Idaho Hot Springs Mountain Bike Route - 2014 info thread

[JRA]

Great news on the progress, Casey.
Thanks.

[sherpaxc]

How late in the fall is this rideable?

[caseygreene]

That's a very hard question to answer as conditions in central Idaho vary from year to year. Here's what i said in that FAQ post: "For a fall excursion, shoot for early September to mid October. Keep in mind: fires could burn well into October and the snow could start flying in late September." This is true.

Couple of personal examples:
- In 2013 we did a beautiful sunny singletrack tour touching 10000' in the White Clouds in late September, but the year before we tried to do a similar one in mid Oct, and got snowed out.
- In 2012 I had a 10 day tour set to run in early September, but got smoked out by 2 fires in the Stanley/Atlanta areas. We moved the tour to the McCall/Cascade area and had to cut it in half due to another fire that sprung up while we were on the trail.
- In 2011, my family stayed at the Warm Springs Guard Station near Lowman over Thanksgiving Weekend and got pounded with snow. This year we stayed there on the same weekend and the highs were in the 50s.

Here's a couple good sites to check for historic snow stats:
- SNOTEL - http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/snow/ - The best individual locations to check are Banner Summit, Galena Summit, and Dollarhide Summit.
- National Snow Analysis - http://www.nohrsc.noaa.gov/nsa/index.html?year=2014&month=1&day=16&units=e&region=Northern_Rockies - Their snow depth maps are great, but view them with a grain if salt as the resolution is poor.

So all this being said, if I was personally planning a 2 week autumn tour I'd shoot to start between Sept 19th and Oct 1st. I'd pack warmer clothes, and definitely keep an eye on the fire situation in the weeks leading up to departure  http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/state/13/#.

[sherpaxc]

Thanks for that!  I was awake last night laying in bed thinking of the adventure. I think I might try and convince my wife to go up there this summer after I ride the Colorado trail and do a bikepackng trip with me. I'd have to pull my kid in a trail a bike a la Aaron Teasdale.

Of the single track options, which would be the "easiest" of them?  Or, which is the easiest route to do a 5 day tour that included some single track?  I understand it's hard to quantify easy, but let's just say my wife and I are both experienced in the outdoors.

Thanks so much for the hard work. Your interaction on these boards are appreciated and one of the reasons I joined the ACA.

[caseygreene]

Another tough one. You're killin me! Just kidding.

Does it have to be a loop, or is point-to-point doable?

[sherpaxc]

Point to point could work. 

[mathieu]

Casey, I am riding through Idaho in mid-June to mid-July, south to north. Is the main route then snow-free? I am less interested in doing the singletrack options, as my bike is heavily loaded.

[caseygreene]

sherpaxc,
I would discourage you from bringing your trail-a-bike on any of the singletrack sections, but if you are dead-set on it, the Willow Creek Option will be the easiest. I would park in Featherville, head to the Middle Fork of the Boise, then Atlanta, then Willow Creek.

If you are into a point-to-point no-singletrack tour, I'd recomend McCall to Ketchum. Its around 210 miles. May take you 6 or 7 days with a kid. I think Teasdale did around 20-30ish miles a day on the Great Divide. I've personally done 100 miles in 2 days with a TAB and a 7 year old, and it wasn't too much fun - lesson learned

mathieu,
Your cutting it close, but it should be snow free from late June on. The later in June you can hit it, the better. July will be snow free. Over the highest pass - Galena Summit - you have an option to jump on the always plowed State Route 75.

Here's those sites again that have historic snow data:
- SNOTEL - http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/snow/ - The best individual locations to check are Banner Summit, Galena Summit, and Dollarhide Summit.
- National Snow Analysis - http://www.nohrsc.noaa.gov/nsa/index.html?year=2014&month=1&day=16&units=e&region=Northern_Rockies - Their snow depth maps are great, but view them with a grain if salt as the resolution is poor.

[PeteStaehling]

I am getting really anxious to see these maps.  My plan is to start as soon after June 15th as the snow pack allows.  I expect to pretty much wing it once I am there as far as how much of the optional single track I do and how long I take.

Are bear canisters required for any of the route or optional sections?

[caseygreene]

You'll be traveling trough black bear country. Canisters are not required, but a way to keep your food away from critters is. Your choices boil down to a canister or a hanging method: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8FXRJldcpE

I prefer hanging method because it requires less space and carried weight, but canister are much simpler, and require less time to setup at camp. The Bearvault I have also makes a great camp seat. I usually only bring it on short backpacks with the kids. Or, when I could care less about space and weight.

[PeteStaehling]

OK thanks.  I have the small Bear Vault so that is an option, but I have never used it on bike trips.  I have used it when backpacking mostly because it was required where I was.  I usually skip the canister and just hang food where the canister isn't mandatory, as long as there are suitable places to hang food where needed.  Are there generally trees in all the places where I will need to camp?

[sherpaxc]

Well, the good news is that I've talked my wife into doing this.  Hopefully I can figure out the logistics to fit it in.  I REALLY want to make this work.

[caseygreene]

Pete,
I have never had a problem finding a branch to hang food. You should be fine if you want to use a bear hang system.

sherpaxc,
Sweet! 

[Aslan]

Casey,

I have been geeking out on maps and have pretty much figured out the route from the small map you posted.  After looking at the route I was wondering if there is a preferred direction of travel, especially for the single track sections?  Also, did you explore/ride the Idaho Centennial trail that connects Alturas Lake with Atlanta?  If so, is that section ridable.  I have not been able to find much beta on it.  I am really looking forward to getting my hands on the maps soon. Thanks.

[caseygreene]

The Singletrack Options were designed for travel in one direction. If you want to do them with the Main Route, and be able to follow our narrative directions, you'll have to ride counter-clockwise.

I'm sure you saw it, but the the most direct routing of the ICT between Atlanta and Alturas Lake travels through the Sawtooth Wilderness. So, no bikes allowed. We do have the same routing as the ICT for a stretch on our Willow Creek Option, and it's absolutely rippin'.

[Aslan]

Thanks for the info.  I am really looking forward to the White Clouds section. It has been a solid 10 years since I have ridden that area.  Is there any compelling reason that you left out the famous, well known, secret zip your lips trail from that section?  I am planning on tacking it on to the route unless you have some reason that it should be left out. I am assuming that the partial loop nature of it just did not fit well with the route design.  Any information you care to share about routing in that area would be appreciated.  Thanks.

[caseygreene]

The Little Boulder Creek Trail was left off for a couple of small reason. The most important being that i wanted to keep this particular option as much of a backcountry epic as possible, with as little roads as we could get away with. Up Bowery is also a more direct route. Also, part of me would hate to send people up one of the best descents in the Northwest - since our current singletrack routing is only counter clockwise. Ether way your going to have to HAB, but a bit less on Little Boulder. Depending on peoples reaction to the no-shade 2000ft HAB out of Bowery, we may change the routing in the future. As with all of our routes, nothing is set in stone, and while we will never please everyone, we'd at least like to make the majority of people happy.

The 1:90,000k White Cloud Option map does have the Little Boulder Trailhead, trail, and Castle Divide on it. So, if you do want to take that way up, it will be easy to reference from our map. I can tell you from experience that there is nothing tricky to it. Everything is straight forward and signed well.

Another option could be to get your loaded self to the Lower Chamberlain Lake, set up a base camp, and do an unloaded day ride over Castle Divide, down Little Boulder, up Germania Creek, and back to your camp.

[sherpaxc]

Thanks Casey. Even my wife is inspired for this summer. We have 2 shakedown trips already planned with the little dude in tow. I'll have to find a place to store my travel trailer while we are on route.

[caseygreene]

The maps have been sent to the printer. We will have them on-shelves in roughly 3 weeks.

If you are super eager to have them in your hands, please purchase them as soon as they are available. I have a slight feeling that the-powers-that-be did not order enough, and we will run out of stock fast. I'll post here right when we get them in.

[Aslan]

Thanks for the update.  Can we pre order with ACA?