We are in the Magic Valley Times!!

Hollie, Paula and I ran into a couple out hiking on the Hyndman Basin trail (16) that were possibly going to write an article about the hike and the people they met along the way.  As it turns out, they did!  Check it out!

The Trail for Any Hiker

Thanks a bunch to  Virginia Hutchins for this excellent article!
Image and article property of VIRGINIA HUTCHINS/TIMES-NEWS. To purchase a print and/or read the awesome blurb, click the photo to hyperlink!

32 - Gladiator Creek!

7/19/12 - With Sarah Hayden and Lilly Frey

It is official.  We are gladiators.  We gave ourselves gladiator names and we conquered the mountain, all before breakfast.  Well... before second breakfast.  Who climbs mountains without having breakfast?

Our opponent was a tricky foe.  Seriously, this is a total fake-out hike.  First, it starts out at a fairly moderate grade, which lulls you into a false sense of complacency.  You can even go touring off to some old mining cabins. 

Back on the main path the trail suddenly begins to shoot upward, but you see the top of the ridge fairly soon, so you think, 'hey, no biggie, I can hack this.'  You make it to the top and, alas, it was a sneak attack!  You come into a really beautiful meadow, but across the meadow is the trail, continuing on its way up the mountain.

So you catch your breath as you cross the meadow and begin to climb straight up in the air once again.  You see open air smiling at you from above the ridge.  This time you are positive you are almost to the top.  You come to the top and... another small basin.  This one has a lovely stream, but it is still not exactly what you were hoping for. 

The trail continues, constantly giving you false hope until, at last, you come to probably one of the coolest saddles. 

It is really narrow, so you can see down both sides at the same time.  There are some excellent rock outcroppings.  Look for the cairn to your right and head down that way for the best viewpoint. 

Breath in the fresh mountain air, then prepare yourself for a long downhill back, because all that steep trail you just came up is a careful mess to pick your way back down.  Hiking poles were a huge help on this one, both on the ascent and the decent.  The trail does continue into the valley on the other side, but breakfast (which was actually lunch by the time we got down) was back at Galena.  Just remember, if you make it down before 4, Galena Lodge has some of the best food in the valley.  Definitely stop in for a snack before heading home. :D

Notes on the trail head: The dirt road from Galena Lodge to the trail head doesn't look bad at the begining, but it is seriously not for coups. My Escape took it like a champ though! If you've got more than a few hours before work, you can always hike/bike the 1.6 miles to the trail.  The trail starts in both directions from there, but there is a map out by the trail head. You'll want to hang a right.

12 - Bear Gulch

7/17/12 - With Kendall Piggins

This hike miraculously begins in a grassy savannah. I was previously unaware that we had grassy savannahs in the wood river valley...

Then it climbs up through the trees in two wide switchbacks.

At the second turn, go out straight instead and take a look at Cobb peak.  I have a theory that this trail meets up again with the main trail and is probably more scenic because it is up on the ridge, but we took the main trail and ran into the other one again later.  The next hillside is covered in horsemint and smells incredable.  Just ask Kendall.  She took a smell-o-gram with her phone.

 From the Saddle!!

Because we are adventurers, we decided that the trail is for sissies.  We thought it might be more fun to take the water canal down. This is where our adventure really begins...

 I have two favorite moments in hiking.  One is getting to the top and seeing how far I've come.  Then other is getting back down and seeing where I just was.  Check out that saddle from the bottom...

20 - Summit Creek

7/15/12 - With Adriana Maniere

Current absolute favorite hike.  It could just be because I heart Adriana and I've missed her face.  It could also be because we hiked up to this super steep rocky trail to a second saddle where we could see Baldy from trail creek summit.  It could be because the devil's bedstead is rad. It could be because I get a kick out of intriguing log stream crossings.  All the way around, it was amazing and definitely a must do hike for the wood river valley.  I'm going to compare it to Pio Cabin on the must do list, even though I haven't been to Pio Cabin yet.  If you are going up, plan to take the extra hour and change and hit the second saddle.  Enjoy the infinity photos I'm about to upload...

 

 

29 - North Fork of the Big Wood River

7/14/12 - Solo adventure with the pup.

Wildflower awesomeness.  Also, there is this straight walled rock canyon that the river pours through.  It's beautiful.  Towards the beginning of the trail a section is washed out and you have to go down to the river and pick your way down the side, but it isn't too bad.  I am seeking adventure, after all...

 

The trail continues past wherever the book thinks it ends.  It was supposed to be an 8 mile hike, but I was out 5 miles when i was finally convinced that the trail was "fading away into the boulders."  This decision likely came from the fact that this was when it started pouring down rain then the trail actually ending.  It was a very wet five miles.

Now, I bet you think this is going to be a long complaint about having to hike in the rain.  However, since I am about to move back to western Washington, I thought I would make a list of 10 reasons hiking in the rain is awesome.  Ready?  Let's go...

1. I finally got to use my WSU emergency poncho!
2. The pine and horsemint smell amazing in the rain.
3. The world seems quieter.
4. Thunder is awesome.
5. I found out that my new hiking pants really are quick-dry. Go Mountain Hardware!
6. Humidity is good for both skin and hair.
7. When I got back to the trail head, my car was cleaner. Multitasking at its finest!
8. No trail dust.
9. Excellent opportunity to sing "singing in the rain."
10. "God is in the rain."

That being said, there are a few things I've learned about hiking in the rain.  I'm not complaining, I'm "learning."

1. My emergency poncho has short sleeves.
2. Oso is still afraid of thunder.
3. My new hiking boots are super waterproof on the bottom 3/4. Excellent for stream crossings. There is a two inch strip of breathable material on the top, however.  Turns out, rain will fill these boots like tiny, foot-shaped buckets.
4. Unlike my awesome pants, my cotton sweatshirt has fewer moisture whisking properties.  This would have been less of an issue if my poncho had sleeves, or if I could have kept my arms inside it instead of trying to hold on my to psychotic dog who's terrified of thunder.

Ok, I learned two imporant things on this adventure. One - the benifits of rain totally outweigh the downers.  Two - I need better wet weather hiking equiptment.

Oh wait, three!  I found my first morels!

And a happy ending for all. :)