Idaho Hot Springs Mountain Bike Route - 2014 info thread

[aaron w]

Great pictures! Everyone should post some from their trips.

Yes, more pictures please!

[carbonguy]

At the beginning of July, we rode some of the Ketchum -> White Clouds ACA route, and then invented our own route. Rode for 6 days, saw stunningly beautiful country. Ride report at
http://2wheeltrails.wordpress.com/2014/07/09/bikepacking-idahos-hot-spring-and-cold-creeks/

[caseygreene]

Awesome trip reports and photos!

Keep them coming. I am very interested in hearing what everyone likes and dislikes about the route.

Also, I've been hearing that some riders are perhaps underestimating the language on the maps in regard to the singletrack sections. I cannot emphasize enough that all of the Singletrack Options are true bikepacking epics. This is real-deal backcountry singletrack mountain biking. These options can be extremely difficult if you are coming from a manicured-front-country singletrack background. Or, a dirt/paved road touring background. Riders absolutely need to plan for encountering obstacles such as downed trees, rutted out trails, long hike-a-bikes, and moving water crossings. If those situations are in any way unappealing, I recommend not attempting any of the Singletrack Options.

If the appeal is still there, plan for being out there longer then expected. Which means packing more food as well.
A conservative recommended allowance of time for each option:
Willow Creek - 2 days
White Clouds - 4 days
Secesh - 4 days
Eagles Nest - 2.5 days

A little beta on the Secesh Option as of 07/29/14: The Twentymile Trail has been fully cleared in the past few day by moto riders and volunteers. Trail crews are working on Bear Pete right now.

[niknak]

Casey isn't kidding when he says the singletrack options are true bikepacking epics. We just finished the main route and are back in Boise enjoying the heat. We rode with a couple of guys, Harry and Jay, who did some of the Secesh option and said it was extremely difficult with almost all hike-a-bike. If they're forum members, maybe they can provide some insight. My wife and I tried just a taste of the Eagle's Nest and it was much harder than we anticipated, but it looked really fun as a day ride. We're just not looking for that kind of hardcore experience.

On the other hand, the main route was fantastic. Casey and AC have done a great job with this route. I'm happy to answer any questions or to provide some route beta too. I also listed a link to our blog earlier in this thread if you feel like reading more.

[caseygreene]

At the beginning of July, we rode some of the Ketchum -> White Clouds ACA route, and then invented our own route. Rode for 6 days, saw stunningly beautiful country. Ride report at
http://2wheeltrails.wordpress.com/2014/07/09/bikepacking-idahos-hot-spring-and-cold-creeks/

Those trails you guys rode on the east side of 75 look great! ps. Good to know that trail bypasses the E Fk Salmon crossing by the Bowery Guard Station.

Casey isn't kidding when he says the singletrack options are true bikepacking epics. We just finished the main route and are back in Boise enjoying the heat. We rode with a couple of guys, Harry and Jay, who did some of the Secesh option and said it was extremely difficult with almost all hike-a-bike. If they're forum members, maybe they can provide some insight. My wife and I tried just a taste of the Eagle's Nest and it was much harder than we anticipated, but it looked really fun as a day ride. We're just not looking for that kind of hardcore experience.

On the other hand, the main route was fantastic. Casey and AC have done a great job with this route. I'm happy to answer any questions or to provide some route beta too. I also listed a link to our blog earlier in this thread if you feel like reading more.

Glad you guys had a good time out there. It's been fun following your reports along the way.

[harryonaspot]

Some bad news. The road from Featherville to Ketchum is closed for the foreseeable future. Heavy rains washed out the road in several spots last night. No one seems to have much information, but it doesn't look good. We were turned back today about 1 pm.  It has been raining all afternoon, but at least that put out the fire that lightening started.  I will update this if anything comes to light before we leave in the am. Crappy way to finish a great trip

[caseygreene]

Some bad news. The road from Featherville to Ketchum is closed for the foreseeable future. Heavy rains washed out the road in several spots last night. No one seems to have much information, but it doesn't look good. We were turned back today about 1 pm.  It has been raining all afternoon, but at least that put out the fire that lightening started.  I will update this if anything comes to light before we leave in the am. Crappy way to finish a great trip

Thanks for that unfortunate news. My guess would be it was a landslide on one of the steep slopes on the west side of Dollarhide Summit in the area that was torched in the Beaver Creek Fire of 2013. This is fairly common a year or two after a burn.

I will get more info and look for a reroute tomorrow.

[caseygreene]

Some bad news. The road from Featherville to Ketchum is closed for the foreseeable future. Heavy rains washed out the road in several spots last night. No one seems to have much information, but it doesn't look good. We were turned back today about 1 pm.  It has been raining all afternoon, but at least that put out the fire that lightening started.  I will update this if anything comes to light before we leave in the am. Crappy way to finish a great trip

Ok. It's a tad bit worse then I imagined.

- There is one slide on the Featherville side (Fairfield Ranger District) between Skeleton Creek and Big Smoky Creek. The road is closed at at Skeleton Creek if you are coming out of Featherville. Baumgartner Campground is Open.
- There area at least 2 slides on the Ketchum side (Ketchum Ranger District). The road is closed between Dollarhide Summit and Rooks Creek. The road is closed at Rooks Creek if you are coming out of Ketchum. Access to Frenchmans Bend and Wairfield is still available.

As reported above, this just happened in the past 48 hours. So, there is no timeline to clear the slides. Depending on the severity, it could super fast, or it could take months. 2 examples in the region to illustrate this: 1) Last year there were numerous slides on the Salmon River Road between North Fork, ID and the put-in at Corn Creek. The road was cleared the following day. 2) The was a slide in May 2014 on the Skalkaho Hwy SR 37 between Hamilton, MT and Philipsburg, MT. The road is finally open, over two months later, as of today Aug 1st.

We will have to wait and see the severity these slides caused.

This is the current suggested reroute: http://goo.gl/maps/py3Z7. Unfortunately it travels off of the Main Route map. There is a bike path that runs between Hailey and Ketchum: http://summertrailink.bcrd.org/woodrivertrail.php If you do take this reroute I suggest stopping in at Powerhouse in Hailey: http://powerhouseidaho.com/. Motels are also cheeper in Hailey then Ketchum, and there is a full grocery and numerous restaurants. There is a convenience store, motel and restaurant on US 20 in Fairfield.

[Norb]

Hey Casey,

Great thread on the fantastic routes you and the ACA put together.

Here is a link to my overnighter in the Boulder-White Clouds. It was beautiful, rugged and remote! I left from Smiley Creek, overnighted at Germania Creek and then back out the next morning.  It's tough, challenging terrain and and I had my share of hike-a-bike.  Great route!!

Expansive views, water crossings, wildlife, rain and a rainbow, plus the big bright supermoon made for an awesome sub 24 hour adventure.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10203989570490596.1073741830.1563032583&type=1&l=99f4eac863

And I'm unhappy to hear about the landslides and road closures from Featherville to Ketchum.  Hopefully they will get those opened soon because that is a terrific section.  Each time I've ridden the section between Featherville and Dollarhide I've encountered bears so be on alert when the road is open and you're all riding in this area.

Cheers

[caseygreene]

Awesome Norb! I still haven't gotten to ride that stretch of Germania.

[caseygreene]

Here is a report from late June that was posted as a comment on Adventure Journal:

"Well shit.
We went for it. A buddy and I hit the route last week. We had 8 days of riding carved out, and a plan to cover about 300 miles (basically the bottom half of the route, including the two single-track options along that part.
We didn’t even come close to covering the distances with planned. We ended up riding 105 miles that were hard won, that we were very proud of and that were beautiful.
To calibrate you to my story and experience, I can share that I’m pushing 40 and consider myself to be a good cyclist. I’ve ridden a few adventure cycling 10-day tours, both self-supported and supported (Selkirk Splendor and Great Divide MT- mtn biking). I’ve also ridden with my wife across the country, east to west, and done another 1200 mile tour with her from Jasper, Alberta to Jackson Hole, WY, and some other tours here and there. Before this trip though, I had not done any loaded touring on a mtn bike (and that’s where I had lots of learning.)
Day 1: we rode out of Idaho City, headed south on the route and up over a pass. We rode for 8 hours and it was about a 20 miles, 3k ft climb. We got shellacked! Altitude, heavy gear, steep grades, not enough water, got off route a bit and decided to do some bush-wacking instead of backtracking. Ran out of water, etc. 10 miles down the other side for a dip in the creek and some nice campfire cookery. Total of 30 miles for that day. We had thought about 40 miles- but no, not at all.
Additionally, I broke some spokes on the rear wheel of my Specialized RockHopper mtn bike, where I was carrying most of my weight in gear: two large rear panniers and tent on top of the back rack.
After some regrouping, a new rear wheel from Boise and an awesome night at Bonneville hot springs, car camping, we drove our truck over to Smiley Creek, between Ketchum and Stanley. We loaded up the bikes and headed into the White Cloud single track loop with a new plan to ride 66 miles in 5 days, doing 10-15 miles /day and to take it slow. At about 6 miles in we were climbing the trail that was steep enough where we were walking our bikes more than riding them. (calibration note: previous to this tour, I have never walked my bike up any hill, whether my bike was loaded or not- Going-to-the-Sun, Ice Fields Parkway, Appalachians, whatever). We were climbing Grand Prize Trail towards Gladiator Pass and it was June 23. We hit significant snow on the trail at 8500 that reduced our progress to a literal crawl. Lifting our rigs up over the snow and plopping them down 12” up the “trail” over and over until complete exhaustion. We made the pass and collapsed.
Another rider- the only other we saw on the route in our 7 days out- passed us on our way up the pass. His name was Josh and he was looking better equipped than us. He was riding a 29er, and had a “bike-packing” setup for his gear. We guessed that he’d complete the White Cloud loop, but noted that the next day he was turned back by the high country snows.
We did complete our own smaller loop back in that area that kept us mostly out of the high elevations.
It is beautiful country up there where the route is. The hot springs are an epic addition. For me, the cycling was humbling. I found that much of the singletrack was basically un-rideable with gear on my bike. I wish this wasn’t true! I am not a person who takes “no” for an answer in any part of my life.
Cutting to the chase: my summary of this all is- go ride this route! It’s awesome. Plan for low mileage days (I suggest 10-30 miles). Avoid regular road panniers (mine were consistently coming off my rack and causing all kinds of problems). Try the newer style bike-packing configuration for your gear. Pack ultra-light. Think about staying on the “main route”, and skipping the single-track options for your first attempt at this area. The main route is very remote and quite burly all on its own!
It’s beautiful out there and a great place to be and spend time and breathe and exercise and push your limits.
Happy Trails,
Shawn Sears"

[jaymtb]

Hi,
Just got back from riding ID H.S. loop,  going CCW from Boise.  Very enjoyable route.  Having kayaked ID rivers,  I'd  also call it the Idaho Rivers Route, given many   miles of riding along beautiful clear rivers.   

Nick suggested  I jot some notes on the  two S.T.  legs I rode, Willow and Secesh to pass on some beta to others.  He and Carrie produced  an awesome blog  as they were riding.   
I rode Willow Crk S.T.  early in  route from Atlanta,    which is  a pleasant  mining town with hot springs and good camping at Powerhouse C.G.    The option  begins with a rather steep mining road that rides OK.   (If you're walking here- it's not a good predictor of  fun in later parts.)    Then, a  left turn,  gets you onto Flint Crk. trail at top,  which goes through a nasty log sieve after Flint Crk. -maybe sawed out now?, climbs up over  a ridge and drops several loose switchbacks into Decker Creek.  There is a sense of commitment here- you don't want to climb back up this.    In Decker Crk.  It gets interesting,  as the trail grade steepens with the valley grade.  This steeper trail has been moto-ed into a trench in many  places.  Other parts have the fines washed out and rocks or boulders left for a tread.  pic. 1

 There are numerous steps to huff the bike up and over.     The obstructions require  hard pushing and  lifting/carrying, versus just rolling uphill.  Finally approaching  Decker Summit,  I was able to  recall what the seat was for. pic-2   There is a connector trail going over to Willow Crk.   The descent in Willow was more  rideable  over rocky parts going down, but  also trenched out higher up.  Later, as the gradient of the valley flattens, the trail gets smoother.  One should watch out for a soft edge of trail in  very narrow, steep parts of Willow drainage.   Maybe a dozen logs appeared on the route-none as bad as the first one.
Finally, 11 hours from  downtown Atlanta, the hot springs came into view.  It has pleasant  hot pools and good campsites in a grassy meadow.   pic-3  No one was  there but a herd of deer.  Perhaps they're attracted by the mineral deposits?     The rest of the trail down to a small transition camp area is easy single track.    This would make a nice  spur route up to this H.S. from the main route.   Another option might be to check out the James Crk road from Atlanta.   

Later,  climbing Galena Summit ,  I met up with Harry, Vicki,  and two Brits, Phillip  & Suzy, who all started in Ketchum.  Phillip and Suzy were held back by mechanicals but rejoined  later.  We also rode and camped with Nick and Carrie, who started on Boise Spur the  same time as I did.      It was a  diverse and pleasant group that sometimes diverged for route  variations,  but met back up again-usually  in places where hot food and cold beer were available.   

Perhaps it was too much adult recovery beverage at  Ponderosa C.G. that made Harry and I think that a ride on the Secesh S.T. would be a  fun idea?      Vicki, riding with panniers, wisely decided to stick with the  main route.   
Secesh  started out as a moderate logging road, then singletrack on a rehabbed logging road. 
All good so far.    After that, the party ended,  with more steep, big rocky, straight up the fall-line “trail” to the ridge with downed logs for punctuation.  I wouldn't call this part a rideable trail-unless you were riding on a mule.  pic-4
A cold front saved us from the south sun on the uphill slog. 
Going on, the trail follows a ridge, going straight up  and over the bumps on the ridge, versus contouring around.   We lost count of the many downed trees, since the wind is stronger on the ridge.   There are several pretty  lakes in basins north of the ridge.  Finally, a loose  single track moto trail drops off the ridge very steeply.  It is badly trenched out from  the throttle twisting going up, loose and tough to ride.  pic-5  Later, the grade eases back, with a lot of  bonus up and down over ridges that is more rideable, but still techy until you reach the  river. 

We made camp 12 hours later,  near the crossing bridge to Loon Crk trail, feeling  a bit  worked.   You know it has been a stiff day of huff-a-bike when it takes several tries to toss the rock with line over the branch to pull up the bear pinata.    Harry's  ODO  showed 20 miles, but he said it would have been more if his front wheel had not been off the ground so frickin  much.     It was nice to not be soloing on this caper; tougher than the Willow option.  Good riding with you, Harry. 
By morning, we were looking hard for some  redemption on day 2.  The  trail, after crossing the Secesh river at Loon Crk.,  was much better, with several day riders encountered.  They were doing a loop  starting  near Warren Wagon Rd.   We  opted to turn south and  finish this second day in  McCall where friends and a brewpub  waited.     

I'll certainly echo much of what others have observed on other trails, re these two options.  No date ride.   On both options, you kinda get sucked in with easier going  on the lower reaches,  before getting to the real meat higher up as trails head up the fall line steeply.   

My perspective comes from riding mtbs since '83 around the west, mostly while living above Alma, CO at 10,600', where   much of the  riding  is steep up or down.  I have a reputation for not choosing the most pristine routes, that are  kinda “exploratory”.  We used to have portage straps affixed to our frame triangles for routine hike-a-bike back then. 

Having a bike set up for a day ride would be a different story -just throw the bike over a shoulder and start hiking.  However,  most tourers on this route will have provisions for several days and gear for some degree of comfort, so they will be slogging with some weight.   Panniers would be a big  problem,  with no room for legs while pushing, as well as dragging  in the  trenches.   A bikepacking setup, going light, and low gears would be key for these two options- as well as a good motor.   Expect a bonus upper-body workout in addition to the pedaling/pushing.  I rode a 29er hardtail with home sewn bikepack bags. 
Perhaps some interesting  refinements/additions to  singletrack  variations will  evolve as more exploration and feedback takes place?

I hope this is useful for anyone considering these two options. 

Sorry to hear from Vicki that you  got shunted by weather and slides on return to your Ketchum starting point.

Many thanks to ACA and Casey for their hard work on this  beautiful  and worthy Hot Springs / Rivers Route!

 
Cheers,
Jay

[caseygreene]

Thanks for the report, Jay! And, you guys did better then us, when we while researching the route last summer, as it took us 12 hours just to get down to the Secesh River from the start of that option. Big days for sure!

Also, James Creek Rd is no good coming out of Atlanta. It is steeper - and sketchier - then both Pheifer Creek Rd and the Willow Creek Option Routing. But its doable from the other side as a loop out of Featherville or Atlanta.

For those who want to do ride the singletrack options, in addition to all of all of the reports coming in, here are 5 recommendations I outlined from a blog post back in Feb: http://www.adventurecycling.org/resources/blog/idaho-hot-springs-singletrack-and-map-giveaway/

A big question here for you, Jay - and anyone else who has done the singletrack options - Do you feel we provided adequate information and language on the maps so you knew what you were getting into? I'm trying to get this right for future users.

[caseygreene]

- There is one slide on the Featherville side (Fairfield Ranger District) between Skeleton Creek and Big Smoky Creek. The road is closed at at Skeleton Creek if you are coming out of Featherville. Baumgartner Campground is Open.
- There area at least 2 slides on the Ketchum side (Ketchum Ranger District). The road is closed between Dollarhide Summit and Rooks Creek. The road is closed at Rooks Creek if you are coming out of Ketchum. Access to Frenchmans Bend and Wairfield is still available.

As reported above, this just happened in the past 48 hours. So, there is no timeline to clear the slides. Depending on the severity, it could super fast, or it could take months. 2 examples in the region to illustrate this: 1) Last year there were numerous slides on the Salmon River Road between North Fork, ID and the put-in at Corn Creek. The road was cleared the following day. 2) The was a slide in May 2014 on the Skalkaho Hwy SR 37 between Hamilton, MT and Philipsburg, MT. The road is finally open, over two months later, as of today Aug 1st.

We will have to wait and see the severity these slides caused.

This is the current suggested reroute: http://goo.gl/maps/py3Z7. Unfortunately it travels off of the Main Route map. There is a bike path that runs between Hailey and Ketchum: http://summertrailink.bcrd.org/woodrivertrail.php If you do take this reroute I suggest stopping in at Powerhouse in Hailey: http://powerhouseidaho.com/. Motels are also cheeper in Hailey then Ketchum, and there is a full grocery and numerous restaurants. There is a convenience store, motel and restaurant on US 20 in Fairfield.

I do not have anymore specific info to report on the Ketchum side, but on the Featherville side things are really bad. Apparently, the road slipped into the river and the river responded by re-routing onto the former road. It is about a 100 yd stretch. There is a local meeting tonight and more info should be available tomorrow.

[caseygreene]

In addition to the south fork Boise river, the middle fork Boise river has experienced a slide and is closed.

I will have more info when I get back into the office tomorrow, but for now: http://www.ktvb.com/story/news/local/2014/08/06/road-closed-middle-fork/13696039/

[harryonaspot]

This is Harry, who rode part of the Secesh singletrack with Jay.  To answer your question Casey, no I most definitely don't think you prepared riders for the terrain we encountered. These singletrack sections, at least to my mind, were going to be mostly ridable by riders with loaded bikes, as extra bits of fun while doing the route. Certainly that is not what I found. Now we did encounter probably more than 100 or so downed trees, and that took some of the fun out of the ridable sections we found. The ridgetop singletrack that we were able to ride has me laughing out load and the views were spectacular. I don't want to sound as if I am holding you responsible for trail conditions, certainly I am not. It just seems to me, that these sections are more pack biking than Bikepacking. As shown in this months ACA magazine ,you like that type of trip. And power to you. I just feel that they were not as advertised. Some riders could easily get in over their heads quickly. That would have been the case for us ,if it weren't for the cold front that passed thru that day.
I hope you take this as I intend,constructive criticism. I rode the whole route and had a great time as did my riding partners, 2 who flew in from England. Just wish I would have enjoyed riding more singletrack along the way

[VermontGal]

Hi all, and Casey -
Our group also did sections of the Secesh and Eagle's Nest singletracks.  I'll have a more detailed trip report, photos, and discussion later.  I would say our reaction especially to the Secesh section up Zena Creek / Steamboat Ridge is similar to Jay's group (hi, Jay!).  We survived it, we smiled, it wore us out, but... no, we weren't prepared for it from what we read in the maps.  Succinctly, here's my take on the singletrack:

• Write more detailed trail descriptions for each section.  Our route said "the singletrack turns skyward and riders may have to hike-a-bike."  MAY?!  We made fun of that sentence the whole time we hauled our bikes up that completely unridable route.
• Put the singletrack maps each on their own map (a series of 4).  Provide more trail descriptions, and possibly alternate routes.  For example, is riding the ICT/Secesh River Trail a more mellow option that will still connect to Loon Lake IMBA Epic section?
• Provide ratings (ski trail style - green, blue, black, double black, red). The singletrack sections are widely variable, and includes sections that are dirt road or clearly doubletrack.  It also includes sections that are, honestly, "zerotrack" - there's barely a hint of a trail.
• Include on the printed maps the information about the singletrack sections that was included in the blog.  Including the photos of grueling hike-a-bike.
• Be honest about how long the hike-a-bike sections are.  I expect some hike-a-bike.  I generally expect that the hike-a-bike will be "rollable".  The hike-a-bike we encountered was steep enough that (even without the logs and boulders), it was mostly a case of push the bike forward 1-2', apply brakes to keep the bike from rolling back down the hill, step up, repeat. Not just for a short stretch, but for 3-4 miles.
• The down was not very ridable, either due to the deep ruts and loose surface.  It might have gotten worse since you rode it.
• Trails that include switchbacks, water bars, check dams and other similar features tend to hold up better to additional use than trails that just beeline up the fall line.  I suspect that some of these singletrack sections (up the fall line) are going to deteriorate further.

We also found it ironic that the photos on the main route map seem to be of the singletrack sections. 

The main route itself I found very ridable but fairly boring: paved, graded dirt road, flat and maintained forest road.  Nothing that actually requires a mountain bike.  I also like off-track adventurous routes, and have several routes in Utah that include sections of riding across barely visible tracks through meadows - trails just off ATV areas, now closed to motorized use but still open to the (infrequent) bicyclist or hiker.  So, some compromise between the main route and the unridable single track would be the sweet spot for me.

[caseygreene]

Thank you both for the input and suggestions. We will be adding stronger language on the maps during the next printing, and are going to be providing suggestions and technics for how to complete these sections - especially the Secesh - in a manageable fashion.

quick note:
 - the Secesh River Trail may be a tad easier physically, but not mentally. It's a good 8+ mile hike-a-bike for an even uber-lightweight mountain bike tourist. Lots of steep up and down over large drag-you-bike-over rock obstacles. I wouldn't recommend it.

quick suggestion for folks heading out on any Singletrack Option this season:
- figure out how to not carry this much weight: https://vimeo.com/102649186 . A good benchmark for knowing you're on the right track is if people you come across in the field think you are on a day ride. For instance, here is all of my gear that I carried while researching the route (sans 1 water bottle and a helmet):

[pmac]

I'm planning on doing the main route next year.  I guess for me, who is old and slow, if you have that much hike a bike you might as well just hike.  Hell, from some of the reports I read sounds like I might be doing some hiking on the main route anyway. But I like a little cross-training from time to time, so its all good.

But Casey, one question on the Boise spur, which I will probably be taking from the airport.  It looked like you could take the greenbelt to East Highland Valley Road which Ts into Warm Springs Road, East Highland Valley Rd, which turns into West Highland Valley Trail and back to East Highland Valley Road and then ties into 21 about .9 south of the Highland Valley Summit store.  It looks like that would cut off several miles on 21, but perhaps with more climbing on Highland Valley.  Do you, or somebody from Boise, know if that is a viable/shorter alternative to the get you to main route and keep you off 21 for a bit?

[niknak]

@pmac

Yes, you can take the Greenbelt from the city center and stay on bike trails all the way to Lucky Peak State Park just before the climb on Hwy 21. I imagine most people who fly into Boise will first need to buy some food and other supplies in town before heading out. The Greenbelt is the best way to get out of town.