Snowslide Lake

The store was open 7 days a week this summer, so we did not do any hiking, and not much biking except for the commute to the shop. We were really looking forward to our Tuesday hike. Now that Labor Day weekend is over we can go back to 6 days a week. I wanted to do Lava Butte Lakes, but we decided it was too ambitious considering our time frame and how little hiking we have done this summer (none!)


Snowslide and Maki lakes are close to town and easy to get to. Head towards Ponderosa State park, turning right on Lick Creek Rd at the stop sign. When you get to the turn off for East Lake you keep heading straight and continue on past Little Payette Lake. The trail head is clearly marked a bit over 11 1/2 miles past the East Lake turn off.


There is potential for wet feet at the start of the hike, as you begin by crossing the north fork of Lake Fork Creek. Luckily for us, the water is low enough this time of year to hop from rock to rock without wading.


It was a gorgeous fall day, with just a bit of chill in the air. Perfect for hiking. Not too many wildflowers left, but lots of bright orange berries. Need to look these up in my book as I can't remember what they are called. Below is a really nice (if slightly blurry) Indian Paintbrush.


Pretty orange berry bushes.


The trail starts out nice and gradual, but quickly becomes fairly steep. I think the guide book we were using called it "easy" which seems surprising, given the amount of elevation you gain in such a short distance. Several sections were very steep with lots of loose rock to slip and slide on. Definitely a good trail to bring your hiking poles on. Below is a very dry stream crossing. There were two wet stream crossings a little over half way to Snowslide that our thirsty pup was grateful for.


Thirsty poodle about 1/3 of the way up. She got in even less hiking this summer than we did!


Really nice views looking across towards Box Lake and Beaverdam Peak.




Anyone know what the fuzzy pink growth on these leaves is called? Blurry picture doesn't help. It looked like some sort of fungus. Since we didn't get a winner for our last picture challenge maybe we should have a 'name that fungus' challenge!


The trail looked like it had gotten plenty of use over the Labor Day weekend. Someone had made cute little rock cairns to mark the trail at fairly regular intervals.


A glimpse of Snowslide down the trail.


The poodle slurping up some tadpole water.


The water was just teeming with huge monster tadpoles. They were a bit smaller than a nickle. I can't remember my tadpole lore...do the frogs hibernate all winter? Another thing I need to look up. The picture doesn't really give you an idea of how big they were, but really I have never seen tadpoles this large before. I think these are gonna be some big frogs!


The poodle was especially photogenic on this hike. And especially fragrant when we got home, as she sunk up to her belly in the mud.


Right about this time we were thinking about lunch. We had chickened out on trying the freeze dried chili mac (despite it's high rating), and opted for beef stroganoff instead. Then I remembered I hadn't packed my fairshare mug or my spork. Argg. Gordy saved the day by cleverly crafting spoons out of the foil fire bowl that goes under the stove. We had some lunch and headed back down the trail. So good to get out!

September Picture Challenge

Picture Challenge is back! Give us your best guess and win a $25 Mud Creek Gift Card. As in previous challenges, a more specific answer trumps a vague, generic answer! Send your answer to our shop e-mail address. In person guesses will not be accepted.

Kung Pao Chicken at Louie Lake

Today we finally made it into Louie Lake. One of those hikes we have been wanting to do for years, but just never seem to get around to. It's another great, easy hike in the McCall area...just a half hour drive to the trail head, and maybe an hour hike into the lake itself. To get there, take Elo road to Boulder Lake Rd, and park at Boulder meadows reservoir. The trail head is marked with a wooden sign. Cross the stream and head up the trail.



After half a mile the trail connects with an old jeep trail. We followed ATV tire tracks the rest of the way to the lake, so apparently it is not closed to motor vehicles.



I think one guide book describes the hike as more difficult than the hike into Boulder Lake, but it seemed less steep to me. I think it must be longer so the climbing feels more gradual.



Louie Lake sits below Jughandle Mountain and it was gorgeous. It was an overcast day, so my pictures are not doing it justice. I hear there is a geocache up there, only found once.



Gordy whipped up some kung pao chicken for lunch. Then we packed up to head back. Some nice tourists showed up just as we were leaving. Other than that we didn't see a soul...and no ATV'rs.

Boulder Lake

Evidently pedal powered snowmobiles are OK on this trail!


Yet another popular fishing hole & hike, Boulder Lake trail head is just a half hour drive from McCall. From Elo road it is 3 miles to Boulder Lake Rd and 4 miles to Boulder Meadows Reservoir, where you will find a primitive campground and plenty of parking. The reservoir is pictured below.



The trail starts out fairly level and turns into switchbacks once you pass the reservoir. You gain 700 ft in less than a mile, a good workout for the lungs.



There is a creek crossing, but we when were there end of September the water was so low it was not a problem. Other times you may want to plan for wet feet.



Boulder lake has an eight foot high concrete & rock dam on the south side. I've tried to find some information on the why's and how's behind the dam, but haven't been able to. Drop us an e-mail if you feel like sharing!

Josephine Lake

I'm getting behind in my blog entries....a few weeks back we took a nice hike into Josephine Lake, a popular local fishing hole. It takes longer to drive out to the trailhead than it does to actually walk into the lake. From McCall head north on Warren Wagon road, past Upper Payette Lake & Secesh Summit. You will see a sign for the turn off on the left. The road is fairly rough, most guide books recommend a four wheel drive vehicle. We just took it easy.



At the trail head you start out walking a two track road, then branch off onto a narrower trail. About a quarter of a mile in you will see a small pond off to the left. Josephine lake is just another quarter mile up the trail



You can still tell the area was hit pretty hard by forest fires (in 1994), but the area has it's own beauty.



There were several good camping spots at the lake, if you have a smaller sized tent.



A narrow path goes most of the way around the lake. We should have brought fishing poles, or at least our kid that likes to fish! We did meet a group of fishermen heading in, as we were heading out. Despite the road it is a very popular place. It would be a great place to take your out of town visitors, an easy hike & very pretty little lake.

Bear Basin Trails

Ah, first day of September. Days are cooler, kids are conveniently back in school...time to check out the Bear Basin mountain bike trails. We haven't been up since they first started working on the trail system, two summers ago. The Bear Basin trails are built on Payette National Forest land by Forest Service employees and local volunteers. We have been sending mountain biking tourists up all summer, so it was time to see their progress for ourselves. To get there, you head north out of McCall on Hwy 55, watch for the brown "Bear Basin Trailhead" sign and turn right on N Club Hill Blvd before you get to Little Ski Hill. At the parking lot you will find restrooms, a warming yurt (Bear Basin is a much used nordic trail system in the snow months), and a map of the trails. Click on the map for an enlarged version, print it out for use on the trail!

As on our previous visit, Matt (Forest Service employee and local mountain biking club president) was there hard at work. We chatted for awhile and mentioned the only complaint we have heard regarding the trail system is people getting confused about their current location while on the trail system (notice I didn't say lost). Matt pointed out the nice map they have at the trailhead and said they were in need of names for the trails themselves, which would help with the confusion.

We headed out on the left hand trail, which was a nice wide, swoopy section. The grade is mostly level and really pleasant to ride.

This section empties out into a hub, where you can choose from 3 difficult level trails or loop back to the start on an easy trail. They have put up a nice big information sign with a map of proposed trails, a hand drawn 'you are here' map, and a topo map. The hand drawn map was not quite up to date...to the right of the information sign (kiosk on the map) one of the the 3 difficult level trails begins. But you get the general idea.

We tried the first trail to the left, the west face trail. Note the clear signage and rock cairn.

The west face trail is narrower and has many opportunities to brush up on your bike skills. We were really impressed with the work that went into building the berms, erosion guards and other features. Below you can see Gordy coming up over a berm (he caught major air right after the picture was taken! No really) and to the right of the berm you can see the bail-out, a by-pass of the berm. I took the bail out.

Farther down was an even bigger berm and jump (seen here from the back). I took the bail-out.

Also for your biking enjoyment, mini skills parks:

But we were really impressed with the work that went into the planked section. Complete with options: wider width board walk and balance beam width.
The next section becomes more technical, with some boulders to ride over and around.

Nice view of the rock flat neighborhood. We turned around not long after this, where the trail became more rocky. The climb up was nice and gradual.

We headed back to the car via the other easy trail, a gentle climb back to the parking lot. We only explored less than a 1/3 of the trails, lots more out there for another day!

Don't forget to check out the trails this winter, when it becomes a nordic paradise:

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