little after twelve, only to find that we had picked up only about a half inch of snow (even though we live 2,000' higher than the Selway).

1/4/11: Fish Creek, ID

2011-01-04T17:11:00.000-08:00

Jen and I were able to sneak in our first outdoor trip of the new year, a quick 6.4 mile ski at Fish Creek. It was cool, in the mid-teens, but very beautiful.

12/31/10: White Bird Hill. ID

2011-01-02T21:58:00.000-08:00

It had been a rough work week and I had to go back on call again on the first. I needed a quick outdoor fix, so Dad, Wyatt, Sabrina, Colter and I ran up the hill for a few hours to play in the newest coating of snow. I put on my skis while the others walked the snowmobile road. It was cold enough to freeze snot (dropping into the single digits) before we made it back to the truck, but astoundingly beautiful.

12/31/10: Grangeville, ID

2010-12-31T13:12:00.000-08:00

Several turkey passed through the yard today and allowed me to get close enough to photograph as they ate some fallen apples. This is my favorite picture from the bunch.

12/28/10: Whitebird Hill, ID

2010-12-28T14:10:00.000-08:00

My parents, Jen, the kids and I ran up Whitebird Hill for a quick hike in the snow. The winds were fierce and the snow heavy, but we had a great time nonetheless.

12/26/10: Fish Creek, ID

2010-12-26T18:01:00.000-08:00

Jen and I received the gift of a few hours without the kids this afternoon. We headed up to Fish Creek for some cross country skiing. It was Jen's first trip on cross country skis and she did great! We skied about 5.4 miles and after skiing in about 100 yards we didn't see another soul.

12/21/10: Fish Creek, ID

2010-12-21T15:37:00.000-08:00

In honor of Laurel's first birthday the eight of us headed up to Fish Creek with my parents. We treked to our igloo from earlier in the month and to our amazement it was still standing (although it had settled some). We spent time playing in the woods before heading back home.

12/21/10: Lunar Eclipse, Whitebird Hill, ID

2010-12-21T15:12:00.000-08:00

Jen and I headed up Whitebird Hill around midnight to catch the lunar eclipse. We pulled off and watched the moon as it reached a deep red color in the cold, still air. We only stayed out about 20 minutes before the cold and late hour prompted us to head back home.

12/11-12/10: Fish Creek, ID

2010-12-12T12:25:00.000-08:00

The four oldest and I headed up to Fish Creek Meadows Saturday morning. The trees were draped with snow and about two feet or so covered the ground. We loaded up our packs and started out on a forest road up into the woods.

We headed in about a half mile before dropping our packs near Fish Creek. The next several hours were spent trying to beat the sunset (about 4:00) in getting an igloo erected for our overnight accomodations. A gentle snow fell as we worked.

I finished the igloo just as night was falling. I wasn't sure if it was going to be big enough for the five of us, but I at least thought it would be close. Dinner was the next priority, so after putting our sleeping gear in the igloo I got dinner started. We had minestrone soup with salami and then moved into the igloo. It had snowed about 4 inches.

We fit in the igloo, but just barely. We read for several hours before the last of the kids drifted off to sleep around 7:30. I stayed up reading for another hour or so before finally succumbing.

Instead of awaking to several more inches of snow we had the steady drip of rain. The igloo had kept us dry, but it was not designed to be waterproof. We quickly loaded our gear and headed back to the trailhead. I sunk up to my waist several times on the way out, but at least was able to break trail for the kids coming behind me. The picnic shelter at the trailhead offered a much drier altrernative for dining, so we had oatmeal while sitting at a picnic table. We had a great time in our first Idaho igloo.

11/27/10: Christmas Tree Cutting along Johns Creek

2010-11-27T21:23:00.000-08:00

In following our long standing tradition we headed out to the forest to cut our family Christmas tree. My parents were able to come with us, so the ten of us set out along snowy roads to the Johns Creek TH along the South Fork of the Clearwater.

We crossed the Clearwater and tramped about 3/4 of a mile up the snowy trail in search of a tree. Most of the trees were quite mature in the area, meaning we had to work a little harder to locate the perfect fit for us. Finally, Colter and I located a likely looking stand about 100 feet down some steep slopes. Wyatt, Colter and I walked and slid our way down to the area and picked a good looking tree.

We cut our tree, but now the real work of hauling it up out of the canyon began. I tied a rope to the tree and began to haul it up the steep slopes with the assistance of my two oldest sons. After about 25 minutes of strenuous effort we regained the trail with our prize.

We dragged the tree back to the truck as a steady snow began to fall. We threw it in the back and began the drive back to the house.

11/20/10: Clearwater RD, Nez Perce NF, ID

2010-11-20T19:25:00.000-08:00

My dad, Colter and I enjoyed a beautiful morning tromping through the snow in search of whitetail. There was plenty of sign, but no deer. We did stumble across a beautiful little aspen grove.

11/10-11/10: Anastasia State Park, FL

2010-11-13T18:45:00.000-08:00

Our final camping spot was Anastasia State Park outside of St. Augustine. We arrived around noon and set up camp. From there it was out to the beach where we played several hours. The high winds and "marine life warning" kept us from wandering too deep into the water, but we had a good time nonetheless. We enjoyed the balmiest night of our trip and from there headed to visit grandparents and extended family for a few days.

11/9-11/10: Juniper Springs CG, Ocala NF, FL

2010-11-13T18:39:00.000-08:00

We headed 4 1/2 hours south from Skidaway Island to Juniper Springs CG in the Ocala NF. This was a campground I remembered staying at as a kid and was excited to share it with my family. We arrived in the evening and were the only ones in our section of the campground. Wednesday we woke up to a large flock of turkey roaming through the campground. We spent the day running around on the trails, swimming in the main spring and enjoying the semi tropical forest. Thursday morning we took off for our next stop.

11/8-9/2010: Skidaway Island State Park, GA

2010-11-13T18:21:00.000-08:00

We were in Jacksonville, FL for one of my cousin's wedding. After the wedding we headed up to Savannah to Skidaway Island State Park to camp with my cousin Jake and his family. We were able to hang out with an aunt and uncle who live on the island, do a short hike and spend some time around the campfire catching up.

10/26/10: Seven Devils, ID

2010-10-26T20:20:00.000-07:00

Subtitled: Snow Angels in the Seven Devils

The last several days have brought showers and intermittent snow flurries to the low country, while the surrounding high country has picked up some pretty good snowfall. I knew that our chances to get up to the high country were growing less, so the oldest five and I decided to head up to Windy Saddle in the Seven Devils to get a look at winter.

The lower elevations were misty and cool and clothed in fall color. We began to hit consistent snow at 5,000 ft and by the time we hit the the saddle at 7,400 ft we were in a foot of fresh powder on unbroken roads. We slowly made our way to the Seven Devils CG where we took the short trail to Seven Devils Lake. The kids enjoyed the snow, but the cold temperatures and wind kept us from spending much more than 40 minutes out in the weather.

We made our way back down the mountain. The yellows of the larch helped add color to the wintry landscape. We stopped to pick a bag of elderberries and headed back home. It was a great early taste of winter.

10/19/10: Willard Bay State Park, UT

2010-10-25T21:48:00.000-07:00

We wanted a cheaper alternative to getting two motel rooms to house the eight of us for the night as we drove back from visiting family in Texas so we decided to camp out while passing through the Salt Lake City area. Our first try was to stay at Antelope Island State Park. Unfortunately, we didn't realize it closed at dark. Our next stop was the south unit of Willard Bay State Park. Once again, we were turned back by a closed camping area. It was now getting quite late and we had been driving since 3:30 in the morning. We made one last try at the north unit of Willard Bay State Park and finally scored (three minutes before they shut the gates for the night)! We bivied under the stars enjoying the cool fall air.

Morning dawned to beautiful colors in the cottonwood grove we were camped in and a pretty view of Willard Bay. It was a nice stop for the evening, but so close to the interstate that we remained serenaded by passing traffic our entire stay.

10/9-10/10: Hungry Ridge, ID

2010-10-10T21:18:00.000-07:00

October 10 is a big day in this part of Idaho, opening day of elk and deer rifle season. I headed out to the Buck Meadows trailhead early on Saturday to scout. The day was cool and overcast and my truck was the only one there. I headed about two miles along a closed forest service road before striking out cross country onto the ridge between Trout and American Creeks. I got the jump on a magnificent bull out on the ridge, but no shot was made as the season was still a day away. I headed out to the end of the ridge where I pitched a small camp.

My next goal was to see if I could scout a way down into Johns Creek. I needed to refill my water supply, but I was also interested in seeing if there was much elk sign down by the river. I knew the route would be steep, but I underestimated how steep. It took quite a bit of sliding, moving from tree to tree and some class 4 climbing to make it down. I refilled my water and decided that even if a monster bull was laying low down there it would be an impossiblity for me to get him back out. I headed back up to camp and explored the remainder of the afternoon.

I rolled out of bed early Sunday morning, A light rain had fallen intermittently much of the night. This had the mixed blessing of allowing the forest floor to be very quiet, but also caused my pants to become soaked from the wet vegetation. I slowly hunted the ridge back south. In the process I came across two more elk, but neither allowed a shot. I didn't come back with any meat, but did come across a very nice 6 point shed. I had a lot of fun and enjoyed the solitude.

9/24-25/10: Knob Lakes Loop, ID

2010-09-26T21:02:00.000-07:00

Wyatt, Colter and I hoped to get in one more hunt before the end of early deer bow season. We decided to head up into the Gospels for another high country adventure. I managed to leave the clinic at 4:30 Friday afternoon and rushed home. The three of us then headed up into the mountains, arriving right at sunset.

We quickly headed over a small pass and headed down a steep talus slope in order to get to a flat place to set up camp. As dark descended we tossed out our sleeping bags and gathered wood for a fire. We had the high mountain cirque to ourselves.

Around midnight I was awakened to the sound of hooves on the ground, loud and quite close. A little later I heard a short bugle from a bull elk. The moon was full and the cirque was lit up. I tried to call back to the bull, but he wouldn't answer.

I had warned the boys that I would be waking them up early to get started. Around 6:15 as the sun was rising I heard Wyatt say, "Dad, I thought you were getting us up before the sun rose". So much for an early start to the day.

Our route took us down an unnamed canyon past a very pretty but shallow lake. From there we steeply descended more talus. Travel was tough in the trailess canyon, but occasional huckleberry bushes sweetened the ordeal.

We climbed up over a small ridge into the Knob Lakes Basin. Lower Knob Lake was our first destination. We tried to approach quietly so that we might suprise a deer, but the lure of conversation between the boys prooved too great. That was to be a recurring theme on the trip.

We slowly ascended the basin, passing Middle and then Upper Knob Lakes. Each time we hoped to see a deer, each time we were disappointed.

Around noon we climbed out of the basin and came across our fifth, and last, lake of the trip. We spent a few minutes playing at the small unnamed pond before finishing our climb up to the ridge. We walked about 4.3 miles and saw some spectacular country, but no game.

9/21/10: Old Elk City Wagon Road

2010-09-21T21:25:00.000-07:00

We took my parents on the wagon road today. The ten of us split into two different vehicles for the trip. I enjoyed the road much more in a high clearance vehicle than I did in the minivan. The day was cool (in the 40's) and overcast. We didn't have much in the way of views, but the fog gave us a wonderful sense of isolation. We followed the road as far as mile number 36 before heading back to Hwy 14 and Grangeville.

9/10-11/2010: Hungry Ridge, ID

2010-09-12T21:30:00.000-07:00

Colter and I got out of town as soon as I was done with work Friday afternoon to try and slip in a little hunting. We arrived at the headwaters of Deer Creek and proceeded cross country to the east where we cut across an old logging road. We followed this until its end where we tossed out our sleeping bags to spend the night.

Morning dawned clear. We were up around 5:30 and by 6:00 were headed down into Deer Creek. We heard some elk and a pack of wolves as we descended to the creek bottom. We spent some time along the creek before climbing back out and catching another old Jeep trail. From there were headed back to the truck . We had heard some animals and cut some fresh sign, but got no closer to our quarry than that. Most importantly we had a great time out in God's beautiful creation.

9/4-6/10: Kelly Lakes, Gospel Hump WA, ID

2010-09-12T21:16:00.000-07:00

The eight of us decided to head to the east side of the Gospel Hump for Labor Day. It took about two hours before arriving at Wild Horse Lake near the eastern edge of the wilderness.

The road wasn't conducive to keeping an intact oil pan in the minivan, so we opted to walk the remaining 0.8 miles from the lake to the trailhead.

The trail began benign enough, but soon began climbing in earnest up a shoulder of North Pole. Our goal was to reach the Kelly Lakes Basin to spend the weekend. This required a 3.4 mile walk in from where we left the trailhead, no problem for the older kids but it was to be the longest walk to date for our three year old.

No land speed records were set (I think it took about 4 1/2 to 5 hours to travel the distance), but a little after five we began descending into the basin.

We set up camp in a whitebark pine forest a little over 8,000 ft. We were the only ones in the basin and enjoyed the solitude as the day drew to a close.

Sunday morning dawned cloudy and cool with a temperature around 30. The eight of us headed over to the lake for some breakfast and a little fishing.

After oatmeal and wetting the line in vain (the truth is I never even saw a fish stir) Colter, Zane and I left to make a summit run up North Pole. We enjoyed fantastic views and intermittent snow flurries as we scrambled to the 8,818' summit.

We headed back to camp and then the eight of us headed down to Middle Kelly Lake. Most of the lake was quite shallow, but the southern part the lake looked deep enough to hold fish. Before we could give it a try it began to snow pretty hard. Most of the crew had left their rain gear back at camp and the snow was pretty wet. We made the decision to head back up instead of risking wet jackets.

The snow let up as we made our way back to Upper Kelly Lake. We spent some more time fishing before the call of camp led us back.

Back at camp we fixed minestrone soup for dinner and then retired around the fire. A return of the snow forced us into the kids' tent for story time as the temperature dropped.

Monday brought clear skies and a hard freeze at 24 degrees. We built a fire to warm up by and took our time taking down camp. The temperature slowly warmed as we welcomed the return of the sunshine.

By about 11:00 we were ready to begin the climb back out of the basin. Once again, we took out time travelling back down the ridge towards the car. While the sun was out, the air temperature remained in the low 40's.

We made it back to the van around 4:00. It was a great trip with highs having ranged from the 60's down to the mid 30's and some spectacular scenery.

8/31/10: Nut Basin Area

2010-09-03T21:26:00.000-07:00

Tuesday afternoon we loaded the family up and drove down to the Nut Basin Area to explore. The kids and I had attempted this back in early July, but lingering snow drifts foiled that attempt. We climbed up the short Jeep road to the site of the old Nut Basin lookout. The lookout was destroyed back in 1957 and all that remains is the foundation. The view is incredible. Some of the higher peaks to the south in the Frank Church country were already dusted with snow.

We next headed a short ways east to hike the trail to Nut Basin Lake. The trail took us into the small, swampy lake. The highlight of the walk was the tremendous number of plump, ripe huckleberries. It had been a pretty poor year for huckleberries in the inland northwest, but the area here was a definite exception. Time was our enemy however, and we only managed to pick about a quart before we had to head back home. We enjoyed exploring the beautiful area and only saw another vehicle when we were nearly back down into the Salmon River canyon.

8/28/10: Twin Cabins Area, Nez Perce NF, ID

2010-08-29T13:50:00.000-07:00

Saturday afternoon I loaded up the six kids in the van and we headed up into the forest. I had noted a trail on the forest service map which descended the South Fork of White Bird Creek and wanted to see if it still existed. We drove up to Twin Cabins and parked. It was quite chilly for August, 45 degrees, and overcast. We ate lunch at the trailhead and then walked about a half mile down the faint trace. We watched trout in the creek and munched on huckleberries before heading back home.

August 13-14, 2010: Moores Lake, Gospel Hump Wilderness, ID

2010-08-15T20:55:00.000-07:00

Friday afternoon the boys and I drove up into the Gospels after work for a quick overnight trip. We knew we were going to need to make good time to make it into camp with the shorter afternoons. Fortunately the walk was only 2.75 miles and almost all down hill on the way in.

We arrived at Moores Lake around dusk. We fished for a bit before heading back up the trail a short distance to set up camp. We snacked and set up the tent, finally settling down around 9:00.

Around midnight I woke up to what seemed to be a loud "thump". My first thought was, "Oh no, a bear has gotten into the food". I grabbed my glasses, headlamp and pistol and rolled out of the tent. The food was secure, but instead of a bear I found a large whitetail doe licking the salt off of my pack. I shooed her away and spent the rest of the night undisturbed.

Morning dawned to clear skies and a humid 38 degrees. In my haste to get my gear together I had neglected to grab my fleece. I spent a very chilly morning around a small campfire until it warmed up.

We broke camp and headed back to the lake for a few hours to fish before climbing back up to the trailhead.

8/10/10: Old Elk City Wagon Road, Nez Perce NF

2010-08-10T17:44:00.000-07:00

The eight of us loaded up in the minivan and headed up to the Old Elk City Wagon Road on the Nez Perce. Unfortunately I forgot the interpretive brochure at home, but signs along the route provided some of the history. At one point this rugged high altitude road was the best route by which to access ELk city and its mines. I have a picture in my book of history on Idaho County of a sled being pulled by horses wearing snowshoes on this road.

The road tread varied between maintained gravel surface and native tread with rocks and ruts to avoid as we climbed. We reached Corral Hill and pulled off the road to walk up to the lookout. The van probably would have been fine driving up, but it was nice to get out and walk the 1.4 mile round trip.

We proceeded up to Tenmile Flat before turning off onto FS 1852 and then to FS 244 at McComas Meadows. We came across a badger on the way.

Time was growing short as Jen had something planned for the afternoon, so we only spent about 20 minutes at the meadows before heading back home.