Taking the Boys to Idaho

[tarbe]

My son and son-in-law to be are both entering new stages of life this fall, and I thought it would be a great time for an "out of the box" adventure.

So I asked them if they'd be game for a backpack hunt into the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness.  They both said YES!

This offer and acceptance took place in January...so starting in February I began training in earnest, to get in shape for this outing.

The boys are both young (24 and 27) and the elder even does Iron Man Triathlons...so no big worries there.

Dad was typically overweight middle-aged desk jockey...so I had a lot of work to do.

Previous experience hunting this country had taught me there is no better way for a flat-lander to train than to don a pack and start humping.  You have to work to find inclines, but they are out there.

The thin air is something you just have to acclimate to, once in the country.  Takes me a couple days.  Usually by the time I am coming out, I feel like a Mountain Goat.

Since February I have done right at 700 miles of pack work, and have lost 35 pounds.  I now weigh only 5 pounds more than I did when I was discharged from the Marines in 1980. I am on my second pair of new boots.  Bought a pair in Feb and by May 1 the soles were worn flat in several places.  REI gave me a new pair for free...they insisted!  Said they should have lasted longer than 450 miles!

We will be crossing the Salmon River at Corn Creek.  The trail gains 5,000 feet of elevation in the first 6 miles.  That keeps the riff-raff out!

We will be setting up a base camp 16 miles into the wilderness area, at Black Lake.  If we drop an elk, I will call an outfitter that works the general area and he will send a muleskinner and mule to carry out the elk, once we have it quartered.  That way we can stay out hunting vs spending days packing meat out on our backs.

The boys are hoping to supplement our food with fresh trout from the lakes up there. 

Anyway, less than 2 months to lift-off, and looking forward to an adventure!  Idaho has really cheap bear, lion and wolf tags, as they hope hunters will thin the predators when they bump into them (doesn't happen often, but it happens).

We will have dying jack rabbit calls and coyote howlers to get their attention...well, maybe!  There is a reason not many of those predators get shot!

We are fully prepared for this to be a nice walk in the wilderness.  If we are blessed with a critter or two, so much the better.

[Ozarks Tom]

tarbe, Sounds like a great time to be had by all! Congratulations on the weight loss and physical conditioning, but you would need all that effort if you'd just moved to your place in the Ozarks. Big garden, splitting firewood, pounding fence posts, wrestling animals, that'll keep you in shape.

Don't know exactly when Pony is having her get together, but sure hope you're back by then.

[bretf]

That sounds like a great trip. In my younger days, when it was the “Idaho Primitive Area” before wilderness designation, I backpacked a couple of times on the other side, going in at Big Creek, and circling through Chamberlain Basin, then up to Sheepeater Peak. It was long, grueling, and worth every step.



The first trip, we hit a string of lakes, that in one, we were able to supplement our diet with trout. In fact we stayed an extra afternoon. After a week of pack food, those were the best fish I’ve ever tasted. But that lake sure made for a darn cold bath. Hopefully the fish will bite for your trip. You might also be able to get grouse for a different meal.



Good luck on thinning out the wolf population too. I’ve heard they’ve made quite a dent on the elk population throughout the “Frank”. Luckily for me, my elk hunting area is close to some ranches that seem to keep the wolf population at bay. Talk about a contentious issue here. Bringing wolves in wasn’t exactly a popular move.



I have a friend that spent a lot of years wrangling and packing throughout that country. He told me a story once, that he and a number of guys – all cowboy, wrangler, packer types - were hanging around Chamberlain Basin when a plane flew in. A guy got out, and included in his gear, was a mountain bike. He put his pack on, slung his rifle, and peddled up the trail. The guys sitting around had a good laugh at that darn fool. A short time later, they heard a rifle shot in the direction he’d gone. Some time passed, and that darn fool came back down the trail, pushing the bike. A half an elk was draped across it. He went to the camp area, adjacent to the airstrip, and hung the meat in a tree, got on his bike and pedaled up the trail for the other half. My friend said they weren’t laughing at him anymore.



Funny timing on this post. I just picked up my elk tag yesterday.



Good luck on your trip. You should have a wonderful time.

[tarbe]

Thanks bretf...your post sure brought back some memories as well.

My first trip into the Frank in '87, I thought about taking a Mountain Bike in. Then I found out no wheeled anything allowed in.

It was ok with me...part of the reason I want to go into the designated wilderness is to get away from wheeled stuff!

My son just got a supply of flies delivered...hoping to have something the trout want to hit!

Also just got some custom topo maps delivered from MyTopo.com. They are really nice! You get to choose your scale and the boundaries. Done up on a nice vinyl/waterproof material, with great contrast for these old eyes.

Liked what I ordered so much, I just ordered several more of other areas.

Anyone wanting some custom topo maps done up, give mytopo.com a look.


Tim

[tarbe]

30 days to liftoff.

Heat index was 113 today when I was out hiking. Fortunately for me I had a work-related dinner tonight, so I had to cut it short - only had time for 4 miles. Between the sweat and the sunscreen, my eyes were burning worse than usual.

It's getting tough to concentrate at work. My mind keeps wandering to things Idaho Wilderness.

Got to get in some more shooting time, too. I have good loads worked up for all three rifles. Just need to reconfirm zero.

[bretf]

I drove past an archery shop the other day, and they have a countdown on the sign of number days to elk hunting.  14 days and you can go up with a bow.  I'm not sure I'd want to stick one right off myself.  Though not as hot as what you are dealing with, it's still in the 90's most days in the mountains close to me.  Hotter than I'd want to have a large animal to take care of.


I'm not sure what the smoke will be like where you're going.  The largest fire seems to keep growing unabated, and has the air here murky most of the time.  I saw there was another fire closer to where you'll be, recently, but the firefighters were able to contain it.  Next week, I may be able to give you a better idea.  My son is going backpacking this weekend a little south of where you're going in.  Might  have a fishing report too.


Take care, looking forward to hearing about the trip.

[bretf]

Hey Tim,

Lots of fires still burning out of control here.  Don't know if you know this site 

inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4894/

This link is direct to one closer to where you'll be.  

My son said on the backpacking trip, the high country was clear of smoke, it was only in the lower valleys.  Fishing was good.  The adults used spinners, the kids used marshmallows. 
We've got a cooling trend coming in, so maybe it will slow the fires.

Have a great trip.

[tarbe]

Wow, I've been gone a long while!

Fishing was great on our trip. We set up base camp at Black Lake, about 20 foot miles from the trail head per the GPS.

Most of our hunting took place at 7,000 to 8,000 feet, and beyond Black Lake (mostly west). Found out from the local outfitter (after we came out) that he did not find elk until hie got below 5,500 feet. For some reason they were abnormally low last September - at least in the Frank. We did bump elk prior to the start of the season, on our hike in (at 5,000 - 6,000 feet!).

We covered about 70 miles on foot...of course, all up and down as is the norm for that Salmon River country.

Weather was unusual in that it rained on us 4 of the 7 days. We pretty well got soaked! Made for some cold sleeping...and lots of drying by the fire at night.

While on the trip, my SIL to-be officially asked for my daughter's hand...up until then it was only assumed. They will be married on October 28th in Dallas.

Considering the bust on the elk and the weather, it was still a great trip!

[themotherhen]

tarbe, many congratulations on your daughter's engagement, and it is so nice that your sil proposed on a family trip!

[Ozarks Tom]

tarbe, Yep, sometimes the original goal of an adventure takes second seat to the overall experience. Glad y'all had a good time, and congratulations on the new SIL.

[Deleted]

God bless your daughter and her intended with a fruitful engagement period, and a long, fulfilling marriage!