Fall is a great time to be in the woods. Nice temperatures, generally fewer people than summer, the bugs are fading, and if you get to the right spot, the trees are starting to show off. We don’t have a lot of aspen close to home, so if we were going to see any as they transitioned from green to gold we’d have to hit the road. Southeast Idaho seemed to be a good option, with a lot of aspen and even a chance to fill a deer tag, if we were lucky.
Our first stop on the trip had little to do with fall colors or deer, but it was on our list of places to see, which was the third element that rounded out this road trip plan. The Birch Creek Charcoal Kilns were constructed back in 1886 to supply charcoal to a nearby smelter melting down ore for lead and silver. At 30-40 cords per kiln, creating a load of charcoal every two days, and a total of 16 kilns, that is a lot of charcoal. If you are thinking that this amount doesn’t sound too sustainable in the dry forests of central Idaho, you’d be correct. The kilns operated about three years, the minerals played out and the kilns deteriorated over time. Now just four of the original sixteen remain, and you can ponder the past as you wander among them.
We found a spot to camp and spent the evening hiking and gazing at Diamond Peak, possibly the highest peak in Idaho you’ve never heard of (unless you haven’t heard of Leatherman or Borah either).
Looking out over the Lemhi Valley provided a great stage for sunset.
We took a series of backroads and followed the continental divide crisscrossing from Idaho into Montana and back on our way to Henry’s Lake and Island Park.
It was a little strange to see so many fires still sending up cumulus clouds of smoke as they erupted in seemingly every direction. It did provide for a good sunset though. Later that night we were surrounded by a few groups of coyotes yipping hello, followed by several owls and even later, bugling elk. An Idaho melody that went on most of the night.
The next day we were able to see a few waterfalls on our list as we continued to search for what was turning out to be fairly illusive fall colors. It seemed most of the aspen trees had already dropped their leaves in this neck of the woods.
Mesa Falls was an impressive sight, as it poured of a 200 foot wide shelf of rock. The lower falls didn’t disappoint either.
We stuck with the theme of waterfalls for the day and made one more falls stop at Cave Falls, just across the Idaho border.
We were starting to wonder if we would ever find the fall colors though. Did all the stands of aspen call it quits in the first half of October this year? As the sun set we finally had found the color we were looking for.
Here’s a quick video of our “search for gold”
We were able to find a camp in a nice stand of aspen and enjoy the colors for a bit.
The next morning we headed higher into the mountains. It was hit and miss on whether the aspens had leaves or not, but the ones that were there were a bright gold.
Another stunning sunset in the Idaho mountains.
After a couple days in the mountains our last night brought some snow. Just a light dusting to bring another color element to the landscape.
As our time for this trip neared its end, we were starting to head north now, and out of the aspen country of southeast Idaho. We spend another couple days hiking the mountains and searching for that illusive deer that we didn’t ever find. The fall colors and the time in the mountains would have to do.
On our way down the Lochsa River on the last leg of the trip home the western larch treated us to a bit of their own touch of gold. Just a week earlier there was barely a hint of color. Now it was about as vibrant as it gets. Sometimes I feel fall slips by too quickly. I’m glad we were able to get out and soak a bit of it in.
