Idaho Hot Springs Mountain Bike Route - 2014 info thread

[Gabriel Amadeus]

I'm curious if anyone is planning on bushwhacking the Atlanta > Alturas Lake 'shortcut' that skirts the wilderness area and cuts out Ketchum? A group of us are planning on it around July 18th and will report back, but any beta before then would be sweet!

[PeteStaehling]

I thought I would give this thread a bump for two reasons.  First I was hoping to get an answer on the traffic and GPX questions I asked a couple posts earlier in the thread and second I was wondering if anyone else will be starting the route next week.  I'll probably be driving out leaving from the east coast on Monday.  So likely starting out on the main loop by Thursday.

I do have a nice gpx file that someone generously shared (see the thread on the Adventure Cycling Forum), but I still wondered about the official one.

[caseygreene]

still working out the kinks on the gps file. should be out by friday.

Just a friendly reminder to check addenda & corrections for the route before and during your ride: http://www.adventurecycling.org/routes-and-maps/adventure-cycling-route-network/map-addenda/

[carbonguy]

Any chance you could shoot me over what you've got so far? I was hoping to start this Tuesday. Thanks!

Update: ACA contacted me within hours to help me out, and Casey, too! Thanks for helping me out last minute!

[idahospud]

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.

[carbonguy]

There's a small area closed due to fire restoration south of Stanley:
http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/sawtooth/home/?cid=stelprdb5385065

[caseygreene]

There's a small area closed due to fire restoration south of Stanley:
http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/sawtooth/home/?cid=stelprdb5385065

Just talked to the folks at the Stanley RS, and Decker Flat Rd./FR 210 is OPEN. They just haven't updated the website.

[Aslan]

Casey,

Thanks for the update.  How is the work coming on the GPS file?  Will it have water sources / hot springs as waypoints?

[caseygreene]

They are done. We are waiting for them to be posted. Which will happen ASAP.

The data contains hot springs, but not water sources - there are wayyyy to many of those to list.

[Aslan]

Thanks Casey!  We are looking forward to this route.  Starting out on July 11th.  Should be awesome.  Thanks for all of your work on this.

[paulmissoula]

Getting ready for a 7-day trip on the route starting next Monday. Planning to do a clockwise loop of the northern main route (using Lowman cutoff) starting in Stanley or maybe Crouch to cut off the out and back to/from Stanley. Hope to see some folks out there!

[caseygreene]

GPS data is here: http://www.adventurecycling.org/routes-and-maps/adventure-cycling-route-network/gps-information/idaho-hot-springs-mountain-bike-route-gps-data/

[metalartgate]

Hey Casey,
When I go to the provided link I'm not seeing where to down load. If I click on Route Tracks or Route Tracks and Service Waypoints I get the index of gpx data. I than click on IHSMBR and I get back to the page I started on from your post.

-gary

[Gabriel Amadeus]

Yeeee-HA!

[caseygreene]

Hey Casey,
When I go to the provided link I'm not seeing where to down load. If I click on Route Tracks or Route Tracks and Service Waypoints I get the index of gpx data. I than click on IHSMBR and I get back to the page I started on from your post.

Must have been a glitch is it working now?

[metalartgate]

Yes thank you!

[sirtirithon]

Thanks Casey!  We are looking forward to this route.  Starting out on July 11th.  Should be awesome.  Thanks for all of your work on this.

We are starting July 11th as well. Leaving from McCall and going clockwise. Enjoy the trip!

[rickgibbs]

Howdy,

A few buddies and I are planning on heading out the last week of July but only have 5-6 days to ride.  We were thinking of hitting Willow Creek, White Cloud and then heading back via the Lowman cutoff.   Looks like this is about 375miles and 54k feet of climbing.   Do you think this is possible in the time we have available for a couple east coasters ;-)   

Thanks

Rick

[carbonguy]

Just a couple pointers from my adventure last week:
The East Fork Salmon River is big. No way anyone will
cross that for a while. And, it's not necessary. There's single track
north of the track. We didn't find the beginning of the single track,
but walked through some sagebrush and then hit the single track. That
should be the route! You'll have to google-earth where the singletrack
begins.

- Germania Creek crossing is sketchy at the moment. Most likely possible to cross
in a week or so at the point near the trail crossing. I walked up and down
the river for 0.3 miles and there was no better spot. There are trees
down and across the river about a mile up, and there's a
fording point farther up, too, at which point it would make
more sense to take a different trail up into the White Cloud
Mountains, instead of bushwhacking back to the original Germania creek
crossing.

- There's snow at 9000+ feet. We talked to a couple mountain bikers
who, after circumventing Germania creek, did most of the White Clouds portion (Ryan and Bryan), and they encountered severe hike-a-bike trough snow for about 1-3?? miles up high as low as 8500 feet,
and lots of blow-downs at some other portion later on.

Summary: The White Clouds option is tough. Depending on conditions, experience and gear, you may need 2-4 days for the single track alone. 2 days being for expert mountain-bikepacking people, and 4 days for the hardy "i can do anything if I work hard enough" folks.

It's stunningly beautiful. Get out there and ride.

[VermontGal]

For those interested in snowpack, this site shows very close to "real time" satellite images - just scroll back a day or two until you find a day that is clear (no clouds) in the area you're interested in.  I use it for trip planning all the time in Utah.  https://earthdata.nasa.gov/labs/worldview/  It's not as precise as the snowtel sites but it shows the general snow in the area.

A few of us from Salt Lake (through the http://www.meetup.com/SLC-Bicycle-Touring-and-Bikepacking/ group) are planning to try about 350 miles, most of the loop north of the Lowman cut-off with some variation, in late July / early August.  We will try the Secesh singletrack and the northern part of the Eagle's Nest singletrack. 

I'm interested to know about ATV traffic - is this likely to be significant?  We just returned from a Fourth of July trip where we were the only non-motorized folks for many many miles around us.