ICT meet IBT

I am posting this on behalf of Mike O'Brien.   Mike successfully thru-hiked the Idaho Centennial Trail in 2010.    He has gone on to make two successful hikes around the perimeter of Idaho.   Mike, along with his friend "Yeti"  has pioneered a route they are calling the Idaho Boundary Trail.    Information about this trail is now posted on a new website:                                                            

http://www.fultek.com/ibt/

ICT East alternate route

it was planned as a 30+ mile section of the Idaho Centennial Trail, East alternate route, from near
Alturas Lake, through Johnson Creek, over to Emma Creek, up Emma Creek to Big Smoky Creek, then down FR215 to Highway 75 below Galena Summit.   Jerry Finnegan and I planned it for Labor Day weekend.   We started on Sunday, August 31st, at the trailhead near Alturas Lake.   Things went well for the first 6 miles or so.  We reached the Idaho Centennial Trail near Mattingly Divide, and were on the main ICT for just a half mile or so before reaching the junction with the ICT East trail going into the Johnson Creek drainage.   About a mile and half down this trail, my ankle suddenly gave way beneath me.   My momentum caused me to do a complete somersault, and I landed on my back with my feet facing down the slope.   Fortunately I didn't continue to roll.   The damage was done, however.   My ankle was severely strained,  though not broken.   Through the rest of the afternoon I hobbled on down the trail.   Our campsite was not the greatest, but we made the most of it, and the next morning we continued on.   We had accepted that we would not get done by Tuesday and were trying to figure out how to get a message out to our wives.    As the day progressed, it became apparent that I was not going to get even to the half way point of the hike.   We decided to come off the trail at Emma Creek, where it meets the South Fork of the Boise road (NFD road 079).  

We were helped by Roger and Mary Ann on their ATV.   They got us down the road to a Methodist church camp where we were able to send messages out by satellite internet.   Jerry's wife Betty and son Brian came to the rescue.    Sometimes it's better to live to hike another day......


pictures here....

share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0ActGbJq2YsWrDTA



Ron

http://llamasyndrome.blogspot.com

Two Walk North

I'd like to introduce myself and say I'll be posting periodically on the ICT Blog as Leo was gracious enough to give me permissions.  My name is Mike Ingram and I live in Mountain Home, ID.  I'm 55 years of age and retired from the Air Force in 2008 after a 30 year career.  I'm hoping you won't be able to tell from my writing, but you certainly could if we met in person, that I'm originally from Georgia.  Even though I left there at the age of 19, the accent is still distinctive and ever present.  I got involved with the ICT after meeting my lady friend, Cindy Miller, who lives in Sweet Home, Oregon.  Cindy and I both like to hike and I have a good bit of experience with long distance backpacking.  Even though I'm retired, Cindy works as a pharmacy technician.  While she has a significant number of paid vacation days each year, our backpacking has to be done in smaller chunks of a week to 10 days duration.  So starting back in 2011, I mentioned we should backpack the Idaho Centennial Trail, attempting to do 130-150 miles per year, with a goal of finishing it before I turn 60.  We started that first year at the Nevada state line.  It didn't take long to realize we weren't as prepared as we'd thought.  After getting the truck stuck on the first day, we began our hike on the 2nd day and made approximately 20 miles before my feet were so blistered from a poor choice of shoes that Cindy had to call a friend to extract us.  We were determined though and came back the following season to hike from where we'd left off the first year, across the Owyhee Desert, over the Bennett Hills and to the Castle Rock road.  It seems like a long time and distance ago now, but we've just recently completed a section from Thunder Mountain to Dagger Falls and next week will do a short section from the MacGruder Corridor towards the Selway.  I'll have to do my end-of-year calculations later this year, but I know we'll have somewhere between 350 and 400 total miles at the end of this season.  We've completed the southern portion up to Thunder Mountain and are now working on the middle section.  Luckily, we've been keeping photographic and written records of our trips and I'll also add some of those as I have time over this winter.  We're both feeling healthy and energized at this point and it's five more years before I'm 60, so I'm expecting we'll pull it off.  I'm looking forward to sharing our story on this blog.  

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

Trail Work on Marble Creek!

An update from Marble Creek Trail #222- a tributary of the Middle Fork of the Salmon River.

A 4-person crew  from the Selway-Bitterroot Frank Church Foundation started up Marble Creek on the 10th of September 2013 after flying into Thomas Creek Ranch. We spent 8 days working up Marble Creek (working upstream, toward the Thunder Mtn. Trailhead), and are pleased to have cleared most of the trail.

This is the 3rd year in a row the Selway Bitterroot Frank-Church Foundaiton has worked on clearing Marble Creek Trail. The 25 mile section of trail meanders back and forth over Marble Creek many times (roughly 25 creek crossings), and therefore presents many challenges to any hiker or trail crew trying to open the trail. We are very happy with the progress and condition of the trail, however want to give some specific information to assist any potential thru-hikers.

As of 9/18/2013:
- From the Middle Fk. Confluence --> Trail Creek, the trail is in great shape. No down trees and brush is clear from creek crossings.

-Upstream of Trail Creek (roughly 300 yards from Trail Ck. confluence) there is no tread. Brush is extremely thick and users will most likely need to walk adjacent to and/or in the creek. Look for brush opening and tread again on the East side of Marble Ck. The trail crosses the creek twice more before obvious tread develops again (around 1/4 mi downstream of Mink Ck.)

-There are down trees in the burn area that surrounds Buck Creek. The highest concentration of down trees starts at Buck Ck. and continues for roughly 1.5 miles North (upstream).


Some pictures from our work on Marble Creek are below!

One of the many crossings over Marble Creek.

Enjoying the view downstream of Canyon Creek,

A good example of brush overgrown on the trail.

Trail condition post-brushing.

Large tree down on trail.

After clearing.

We even found some creek crossings full of large logs.

But we got them all cleared out!

Overall the trail is in good shape and ready for your visit, so get out there. Marble Creek is a beautiful and remote section of ICT trail in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness.

For more information about this project or the Selway Bitterroot Frank-Church Foundation visit the SBFC Foundation website at www.selwaybitterroot.org

Safe Trails!

Seth Norell Bader,
Lead Wilderness Steward, Selway-Bitterroot Frank Church Foundation

Nevada to Interstate-90

In the summer of 2013, I attempted to hike the Idaho Centennial Trail from Nevada to British Columbia.  I didn't quite make it ... it was so hot and dusty that I stopped at Interstate-90.  Nevertheless, I hiked 699.7 miles in 67 days and identified 202 species of wildflowers.

For more about my trip, look at

http://www.oberlin.edu/physics/dstyer/Backpacking

Grandjean to Atlanta

Three of us took riding and pack stock for the 2 1/4 day trip.  Camped about 4 miles up the trial the first night.  The wolves started howling right across the river from us at about 5:30 am.  They kept it up for almost 3 hours.  The trail got more difficult the higher we got. Mostly logs of various sizes across the trail.  It took all day to get to Spangle Lake.  I would not recommend taking stock that is not VERY used to negotiating off trail terrain.  A large saw is a must in case there's no getting around something.  Beautiful scenery and weather.  Looks like August up there with virtually no snow.  The fish were jumpin' when we got to Spangle that evening.  The next day we took all day getting to Atlanta.  This part of the trail was much better.  Appears that outfitters are keeping it pretty well cleared.  There is one very large tree across the trail above the Flytrip Cr. Trail and another above the Rock Creek Trail that really need to be cut out.  It appeared that few, if anyone, have been through yet this year.  It's hard to find the trail on the other side of the river when you cross it at Rock Creek.  When you cross the river at Rock Creek don't exit the river at the last little section of water...walk downriver in the water about 70 feet and you'll see the trail on the bank.  After that it's pretty clear sailing to the Powerhouse Campground near Atlanta with still some downed trees to negotiate.

Clark Fork

another section of my 7 year hike across Idaho.    the ICT goes right through the town of Clark Fork.  

Stateline Trail video

Stateline Trail video

another part of my 7 year Idaho Centennial Trail adventure. 

the Stateline Trail runs along the Idaho - Montana border for approx. 150 miles. 

this is a section of that trail, which I hiked solo in July of 2009. 

this video is actually Part II. Part I is still in the *production* phase. 

This segment is 22 miles between just south of Eighty Seven Mile Peak along the stateline to a point on Dry Creek Road.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBp3KOg2Asc

Gospel Hump part B

I completed another hiking video.  This is part B of the Gospel Hump Wilderness, one of the sections I hiked as part of my Idaho Centennial Trail experience.   in Part A which was titled Buffalo Hump, I hiked with my son Daniel in from the eastern side of the wilderness to Buffalo Hump.   in Part B, my oldest son John and  I hike in from the western side and go almost all the way across the wilderness and back.   from August of 2009   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoOnOAm_Tu4 Ron http://llamasyndrome.blogspot.com

Gospel Hump Wilderness

I hiked the ICT West Alternate route, part of which passes to the north side of the Gospel Hump Wilderness.   through the previous experience of my friend Jerry Finnegan (ICT Class of 2009) I learned about the *horrible* condition of the trail from Sourdough Lookout east to Five Mile Pond.   I made the decision to go THROUGH the Gospel Hump rather than around it.   I wound up crossing the Gospel Hump twice.   I came in from the east, from Orogrande Summit on one hike with one of my sons, then came in from the west from Square Mountain Lookout and went across the wilderness to connect, with another one of my sons.   in this way, I made a connecting trail between Rocky Bluff Campground all the way over to Five Mile Pond.

This illustrates a point I would like to make to prospective ICT hikers.   especially when dealing with the trail up north (north of the Salmon River).   it's okay to give yourself permission to deviate from the *official* trail.   There were several places that I chose to re-route, for various reasons.   Water and Safety were usually high on the priority list.  

This video shows my first Gospel Hump hike, from Orogrande Summit to Hump Lake, with son Daniel.  

http://youtu.be/GmcSbFcil-g


Ron

(ICT Class of 2011)

http://llamasyndrome.blogspot.com

Owyhee Desert pt. 1

Two friends and I attempted the portion of the ICT from the Nevada Border to Winter Camp on June, 17, 2012 with mountain bikes.  We were all in pretty good shape, and had prepared and coordinated our work schedules for this day months in advance.  I guess we couldn’t prepare for the 1^st triple digit degree temperature of the year.  Although we made it to Poison creek with ease and knew prior to arriving that there probably wouldn’t be any water, it was still a kick to the gut when our assumptions were confirmed.  It was a few miles north of this, that one friend began to slow down, and take a lot of long breaks.  When we got to the cut off road to the Bruneau River, we knew that he was going downhill quickly, and that he was probably going to need medical intervention.  My other friend rode on, in hope to find our support team who was at Winter Camp.  I stayed with my sick friend and urged him to go on as I attempted to get to a location with cell service.  15 miles from Winter Camp, I was able to get a text message to my wife, but not my support team.  10 miles from Winter Camp, my friend collapsed with heat exhaustion.   I had brought my work radio, and was able to communicate with Elmore County Dispatch.  I relayed my urgent situation and our GPS grids to them.  I stood in the blazing heat acting as an umbrella while sprinkling my remaining water on my sick friend for 90 minutes until Life Flight arrived.  My father-n-law arrived on his motorcycle around the same time as Life Flight.  He gave me much needed water and took my sick friend’s bike back to Winter Camp.  My sick friend started losing feeling in his extremities, and went into heat stroke minutes before Life Flight landed.  I now had to continue my trip and try to catch up to my other friend.  I met up with him on the west side of Winter Camp Canyon, just in time for me to start suffering from the effects of heat exhaustion.  We rode through the canyon at an incredible slow pace, until the both of us came upon a rattle snake in the middle of the trail.  My senses were probably only at 50% and I only saw a dark blur and heard only a faint rattle, before I was right on top of it.  My friend was able to maneuver away, but not before he witnessed the snake strike and bite the frame of my bike.  I received a surge of energy and sped to the base of the east grade of the Winter Camp Canyon.  I couldn’t ride or push my bike up the 200 yard long grade.  Half an hour later, I got to the top and met the rest of my support team.  I started to vomit uncontrollably and had horrendous body aches.   They rushed me back to my wife who is a nurse and (pardon the pun) nursed me back to health over the next few days.  My sick friend actually recovered faster than I did, but my medical bill was $30,000 less than his.  Come to find out, he had just recovered from the flu and an 8 pound weight loss the week before.  We found out the hard way that this portion of the trail shouldn’t be attempted after the first of June through the end of September without an immediate support team.  Also, I cannot stress enough the importance to pre-hydrate the day before your trip and the need to bring PLENTY of water with you!  As for the trail itself, It was well marked, except for the mile right after the Poison Creek crossing, which added another two miles to our trip.  During our ride, I would say that only 20% of it was mostly smooth compacted dirt, while the rest of the trail was both very rocky and bumpy or 4” of fine dust.  For the most part, this portion of the trail wasn’t fun at all.  We did see plenty of cows and antelope, in which we almost ran over 2 fawns that were bedded down on the trail.  Good luck and be safe out there!

class of 2012

Thomas Oord completed his thru hike of the ICT on August 17, 2012.  
CONGRATULATIONS TOM!!!!

Thomas Jay Oord

August 19

I completed the Idaho Centennial Trail on August 17! Thanks to all for your support on this long journey, especially to my wife,Cheryl Oord. I'll post photos when I arrive back in Nampa...

Marble Creek in Frank Church Wilderness:

On August 2-11, 2012, a group of volunteers and myself cleared the Centennial Trail from the Thunder Mountain trailhead about 10 miles down to Bellaco Mine and then down to Dynamite Creek.  We cut out hundreds of large downed logs, brushed the trail 8 feet wide for pack stock use, rebuild numerous rock retaining walls and widen the tread in many sections.  There are over 12 fords (ranging from 6"-24" inches deep) of Marble Creek in the section we worked on.  Expect to get your feet wet.  The Centennial trail downstream from Dynamite has over a hundred down logs and a few brushy section.  A volunteer trail crew is going down there next week to try to cut a few more miles downstream and hope to get the trail cleared 6 miles down to Canyon Creek.  If you are doing this section expect numerous fords and sections where you lose the trail.  The old trail bed is still intact but often hard to find in the brush.  You can find good camps at Bellaco, Brush Creek and Dynamite Creek.  Have fun.

ICT thru hiker 2012 update

Tom's latest progress report is from August 9th.

he made it to the town of Clark Fork, and is still experiencing stomach problems from the *bad water* a couple of weeks back on the Stateline trail.

he has about 10 days of hiking left to get to the northern end of the ICT.

ICT thru hiker 2012 update

here was a previous update post for Thomas Oord, so it's a little out of sync but still showing his progress.  

Tom's Walkabout Stats so far:

700 miles completed
300 miles to go
1 wolf sighting
4 bear sightings

1 pair of shoes demolished
1 backpack too small due to weight loss
60 mile daddy/daughter trek
2 walking sticks stolen by porcupines
15 family resupply trips
1 adventure of a life time

= 1 happy hiker husband

 — with Thomas Jay Oord and 3 others.

ICT thru hiker 2012 update

1. 
   

   
   

   Thomas Jay Oord

   Friday

   I'm taking a sabbath rest from the trail in Mullan/Wallace. I drank some bad water 50 miles back and have been sick on the trail the last few days.
   
   I did see a moose, another wolf, and a badger during the last week. I've walked more than 900 miles now, and I've got about 200 to Canada.

   
   

Hunter Transfer Camp to Willow Creek Rd/S Fk Boise

July 5^th 2012 - ICT Hunter Transfer Camp to Willow Creek Rd/ South Fork of the Boise River -  Hiking about 16miles in about 9hours 30mins. Ok no bicycle this time it’s all Shanks Ponies as my Folks always called ‘em. Just a Day Pack about 20-25lbs of mostly survival gear and of course my walking sticks. For those of you who don’t hike with Treking poles, an old stick you carve along the way or something to steady you on the uphill and downhill sections –“Just get some and try them on one long downhill that’s steep sometime and then see if you don’t carry some after that”. The hike went smooth and the trail was easy to follow. From tracks I would say more dirt bikes thru here than anything else. I can’t complain they keep the logs cut out and the trail well worn, I must admit sometimes the dirt bikes leave nasty ruts and loose rocks on the steep sections but it’s all good. If you are on a steeper section and hear bikes coming, it can be smart to give them a little room. Most of them are real good people but they might have to be blasting bye to make it up the section you are on, so step off the trail if you can and wave as they go bye. I find most are very respectful and only a few jerks give these guys bad names.  The hike up the N Fork Lime Trail was rather easy with several creek crossing most knee deep or less but you will get your feet wet unless you do some long jumps or bank exploration. Fill up on water before hitting the top or you won’t find any water until you get almost to the S Fork of the Boise River, about the last 6-7 miles. There was one small drizzle near the top of Trail 037 but it will likely not run for much longer. The last 3-4 miles down Trail 037 is steep and single track with loose dirt, gravel and rocks from the dirt bikers, use caution going down this and definitely get some hiking poles. These steep loose rock sections will hurt you fast if you don’t take them slow and steady, plan on only making 1 to 1.5 miles per hour thru here. It can be done faster but you can also roll to the bottom of the canyon on your head too. This is a good long day hike that will be about all most people will want in a day. It is also a great assessment hike for me to see exactly how much mud I got for the upcoming sections that are longer. Came accross a herd of sheep near the top of the drainage and two big sheep dogs that gave a few growls and barks but stayed their distance. Great views from up top before dropping back down to the Boise River.

Happy Trails

Bennet Mtn To Hunter Transfer Camp

June 30 2012- Near Peak of Bennet Mtn Rd to Hunter Transfer Camp aprox 26.5 miles Bicycle and some Walking-3hours 15min. Downhill from top of Bennet Mtn across Highway 20 and onto the Castle Rock Rd small walk but otherwise ride like the wind. Going up Castle Rock had some walking uphills as well but otherwise a nice bike ride.

                          Just one of Many of the Rock Formations

The Rocks are Amazing and very interesting to see. I could go back here to see those again. Across Pine Featherville Rd a nice change from the dirt for a litle ways. Now thru the Cows and the fine silt dirt that feals like wet cement. Watch out for the Bulls They DO Have the Right-of-Way! No problems at all with the Cows for me. The last couple miles downhill to Hunter Transfer Camp. Goal Score and anotherone bites the Dust.