The bridge across the North Fork of the Boise River at Barber Flats has new restrictions on what types of vehicles can cross it. The Boise National Forest issued the restriction order on April 27, 2012. The date when the bridge will be repaired has yet to be determined.

Barber Flats Bridge Restriction Information

• Location: On the North Fork of the Boise River at coordinates 43.809076, -115.536255
• Bridge Restricted to vehicles 50 inches wide or LESS. Basically ATV and smaller vehicles will be able to use this bridge.
• NFS Restriction Order Number: 0402-03-40
• Link to the “Order”: http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5365459.pdf
• Link to the official story: http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/boise/news-events/?cid=STELPRDB5365922
• Link to map of bridge: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=217923343964080707607.0004bf278d1095a3ac66d&msa=0&ll=43.808022,-115.544415&spn=0.024095,0.055661

Interactive Map of the Area

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Comments
Hope this information is useful to a few people out there. I'd hate to get all the way out to the Middle Fork only to discover I couldn't drive my truck over the Barber Flats Bridge and along the North Fork of the Boise River. Leave a comment if you wish.

Thanks,

(June 16th, 2012) A beautiful weather forecast and a hankering to get out of town led to this ATV trip. Google Earth showed me the “virtual way” to a little visited place only about 20 air miles from Mountain Home, Idaho. It was up to me to research the legality of getting there on my Arctic Cat ATV. All the info I found said heading up National Forest Service Trail #612 near Wilson Flats / Granite Mountain would be okay...




The ATV Trip Review

• Parking on the north side of Anderson Ranch Reservoir, I unloaded the machine and headed up to Wilson Flat on NFS Trail #606. Addie the Plott Hound was loaded in the dog cage on the back of the ATV that she is truly getting quite used to riding on now. Even though I've been up this steep and slippery road with a shear cliff on a number of occasions, it still gets the blood moving just looking down 500 feet into the valley below.

From ATV Ride to Trail 612 near Wilson Flat in Idaho

• Once up on “the flat” the road gets easier to negotiate but is still rougher than a cobb in places. We continued west on NFS Trail 606 towards our destination. I had to stop along Elk Creek to let the dog get a drink and explore the area for awhile. After all, “it's about the journey and not the destination”, right? With Addie filled up on water, we continued heading west towards Granite Mountain.

• Hanging a right onto NFS Trail 611 led to a rougher and less traveled section of this area. I doubt my speed ever topped 10mph and most times it was in the 5 mph range. Not because of the roughness but the beauty and exploration value made slow speeds seem more logical and enjoyable. We came upon a downed tree across the trail at one point and not wanting to cut the trip short, I used my considerable weight to move the thing off the trail.

From ATV Ride to Trail 612 near Wilson Flat in Idaho

• At the intersection of NFS Trails 611 & 612 we continued on 611 until it deadended. NFS 611 ends in a deeply forested spot and was quite cool and dark. Seems like a great place to camp sometime. It might also be a good spot to try for a hike to the summit of the 6,800 foot tall Granite Mountain? Who knows, maybe someday?????

Video of Ride on NFS Trail 612

• With Addie leading the way, we headed back down NFS Trail 611 and made a left on NFS 612 and our planned destination. NFS Trail 612 is quite rough as it crosses a streambed a few times making an early season trip up this road unadvisable. But on this day, there wasn't any water at all to be found along the trail.

• This trail deadends in a semi-open area that provides some grand views out towards Little Camas Reservoir and up towards the side flanks of Granite Mountain. We had lunch at this spot and headed back via a new route. Below you can see our whole GPS Track.

Interactive Map of Entire ATV Ride

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Comments
I hoped you enjoyed this article and it will encourage you to get out to explore Idaho either on foot, horseback or on an ATV/motorcycle. You certainly won't regret the experience.

Thanks,

Want to try some wintertime rock hounding in Idaho? Hiking in the Owyhee desert is the perfect cold season get-away. How about blazing your own trail up peaks only but a few have attempted? All this and it's just a 1 hour drive from Mountain Home.



(February 2, 2012) This rock hounding trip was a long time coming. I've been eying this small but completely cool looking peak along the Owyhee Front for over 3 years. With obvious “volcano” looking characteristics, I was hoping to find some cool rocks. The hike was wonderful with brilliant blue skies and the usual solitude of the high desert.

The Hike
One of the problems in this area is finding a parking spot off Poison Creek Cut-off Road. Yeah, you can pull off the shoulder of this gravel road but one never knows how soft and gooey the shoulder will be until you get down there. So I decided to play it safe and park on the side of a double track trail heading almost straight towards Peak 4189.



My dog Addie and I headed south on foot along double track trail. Pretty simple walk that gradually climbs the further south you go. Once this trail ended, we headed off-trail straight towards the easily identifiable Peak 4189. Again, the grade is rather slight as it approaches the base of the peak.

Once at the base of Peak 4189, the climb gets steep and rocky. But it wasn't long before we summited out. The sweeping views from the summit are incredible even though the peak only rises about 500 feet above the plains where we parked. As usual, the winds on these Owyhee peaks were quite a bit stronger than down below.



The hike back to the car was mostly off-trail along 3 different dry washes. We explored a few man-made objects out there and followed a few game trails. Yep, there are still deer, antelopes and coyotes alive and roaming the Owyhee Front. Plenty of tracks and scat to prove it.

Hunting Some Cool Rocks
The rock hounding was a little disappointing on and around Peak 4189. There is an abundance of bright white quartz and some near clear chunks up there. But nothing I saw made me want to bring a specimen home with me.



Obviously someone found something of interest on the flanks of Peak 4189 as there is a mining claim marker up there. Because the claim marker was just lying on the ground, I suspect the claim is abandoned. I'm reasonably sure if I had made a real effort, I would have found some cool rocks but this was just an exploratory trip. In other words, there wasn't any “low hanging fruit” just lying on the ground. I'll be back for some serious rock hounding later in the winter or early spring.

GPS Track Map of the Peak 4,189 Rock Hounding Trip

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Peak 4189 Hiking Statistics
Total Distance of Hike: 3.56 human miles. About 20 Addie Dog miles
Elevation Gain/Loss: 553 feet
Average Slope of Entire Hike: 6%
Average Slope from Base to Peak: 20.1% in about 1/5 of a mile

The Land
The entire hike was done on public lands with a majority owned by the State of Idaho. BLM lands, as usual in the Owyhees, made up the ownership of the rest of the hike.



This is ranching land and the entire hike was done on the East Castle Creek Rangeland Allotment. Expect cow patties along any route you take from car door to the summit of Peak 4189. The predominate vegetation was unfortunately “cheat grass” with areas of sage brush.

The Rough Mountain Quad Topo Map show this peak has an elevation of 4189, while my GPS unit showed the (un)-true elevation at 4,140. I seriously don't know if my GPS unit is off by almost 50 feet or the 1992 Topo Map is wrong.


Thanks for visiting the Bondyweb,

The Idaho Fish and Game folks are looking for your opinions. If you fish or call yourself an “Idaho Angler”, you can take a rather longish survey to help shape what our streams, rivers, reservoirs and lakes will look like in the future.

Survey Link:  https://fishandgame.idaho.gov/ifwis/portal/form/public-2011-idaho-angler-opinion-survey

It took me about 5-10 minutes to complete the Fish and Game survey but I think it's worth the time and effort. Head over to the link above and do your part to improve your Idaho fisheries.

Thanks,

(June 13th, 2012)  The road up to the Atlanta Summit was still closed on June 13th, but that just means a trafficless mountain biking trip in one of the most beautiful places in the Boise National Forest. Normally referred to as “James Creek Road” or the “Road to Atlanta, Idaho” and it's normally one of the last roads in this area to open up each summer. So who can pass up a chance to mountain bike on a closed road? Not me.



The Road Up to James Creek Summit
To avoid any false advertising claims I must point out right now...I did not make it all the way from Rocky Bar to James Creek Summit on this trip. I stopped at the Elk Creek Bridge and turned around. But you are more than welcome to do the entire trip if you think you have the chops.

From Mountain Biking James Creek Road near Rocky Bar Idaho

We parked just off James Creek Road, less than ½ mile north of Rocky Bar and right were the “Road Closed” sign blocked the way. From there it was all hike/bike on this out and back trip and mostly it was hike while pushing my Cannondale mountain bike up the road. But I can rightfully brag my partner on this trip never once climbed on the saddle during the grueling grind up the road.

Overall, the road is in pretty good condition but there are a lot of baseball to softball sized rocks lying on or slightly embedded in this dirt/gravel road. As I have hiked this road a number of times in the past, I also observed that it's much drier up there this year than the last few years. But one thing that has changed in the last 3 years is the steepness. This road has gotten much steeper since 2009 when I mountain biked this same road. Or maybe I'm more out of shape than I was 3 years ago?

From Mountain Biking James Creek Road near Rocky Bar Idaho

The “Not So Speedy” Return Trip on the Bike
The statement made by the pro mountain biker Juliana Furtado “The secret to mountain biking is pretty simple. The slower you go the more likely it is you'll crash” certainly rang true on this trip down the hill. There were many near fatal crashes on this trip.

Being out of practice and having that 4 legged, non-riding partner running inches from my front tire made for a slowish ride down to Rocky Bar. Even though there wasn't any high speed bombing down the deserted James Creek Road, we made back in short order. The only downside to the speedier ride is missing the views you'd likely see if hiking.

Five Highlights of the Trip
1. Elk Creek Waterfalls: I stopped at the spot where Elk Creek crosses under James Creek Road. The waterfall was in its full glory and I had lunch beside the creek. Just a great place to stop and reflect on life.

From Mountain Biking James Creek Road near Rocky Bar Idaho

2. Bald Mountain: Something about this burned mountain peak that inspires me when I see it. And it's hard to miss when on James Creek Road.
3. Heading up a trail I've seen so many times but always ignored to get to my destination faster. I finally took the time to head up this trail at lat/long 43.723258, -115.274972
4. The solitude!
5. I came back unhurt and still able to walk, talk and see.

Map of the Mountain Bike Route  and Hike from My GPS Unit

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Go ahead and move the map around...if you can.


Stats of the Mountain Biking Trip

• Total Mileage: 7.67 miles but less than half was actually “on-bike”.
• Average Slope: 7% but when trying to ride uphill it felt more like 70%.
• Elevation Gain/Loss: 1,542 feet

Links to Explore

• Link to all uploaded photos from this trip:  https://picasaweb.google.com/112532322025941965882/MountainBikingJamesCreekRoadNearRockyBarIdaho?authuser=0&feat=directlink
• Link to last mountain bike trip on James Creek:  Solitude on James Creek in the Boise Mountains

From Mountain Biking James Creek Road near Rocky Bar Idaho

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