re: Long Distance Hiking Class

I was able to attend the Tuesday session of Michael O'Brien's  Ultralight Backpacking class.    It was very interesting and he had a lot of stories from 2009 ICT and from his "Around Idaho" perimeter hike last year.    The slide show had a lot of great pictures and it was fun to remember places I have been along the trail.    He is having the second half of the class tonight Thursday 1/30  @ 6:30 pm  @ West Junior High.     one of the slides that he showed was meeting Marcia Powers, who thru hiked with her husband Ken in 2009, then solo hiked southbound for about half the ICT.     I like to try to make sure we get the names of ICT completers on this blog, since it's still fairly new and a rare accomplishment.  

so Michael O'Brien   Class of 2009.    Well done!    that was a big year for the ICT.
 Ken and Marcia Powers, my friend Jerry Finnegan, Bart Robinson, and Michael 0'Brien.

any others out there that I missed from 2009?


Ron   (Class of 2011)


http://llamasyndrome.blogspot.com

Long Distance Hiking Class

I'll be teaching an evening class in lightweight backpacking gear and long distance hiking: Class # 14W-GAR-002 Tu and Th from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM January 28-30, 2014 (Tue, Thu) West Junior High Also, a suggestion for a scenic alternate route south of Clark Fork: This route is longer, but avoids heavily traveled roads. It has plenty of water, unlike the official route. It's much more scenic Turn off Forest Service Road 430 on the good trail down to Jordan Spring Continue on the trail down Alden Creek (There were several blowdowns across the trail in 2012) The trail crosses Alden Creek at the confluence with the North Fork of Coeur d'Alene River Hike downstream on Coeur d'Alene National Recreation Trail There is a damp crossing of some beaver ponds at Deer Creek Downstream from there, the trail is one of the most scenic I've seen in Idaho Turn north on the Clark Fork Road #306 at Big Meadows At the road junction at the border of Shoshone and Bonner Counties, take road #1066 north Turn right on mountain bike trail #606 This leads you back eventually to road #1066, which takes you to Clark Fork I plan to walk around Idaho again this summer. Mike O'Brien boisemobrien@gmail.com