His and Hers Hikes

On Father's Day weekend, the city park and vicinity were packed with baseball players from out of town. It was SO crowded; the parking area was overflowing, and people and their stuff were everywhere, so Josh decided it was a good idea to leave work an hour early on Friday to get away from the chaos and head out of town to the mountains. He wanted to go to Iron Lake in the camper van, but he wasn't sure if the rugged mountain road would be clear of snow. He took his motorbike up, decided the road was good enough for the van, came back home, got the van, and drove BACK to the lake for an overnight camping/hiking trip. He was the only person staying at the campground, which was ideal. It was wet and cold, so he was glad he'd been able to take the van instead of sleep in a tent! On Saturday morning, he hiked up to Taylor Mountain. He'd never done the hike this early in the season, and there was still snow across several parts of the trail. He made it to the Lookout Tower just before a windy snowstorm blew in. He took shelter in the lookout for about 30 minutes until the storm passed, and then made his way back down the mountain. The hike took longer than usual due to the snowy trail and the snowstorm: it took about 4 hours round trip. When he got back to the lake, he decided he didn't want to be cold any longer, and he packed up and drove home. It was a quick 24-hour trip for him, but he was really glad that he went! He'd much rather be alone on a mountain than at a function with a huge crowd of people!

Snow-covered hiking trail to Taylor Mtn.

Josh's favorite wildflower: the Indian Paintbrush

The following Wednesday (June 21st), I took the day off work to go hiking up to Gold Bug Hot Springs with my dominoes friends from Mud Lake. They'd never been to it before, and it had been several years since I'd been, so I was glad for the chance to go again. The weather was perfect, and it was so wonderful to spend the day with them. It was a very therapeutic trip for me. I cried multiple times on the hike as a result of being in a safe space with my beloved friends and also feeling vulnerable as I was experiencing my new respiratory challenges. I spent the hike processing a lot of recent hardships: the loss of my vocal abilities, the change in my profession, and the newly acquired job that required me to work full-time in the summer which I hadn't done for 20 years. I wasn't just hiking--I was trying to rise above the sinking circumstances I'd been experiencing. Being with my friends was JUST what I needed! I'm glad we went on a weekday, so the trail and hot springs weren't super crowded. When we reached the top, we stopped to have lunch, then we happily soaked in a few hot pools before making our return trip back. Right before we left the hot springs, Angie partook of a substance with unknown ingredients offered by a fellow soaker. It really affected her, and as a result, it took us even longer to get down the mountain than it had to hike up! Once we finally made it back to the car, we drove into Salmon and had dinner at the newly completed Highlander (located in the old King's building on Main Street) before they drove back home to Mud Lake. It was a memorable day and I'm so grateful my friends made the trip to Salmon to spend the day with me!  

The hikers: Angie, Lidia, Rosalba, & I. 
Val and Tanis were unable to come.

This boulder reminded me of a bowling ball!

Gotta Jet!

 I have wanted to take a jet boat ride down the Salmon River for about 10 years, and that wish finally came true in June! I booked a day trip for Josh and I with Arctic Creek Lodge & Tours. There is a hot springs on my "hit list" of 100 Hot Springs in Idaho down the Salmon River, and the only way to access it is either by a week-long rafting trip or a day ride on a jet boat. Since we did the rafting trip down the Middle Fork last year, we couldn't afford to do it again down the Main so soon. The hot springs is on a stretch that is accessible from the eastern side of the river, so any jet boats launched from the western side by Riggins wouldn't be able to reach it on their day stretch. There are only 2 companies that currently book jet boat tours from the eastern side, which made scheduling this trip a little tricky. We originally had a tour date set in June of 2021, but the river dropped so low the week we were scheduled to go that the boat wouldn't be able to go as far as the hot springs, so sadly we had to cancel. We then tried to reschedule for 2022, but every time there was an opening for Josh and I to join an expedition, it was on a date we couldn't go. I was SO grateful that it finally worked out for us to go in June this year! 

The tour date was scheduled for Thursday, June 15. Josh and I took our camper van and camped at Corn Creek Campground on Wednesday night, since it's a 2-hour ride to get to Corn Creek from Salmon, and our boat ride began at 8:30am on Thursday morning. It was so wonderful to camp along the river, and it was so peaceful in the middle of the week. We took a walk along the river that night and enjoyed the surroundings. 

The jet boat picked us up on Thursday morning from the Corn Creek dock. We were joined by a large group from Montana, and a family of 3 from the Salmon area as well. It was the first jet boat ride Josh and I had ever taken. It was quite exciting how fast it could go! We drove for 40 miles down river, before it turned around and came back. We stopped 4 times on the way: the first was to check out some pictographs on the cliffs bordering the river, then we made a pit stop at Arctic Creek Lodge, which was quite charming. Barth Hot Springs was our next stop, which was absolutely amazing and definitely worth the trip! We only got to soak for about 15 minutes, but I loved every single second of it! Our last stop was the turnaround point of the day--40 miles down river from Corn Creek. We stopped at the footbridge to the historic site of Campbell's Ferry. Josh walked around the location, and just loved it! 

We had an exhilarating ride back to Corn Creek, and arrived about 4:30pm. Josh and I both enjoyed ourselves immensely on the day-long excursion.

Our camping spot on Wednesday night, bordering the Salmon River

A map of the stretch of the river that the jet boat took. 

Our sweet ride for the day!

Our pilot, standing in the gray sweatshirt, 
going over the rules of the boat before our ride.

The boat had a covered section, and a back open deck.

After our stop at the pictographs.

The steps leading up to Arctic Creek Lodge from the river.

There was a little foot bridge crossing the creek behind the house
that we walked over in order to get to the natural outhouses.

Gathering on the front deck before we loaded back in the boat.

The ascent to Barth Hot Springs from the river.

What a stunning pool!

Our group hiking up to the hot springs from the river.

Crossed another hot springs off my Idaho hot springs hit list!

Seriously, I was so full of joy that I was
finally able to soak in this amazing pool!

The jet boat was stronger and more powerful than I'd imagined!

The pilot's chair was above our heads--that
way he could see far enough ahead to guide
us through the rapids and riverbends.

The footbridge at Campbell's Ferry

I waited on the boat while Josh explored Campbell's Ferry.

On our drive back to Salmon from Corn Creek, we saw where
the Middle Fork and Main Salmon merge--there had been a
blow-out on the Main Salmon upriver earlier in the week that
reached the confluence the previous day, & the contrast was quite a sight.