Idaho Hot Springs Mountain Bike Route - 2014 info thread

[blanchaa]

Casey -- any input on using FS 327 --> FS 376 as a cutoff to avoid the Middle Fork (FS268) road closures? This takes you over rabbit creek summit.

We are leaving today for the main route -- planning on starting in Ketchum and and going CCW to let the roads improve in the south.  I still can't find good information on the Dollarhide summit closure, and the forest service office can't tell me if it is passable on bikes.

[caseygreene]

Sorry forgot to post about FR 227. Here's my post from the ACA forum:

"Just talked to the folks at the Fairfield Ranger Station and FR 227 is still impassible near Skeleton Creek to motor vehicles, but they have built a trail around the washout for hikers and mountain bikers.

They do not know when it will be completely opened, and it is unknown if the road will be closed to riders when they start construction on it.

The slides have been cleared on the Ketchum side.

The weather has continued to be unusually rainy and new landslides and washouts are possible in both the South Fork Boise drainage and the Middle Fork Boise drainage."

[caseygreene]

Casey -- any input on using FS 327 --> FS 376 as a cutoff to avoid the Middle Fork (FS268) road closures? This takes you over rabbit creek summit.

That's the route I would shoot for, but I've never been so can't offer any guidance. I would check in with the Idaho City Ranger District to see what the road conditions are.

If you do take that way, could you shoot a report back here?

[caseygreene]

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?

On paper it looks totally doable, but I've never been up there. I would check with some Boise folks (bike shops) who have done it.

The goal of the Boise Spur was to get folks to and from the airport to the Main Route as quick as possible, hence our routing. Remember people will probably who ride the Boise Spur, will have to ride it twice. So, I didn't want to include any huge climb - or any singletrack - into the mix. Just a nice straight shot.

As mentioned already, the Greenbelt is a phenomenal way to get out of town from the city center/university area and it hooks right into the Boise Spur.

If folks need to buy food on the way out of town and want to use the full Boise Spur routing, there is a grocery store in a plaza near the intersection of Gowan Rd. and Federal Way. It is in the waypoint files.

[Johnnyb]

Hi all,
I just finished the route this morning, starting/finishing in Ketchum.  The slide on 268 is still passable on foot, look for a trail marked in pink ribbon high above the washed out road.  I missed the start of it, but picked it up after some intense side hilling on the loose bank.  227 is still being worked on but is easily walked through with your bike..........some crew guys were just finishing up and were totally cool with bikers and knew about the route and that bikers would need to get past.  The Dollarhide Summit was totally rideable with only a small section on the Ketchum side being nearly finished for vehicles.  I hope this helps.  I would hate to see riders taking long detours for no reason.  I plan to do a little write up of my trip later...........celebrations commencing shortly!

[caseygreene]

Hi all,
I just finished the route this morning, starting/finishing in Ketchum.  The slide on 268 is still passable on foot, look for a trail marked in pink ribbon high above the washed out road.  I missed the start of it, but picked it up after some intense side hilling on the loose bank.  227 is still being worked on but is easily walked through with your bike..........some crew guys were just finishing up and were totally cool with bikers and knew about the route and that bikers would need to get past.  The Dollarhide Summit was totally rideable with only a small section on the Ketchum side being nearly finished for vehicles.  I hope this helps.  I would hate to see riders taking long detours for no reason.  I plan to do a little write up of my trip later...........celebrations commencing shortly!

Thats great news! Thanks for the updates on the Middle Fork and South Fork washouts.

[caseygreene]

There has not been much beta on folks riding the full White Clouds Option - my personal favorite - but this report just surfaced on the ACA forums yesterday, and i want to repost it here for folks still looking to ride it this summer and fall. The loop they did is one I've been suggesting to people who want to get into the singletrack but don't have a lot of time. There is major airline air service to Hailey/SUN from SLC, and the Wood River Bike Path runs from basically the airport to Ketchum.

"A group of us just finished a lollipop route running from Ketchum, north through the White Clouds Singletrack section, down to Stanley, and back to Smiley Creek on SR 75 just north of Galena.  All told it was roughly 140 miles and over 17,000 feet of climbing.  We did it over four days and three nights.  We carried both the main route and singletrack options map.  Both were dialed, by the way.  Great job on the maps! 

Thought I would post a few other observations that might be of use to others who ride the White Clouds singletrack section. 

- First off, we had an epic trip in every sense of the word.  It was incredible.  The White Clouds are an absolute gem and not to be missed.  As you ride near SR 75, you can see why the Sawtooths attract most of the attention, but venture back in the White Clouds just a bit and you're in some rugged country. 

- There were five in our group - 2 from Denver, one from Phoenix, one from Santa Barbara, and one from Vancouver, BC.  The elevation particularly on days 2 and 3 can be significant.  If possible, it would be helpful to acclimatize for a day or two. 

- We rode a spectrum of bikes from a fully rigid, custom Soma Juice to a Transition Bandit.  There probably isn't a perfect bike for all of the terrain that you encounter.  All of us rode 29er wheels. 

- We rode mostly bikepacking setups.  Revelate seat bags, custom frame bags, feed bags, etc.  Some had Revelate handlebar bags and others had strapped dry/compression bags to the bars.  Would definitely recommend the Revelate handlebar bags over the the strapped compression bags.  The dry/compression bags are excellent for most tours, but the downhills in the White Clouds broke several straps and generally bounced around all the handlebar bags except the Revelate. 

- The trail is VERY faint in places, particularly leaving Bowery guard station, near the top of Chamberlain creek, through the burn area on Warm Springs, and the Meadows before the Martin Creek climb.  The map was spot on, but you'll want to be paying close attention in these areas.

- The maps mention several turns as "unsigned" that are now signed, likely within the last 3-4 months.  One of the key areas is the Warm Springs trail leaving Born Lakes. 

- The descents into Germania, into Ants Basin, and down Warm Springs all require expert level mountain bike skills.  All are completely rideable, but loose, rocky, and steep are the general conditions.  The Germania descent was particularly surprising.  It's a blast, but hold on!  The other descents (down into Bowery, down Casino Creek, into the Washington Lake/Fourth of July Lake area) are all fun and flowy. 

- The burn area down Warm Springs creek to the Meadows has about 25-30 downed trees that require hopping on and off the bike.  We spoke with several folks on dirt bikes who thought they might get up to clear it with chainsaws, but it definitely slowed our pace.
 
- The map mentions some hike-a-bike. We would definitely not advise taking this lightly.  The climb out from Bowery is nearly unrideable, particularly the final mile.  It is fall line riding for much of the climbing with very few bench cuts leading to switchbacks.  More would be rideable without gear, but it's still largely hike-a-bike.  The climb into Chamberlain basin/lakes area is also quite a bit of hike-a-bike, though less than the previous climb.  We started up after a significant rain/lightning storm and relatively weary legs, but many sections would have been very tough regardless.  Avalanches over the winter have brought deadfall over the trail in several areas on this ascent as well.  Don't plan on flying up it - it's a grind. 

- We encountered thunderstorms every afternoon so try to plan to hit most of the exposed passes early if possible.  You're greatly exposed on the climb out of Bowery and the climb over to Born Lakes, in particular. 

- The view before the descent into Ants Basin is absolutely incredible.

- Water was no issue.  Nearly the entire section follows streams or comes across lakes every few miles.  We packed a Katadyn 6L for camp and used it to fill bottles and reservoirs.  We also had a Steripen and Iodine as backup. 

- We saw a ton of bear sign and one black bear.  Be sure to hang your food.  We brought 400lb parachute cord, which is super light and could withstand hoisting several bags. 

- The climb up Martin Creek begins with some pretty sandy sections that have been chopped up by dirt bikes.  Much of it is rideable, but it saps the legs a bit.

- Lastly, the descent on Casino Creek is one for the ages.  Huge views, tight singletrack, and it seems to never end.  Be sure to keep your head up as we ran across 2 sets of elk in this section. 

- We broke off route to grab a bite at Smiley Creek on the first day before heading over to Grand Prize Gulch.  Great folks and good food.  We also ate breakfast at Stanley Baking Co on the final day.  Highly recommend this place, especially after several breakfasts on the trail.  

- We did ride the toll road to the Galena summit.  It's easily rideable on a mountain bike - grade is mellow and basically no route finding until you cross SR 75 where the trail is very faint.  Recommend it if you are on a mountain bike. 

Hope this helps some folks planning this ride.  Highly recommend it.  Unforgettable trip."

[caseygreene]

Also, a few posts back I mentioned keeping loads as light as possible for the Singletrack sections, and with that in mind, I'd suggest taking a look at Scott and Eszter's setups they are running on the CDT this year:

http://www.bikepacking.net/individual_setups/cdtbike-scott-and-eszters-setup/

From Eszter:
"The goal of our trip is to ride trail. Rough, smooth, rocky, rooty – and to be able to enjoy it. We make our sacrifices for this goal, but we still want to feel comfortable sleeping 8 hours a night and hanging out at camp some.

Our basic plan is to carry stuff that’ll last without being too heavy. We know the misery of riding with heavy bikes, so we cut weight where we can without breaking the bank. We go fairly minimalist with a few leisure items. Well, I carry a few leisure items, I don’t think Scott has any."

[VermontGal]

Ya know, that Secesh section must not have been so bad... because for some reason now I'm thinking about trying the White Cloud option (next year).  We shall see.  Maybe not with the fat bike next time?  Or perhaps in the spirit of Type 2 fun, enough time has now past...

[Bike Hermit]

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?

Yes and no. The dirt road is steep with lots of climbing but no traffic. The paved way is easier but longer with traffic after the greenbelt ends at Discovery State Park below Lucky Peak dam. Highland Valley road cuts through the Boise River Wildlife Management Area though and is closed to motorized traffic (don't know about bikes) Nov. 15 to May 1. 21 is not too bad for traffic during the week, but traffic can be heavy on weekends with RV's and boat trailers.

[Smo]

Just wanted to give some feedback on the Secesh option, especially since we rode it backwards (we had two cars, so why not start at the higher trailhead?).

-We took 2.5 days and that was pretty reasonable, but we're in pretty good shape and packed pretty light.  Neither of us were super experienced mountain bikers.  I'd call myself intermediate and my partner a beginner.

-The twentymile trail had some great rideable sections and some gnarly bits.  It was being worked on by a northwest youth corps crew while we were there, so expect some improvement.

-The Bear Pete trail has some super awesome rolling contour singletrack on the ridge.  I liked the direction we did it, because we hiked-a-biked up to the ridge and our descent off it was rideable switchbacks.  I thought on this section that the singletrack was worth the hike-a-bike, my partner did not.

-The outhouse on that little stretch of dirt road between the ATV trail and the Warren Wagon road is the best I've ever used.  Seriously.  There were more air fresheners than flies!

-The IMBA epic ride section is, well . . .epic and awesome.  And I think better in the direction that we did it.

-The trail from zena creek trailhead (after it leaves the old roadbed) to the Secesh river was the worst trail I've ever attempted to ride on a bike.  Nothing to do with conditions, it's just a badly designed trail.  Well, actually never designed at all; we actually saw no evidence that this trail was ever constructed (other than the old roadbed bit); it's quite clearly just a path that motos have ridden enough to kill the grass and cut some deep trenches.  It's a shame, because the terrain has the potential for some really nice singletrack.

-We thought about the Secesh river option but figured it would be also hike-a-bike, sounds like we were right.  Another bit of terrain with excellent potential for some rolling contour singletrack.

-We headed over to mile 16 hot springs after (by car) and it was the perfect temp for me, but too hot for the other folks there.  A collapsible bucket might be a good thing to bring on this route if you're not tolerant of super hot hot springs, so you can cool them down with river water.  A drybag works well for this purpose.  16 mile was one of the best hot springs I've been to anywhere.

Anyway, the hike-a-bike is really just the nature of connecting singletrack in the backcountry; you have to take some good with the bad.  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.  That said, I think I'll skip this detour if I ever do the whole route.

[Johnnyb]

I completed the route a couple of weeks ago and wanted to share some random info on here that may be of use to others planning their own trip.  It took 9 days total including the singletrack options, which broke down as follows:  White Cloud Option 17 hrs, Secesh option 16.5 hrs, Eagles Nest option 10.5hrs, Willow Creek option 7.5 hrs.  By far the toughest hike a bike is on the White Cloud option, and in particular from the Bowery Guard Station.  I camped at Bowery, and the next day took 12 hours to go 32 miles.  I think the nicest singletrack was the Eagles nest trail.  Breakfast at the Bakery Cafe in Stanley was  the best.  The North Shore lodge was a welcome stop for breakfast but had nothing other than chocolate bars and peanuts for the bike packer.  The Burgdorf hot springs was closed when I passed through due to a wedding.  I looked in the "store" window and didn't see anything to eat, so I wouldn't plan on stocking up there either.  Atlanta was disappointing as well.  I passed through at 10am and everything was closed.  A local said the owners usually sober up around noon.  The Eagles nest option doesn't have a lot of water.  Most of the creeks were dry and the spring indicated on the narrative was just a small mud hole.  I was without water for a while at this point, and there were no options, so I filled up here and immediately clogged my Sawyer inline filter( which I totally do not reccommend by the way).  The rest of the trip I had to drink unfiltered water.  Although I wasn't heavily loaded, you just can't be light enough.  I went with anything cages on my fork legs and a 3l bladder in my framebag and wore no backpack.  This made the front of the bike heavy and harder to push/lift on the hike a bike.  Next time I would definitely wear a camelback and keep the weight off the front.  I rode a ti Mukluk setup with Rabbit Hole wheels and 29+ knards (120 tpi)  which worked well, but the rough trails definitely had me thinking about a full suspension bikepacking rig in the future. 

[blanchaa]

Just returned from the main loop; took 8 days.  We rode 29ers and pulled one Bob trailer.  Everything was ride-able with the trailer except about 10 yards of off angle narrow single track on Galena Pass.  We avoided the Middle fork (FS 268) closure by taking FS 327 over rabbit creek summit, camped at Black Rock camp ground, then FS 376 back to the Middle Fork. FS 327 is large road, easy to follow, moderate grade, some washboards.  FS 376 is closed to cars (ATVs only), loose, and very steep for 2 miles before descending. I would say it is a reasonable detour for the closure if you don't have to get to Boise. We had an extra USFS map to guide us (available for free in Idaho City Visitor Center), but these roads were very well marked and the ACA map sufficient. All other road closures around Skeleton Creek and Dollarhide summit are now easily passable. Unfortunately many/most of the hot springs in the southern half are washed out right now. Locals told me FS 268 is closed at least till October.

[idahospud]

  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.

[Gabriel Amadeus]

Just finished the first part of our trip report and photos from Idaho City to Smiley Creek Lodge. Check it out: http://www.limberlost.co/lost-idaho-1-4-idaho-city-smiley-creek-lodge/

[Aslan]

Gabriel,

I was wondering how the cut off worked out.  We caught up with you on the pass at Decker Creek as your group was deciding what route to take after that 'leisurely' 6 hour HAB fest up to the top.  How do you think the Alturas Lake cut off worked out?  From your Limberlost posts you look and sound pretty tired but that could have been due to the weather.  It took us and the Canadians over three hours just to go DOWNHILL from the pass to the hot springs.  I hope you had smoother riding. Anyway, thanks for posting.

[Gabriel Amadeus]

Hey, was hoping I'd run into you guys on the internet! Besides a nice couple from SLC, you were the only other group riding the route that we ran into to whole time.

Yeah, I think Decker Pass was the wake up call for our group and I wasn't expecting us to splinter so soon. The Ross Basin cutoff was one of my favorite sections, very neat remote alpine valley with 2 big climbs and 2 ripping descents. The Ross Shoulder was exceptionally viewtastic. We camped a few miles down the other side. The trail had plenty of push sections on the way up, but quite fun. It had been hit with a few avalanches, but we actually met the moto guy who cleared it in Smiley Creek.

[Aslan]

That Decker creek was a wake up call for sure.  The unknown and sometimes primitive nature of the trails makes it hard to plan for food correctly.  One day we will do 50 miles and the next 19 miles and the 19 will take longer than the 50.  I am going to post up our account soon.  I think if enough people post accounts of their journeys it will be helpful for future travelers to estimate mileage and time; although, not knowing was one of the reasons we wanted to do it in the first year.  The unknown is part of the allure for some people.  We ran into the Canadians that were on the pass a few times and spent 2 nights with them.  We also ran into a few groups on the main route but we didn't see anyone else on the singletrack sections.

[caseygreene]

Ya know, that Secesh section must not have been so bad... because for some reason now I'm thinking about trying the White Cloud option (next year).  We shall see.  Maybe not with the fat bike next time?  Or perhaps in the spirit of Type 2 fun, enough time has now past...

Ha! There you go. It has been my experience, once you start doing this kind of "bikepacking", everything thing else seems - maybe not boring, but definitely lacking. I think you could do it with a fatbike, but just lighten up the rest of your load, and condition yourself for hiking/pushing.

Anyway, the hike-a-bike is really just the nature of connecting singletrack in the backcountry; you have to take some good with the bad.  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.

Nailed it. This is definitely the hard part in the Northern Rockies, and ultimately, the nature of bikepacking singletrack. On a side note, you should see the trails I did not include...

I think if enough people post accounts of their journeys it will be helpful for future travelers to estimate mileage and time

I could not agree more. Keep em coming!

It took 9 days total including the singletrack options

Whoa... blazing. Pretty sure thats the unofficial record right now.

Just finished the first part of our trip report and photos from Idaho City to Smiley Creek Lodge. Check it out: http://www.limberlost.co/lost-idaho-1-4-idaho-city-smiley-creek-lodge/

Great photos, Gabe.

We avoided the Middle fork (FS 268) closure by taking FS 327 over rabbit creek summit, camped at Black Rock camp ground, then FS 376 back to the Middle Fork. FS 327 is large road, easy to follow, moderate grade, some washboards.  FS 376 is closed to cars (ATVs only), loose, and very steep for 2 miles before descending. I would say it is a reasonable detour for the closure if you don't have to get to Boise. We had an extra USFS map to guide us (available for free in Idaho City Visitor Center), but these roads were very well marked and the ACA map sufficient.

Thank you for the beta on that reroute

[aaron w]

Starting to plan for an upcoming trip.  Regarding the 268 closure am I understanding correctly that bikes are making it through there by hiking around the slides?  I have noted the suggested detour via rabbit creek summit....  Also wondering about the closure after Atlanta near flint creek...can I hike around this as well?  Thanks.