Hiking

Summit, Rapid and Hard Creek Lakes

In mid-July the heat came, and the air turned a smoky gray-brown, blotting out the blue sky. By mid-August it was hot and smoky so long I was starting to forget what a blue sky looked like. Then, finally, a short break in the weather came. The sky cleared and turned back to blue, and we got a short break from the relentless heat. It was time to pack the backpacks and get out on the trail. With loaded backpacks we headed south and hit the trail to Summit and Rapid Lakes.

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April!

It's been a while since winter rolled into the rear view mirror, (a month if are a meteorologist, or almost two weeks if you are an astrologer) so there's a bit of catching up to do around here. It seemed like February was more spring like than March here in North Central Idaho. Here we are at April 1st and we have a winter weather warning that extends into the next couple days. Go figure.…

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The Elk City Wagon Road and Beyond

We’ve been on several sections of the Elk City Wagon Road but up until now, we hadn’t made a trip of driving the length of it. Time for that to change. After all, the road starts within a five minute drive of home!

What is the Elk City Wagon Road? The road was constructed in 1894 and 1895 as a route from the South Fork of the Clearwater River to the goldfields of the Elk City area. Most of the route is still drivable today, even though there is very little left of the inns, stables and towns that popped up along the way to support the miners on their way to discover riches. It remained the main route to Elk City until the 1930’s.

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