I had started mapping/researching that route a couple years ago. This will fill in all the gaps.

Thanks!

Consider any of the Backcountry Discovery Routes. These have been developed with adventure motorcycling in mind but many of them would be suitable for bikepacking.   www.backcountrydiscoveryroutes.com  then click on ROUTES. They do not use singletrack. You would need to determine your resupply points. They provide routes but I don't think they provide any printed info on camping or food.

In their ABOUT section, note that for each route that have a full-length documentary DVD, paper maps and GPS tracks.

You can also read ride reports on all the routes by searching the ADVRIDER forum. www.advrider.com/index.php  Search in Ride Reports or Regional Forums for the routes by name such as ORBDR for the Oregon route.

We did about half of the routes in Oregon a couple years on our dual sport motorcycles. It was great. You could create a loop.

REVAMP OF TIE CREEK CAMPGROUND NORTH OF CROUCH

The Boise NF wants to upgrade the Tie Creek Campgrd. This is a popular spot for Hot Springs riders because it is the first camp north of Crouch on the Middle Fork Payette River. The upgrades include creating tent pads. I don't think the campgrnd has any now because it was designed more for car and RV campers.

The info is attached. Please send an email supporting these upgrades to Ranger Everado Santillan at esantillan@fs.fed.us.

My trip straddled two weekends, prime time for 4wheelers, FWDs and lots of traffic on the FS roads. Lots of dust.
Both weekends meant special events in the towns I was near at the time, one good, the other just busy.

If you can, I recommend avoiding Labor Day weekend and the entire week near 4th of July.

More info on the 465 Pine Creek ATV trail.

More info on the 440 ATV trail. There is also a single track trail, The Wet Foot Trail, which goes from East Mtn ATV to the 440 ATV Trail. I have never been on it but I would guess it is steep and gnarly, if it is like the other single track in the area.

Just put up a crude journal at crazyguy if anyone cares: http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/jabantik2015 <- counterclockwise

Just looked at the route near Boiling Springs/Silver Creek. I have two better suggestions. The second one skips Silver Creek Plunge, which is a concrete pool anyway.

These are both ATV trails but are nicer and flowier and way less rocky than East Mtn ATV Trail (099) and you're going right past them anyway. Each one has 1 to 2 miles of climbing at the start but then it's virtually all downhill. I ride these on my mtn bike. Both can be seen on-line on the Boise NF map for the Emmett District. They also show up as white lines on Jabantik's maps in his ride report.

#1 ATV 440
Overgrown in some places and steeper and rutted near the end but otherwise, its a blast.
After completing East Mtn ATV trail south from Clear Crk Summit, continue on route to FS600 eastbound. Go 5 or 6 miles on FS600 to FS604 (Wet Foot Creek Road, signed) and take it uphill.  At 0.5 miles on 604 stay left at a fork. At 1.5 miles on 604, come to a gate with an ATV bypass. That is the start of 440 trail. A little more climbing then follow it downhill for 11 miles to the tee with FS698. Turn left (north) and go 1 mile to Boiling Springs Campground.

#2 ATV 465 Pine Creek
From Boiling Springs Campground, go east on FS 678 towards Silver Creek Plunge. Go 2.8 miles on 678 and turn right (south) on 465 ATV trail (it might not be marked but there are some gate posts). Go uphill for a mile or so (you'd have to climb another mile anyway to the summit if you stayed on 678) and then enjoy 10 miles of downhill to where Silver Creek meets FS 698. Turn left (south) and continue on route to Crouch. (IMHO the Silver Creek Plunge area/Peace Valley is a zoo overrun by ATVs and non-stop traffic on the 671 road. I don't go there at all in the summertime.) This trail also avoids the climb south out of Peace Valley.

-does anyone have any insight as to where I could park a truck in Crouch for a period of time?  I dug around a bit in the 2014 thread, but couldn't pick out any definite answers.  

I read on the 2014 thread that the Garden Valley RV Park would allow parking your vehicle for a nominal fee like one or two bucks a day. They are located a few miles east of Crouch near the RV storage lot. So if the Wander Inn is full, check out the RV park.

http://gardenvalleyrv.com/index.html

There are a couple other RV parks practically downtown (Starlight, Riverpond) you could also check with them. Someone mentioned parking at the Dirty Shame Saloon. I would caution against that because their lot is frequently full and who would want to park their car near people who have been drinking?

From a quick look on-line at the Smoke n Fire website, the two routes look identical from Arrowrock Res to Ketchum and again from Cape Horn to Bear Valley (near Deadwood). The difference is the stretches of singletrack between Sun Valley and Cape Horn. If you want casual then definitely skip all the singletrack. The elevation gains will be challenging enough. I think the most beautiful areas are the Sawtooths near Stanley (cooler temps too) and Bear Valley and above Cascade.

I can provide more info if you have specific questions.

In the past couple weeks we've had a span from 105F and dry to 75F with rain and hail. The current forecast calls for days of thunderstorms. The neighbors tell me it even snowed years ago on the 4th of July in Crouch. Be prepared for anything.

  It takes a lot of work to construct bike-able singletrack, more than I think most people realize.  Most trails are pretty badly designed or never constructed at all, so connecting a bunch of good trail together isn't easy.

I've spent a good part of the last 7 years exploring the forest roads and singletrack trails within a 150 mile radius of Garden Valley. From what I can tell (partly by examining old topo maps) they were created by: 1) stockmen to access to high country pastures (some are even labeled "stock trail"), 2) miners, 3) hunters, 4) Forest Service to access fire lookouts and backcountry guard stations, and last and least 5) Forest Service for recreation.  Some of these trails are 100 years old. They rarely have water bars to divert runoff so they easily get eroded during rainstorms and in the spring, especially after a forest fire. Some have been reconstructed or rerouted but most just evolved from people traveling through steep country on horseback. The Forest Service allows mtnbikes on lots of trails, but making it allowable doesn't make it rideable, especially in the rugged mountains of Central Idaho.

Vermont Gal,

There are no roads or ATV trails from the Silver Creek area to Deadwood. The only eastward options are all DIFFICULT singletrack, even on a motorcycle, such as Peace Creek (026), Long Fork Silver Creek (028 which requires crossing the Deadwood River, no bridge!) or Silver Creek Summit (044) to Bull Creek (102) to Stratton/Porter (010). I advise against ALL of those.

If you want to start in Crouch, I suggest going clockwise (northwest) to Cascade, or even starting in Cascade.

We're 10 miles from the fires up the Middle Fork Payette and the smoke is uncomfortable. I wouldn't want to be pedaling in it.

If you're willing to provide your email or phone number I can discuss specifics today. After that, I am unavailable for a week.

I saw several inquiries higher in the thread about fishing, but no responses.

I'm no fisherperson but I do know that the streams and rivers are stocked occasionally by Idaho Fish and Game. The local paper publishes when and where they are stocking. You could probably go online or contact F&G to get that info. There are some officially designated endangered trout in the streams so be sure to know what you're allow to keep if you don't catch and release.

As far as I can tell from the Idaho City MVUM and BNF maps, from Idaho City it appears to be going up the "main fork" of Bannock Creek. But, there is no trail shown on those maps or listed on the BNF website along that creek except for a short section of 305 shown on the West Fork of that creek. The RidewithGPS route somehow connects to road 304D to 203 (and maybe 663, not sure) to 203K at Bald Mtn then singletrack 130 to the Boise River.

The land around Idaho City is a mix of timber company land, State Land, old mining claims, dredge ponds and National Forest. It's possible that this is an old unofficial "user" trail. Also, if a trail becomes washed out and too much bother to repair it is sometimes abandoned.

I have been on 304D and 203 and would describe those as mostly narrow, dirt two-track roads instead of graded gravel two-lane roads. You could call the Idaho City ranger station. Hope this helps.

ATVs and Idaho go hand in hand. That said, you will see most ATV traffic on weekends and near campgrounds. They will NOT be on Forest Service designated motorized singletrack. If you want to know what is official singletrack, look at the Sawtooth, Boise and Payette National Forest Motor Vehicle User Maps which are pdfs online on the forest websites. There are several maps for Sawtooth and Boise NFs (one for each ranger district) but only one for Payette NF. The Secesh and Eagle's Nests trails are official singletrack and open to motorcycles.

Be aware that several of the most popular dirt bike clubs in Idaho are having their annual ride/gathering the week of July 21 at Chemeketan Campground below Galena Summit (south of Stanley near Smiley Creek Lodge) and the riders will be using the Boulder and White Clouds trails. It won't be a problem sharing the trails, but that campground and Smiley Creek Lodge's RV park will be busy and probably full.

I live near Crouch and have ridden much of the route on my motorcycle and some of it on my mtn and road bikes.
Some responses to questions:

1. Starting in Crouch would be a good option. It has a small grocery store. There are 2 RV storage lots where you could leave your car or maybe even at the 2 RV parks in town.

2. Traffic will depend on location and time. Weekends are busy during the summer near lakes, rivers and campgrounds. A couple sections will have shuttle buses for rafters. Traffic decreases after Labor Day but so do daylight hours.

3. For those doing the route in a clockwise direction and want a mostly dirt cut-off to Boise before Stanley: I suggest taking either:
a) Scott Mtn Road (FS 556/555) past Deadwood Reservoir to Banks-Lowman (Hwy 17 paved) to Crouch then FS 615 to Placerville then FS 307. Then take either FS 364 (Grimes Creek Rd, easy gravel paralleling the creek) or FS 311 (Warm Sprgs Rd, slower more scenic two-track on the ridgetop and mountainside) to Hwy 21. (There are probably dirt alternatives to Boise instead of Hwy 21, but I don't know them.) Scott Mtn is rougher but shorter than Bear Valley. Check the Boise NF website for the MVUM maps for the Lowman and Idaho City Ranger Districts for details.

or b) Bear Valley/Clear Creek Road (FS 582) to Banks-Lowman then follow the directions above. Bear Valley Road has a gentler grade, is scenic, follows a lovely creek and has good camping options. Both routes climb one or more summits.

4. National Forest Service maps. The FS Motor Vehicle User Maps (MVUMs) will show all the roads and motor-legal trails. They are available on the FS websites as pdf files (too big to print) or you can call the FS office and request they mail paper copies to you free of charge or you can pick them up as you go from the local FS ranger offices.

5. Rain. We don't get much in the summer. Usually just dry lightning storms which spark fires. The roads can get silty, especially if there is any logging activity nearby. Bring plenty of chain lube.