Messages

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Temporary ACA Route Road Closures / Re: IDHSMBR -Idaho Hot Springs Mountain Bike Route - June 2017

« on: July 21, 2017, 04:45:41 pm »

Reposting attempt. Another cyclist scouted an alternate route. I haven't ridden this since I finished my trip, but others may want to try this out. This posting keeps failing, and I realized it's due to the attachments. See the link for the map. GPX is not allowed.-Sarah

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After some in the field research, found a fun and pretty detour consisting of 7 miles of single track and 8 miles of road around the 3 washouts on FS227 aka Featherville to Ketchum Road.  The route has some hike-a-bike which is in line with the terms bike packing and mountain biking.  All in all mostly riding!

Attached is the profile (the profile is from east to west) of the detour and a Caltopo map.  You can Import the FS227detour.gpx file (attached) into Caltopo for the route I enjoyed. If you don’t see Fletcher Cr. Rd., use the Forest Service ‘Preset Layers’ on the left in the Caltopo. https://caltopo.com/m/7CGE

Cues from Featherville to Ketchum-

• Head east on FS227 14.1 miles, turn left on Skeleton Creek trail 024
• Head northerly 4 miles turn right (eastish) on Little Skeleton Creek trail 231
• Go 1.6 miles on Little Skeleton to Conant Creek trail 064 and continue east on Conant trail.
• Go 0.6 miles to intersection with Jones Creek trail 065 continuing east to Fletcher Creek Road 014A (100 yards or so…), turn left.
• Go 2 miles to gate and turn right on Fletcher Creek Road 014.
• Go 3 miles down 014 to SF Boise/Fleck Summit Rd. 012 and turn right.
• Go 3.4 miles up and over Fleck Summit to FS 227 Featherville/Ketchum Road

Your mileage may vary …and hopefully, I have the left and right correct.  Feel free to proof read and correct.

Ride hard,

Dave

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Temporary ACA Route Road Closures / Re: IDHSMBR -Idaho Hot Springs Mountain Bike Route - June 2017

« on: July 11, 2017, 06:58:00 pm »

By the way, there's a bicycle-friendly lodge that rents cabins and would've a fun place to overnight, called Deadwood Outfitters. We stopped in, & it's a charming place that caters to snowmobilers and hunters primarily. It has been family owned since 1969, rustic with a beautiful campfire circle, a wood fired hot tub, some food, cabins for rent. If you stay there you'd be positioned to tackle the deadwood Summit & warm lake summit in the cool of the morning. It would be good to add to the map.

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Rocky Mountain / Re: idaho hot springs current conditions - July 2017

« on: July 11, 2017, 03:36:04 pm »

Here's another thread on this topic.


https://forums.adventurecycling.org/index.php?topic=14627.new;topicseen#new

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Rocky Mountain / idaho hot springs current conditions - July 2017

« on: July 11, 2017, 09:15:59 am »

I know there's another thread out there, but I cannot find it.

Check with Pat at Cyndi's Featherville Cafe or Roger at Elephant's Perch in Ketchum for conditions of the sections between those towns.  We had to bypass that section due to a mechanical issue, but we were told that 7 miles of the route were wiped out this spring by snowmelt. 

Galena Lodge has a bike wash station.

We met a bikepacker at Galena Lodge who was overnighting in a yurt, unpacking his bike, and exploring the local trails unloaded.  Sounded like a great idea. 

It was a little tricky to find the Old Galena Toll Road.  About 1 mile up the pavement from Galena Lodge, there's a pullout on the left side with yellow snowshoe signs nailed to the trees.  It appears not to go anywhere, but if you follow the creek downstream for about 50 feet, there are some fallen trees with plywood laid across the creek.  Cross and go ahead to get on the old toll road.  There are a dozen or two trees down, all but 2-3 are easily bypassed.  You have to heave your loaded bike over 2-3 of them.  There's also a trail thru some willows where a bridge is out, but it's easy to spot and follow.  North of Galena Summit, the toll road is clear and fast, a fun down hill.

At Ponderosa Campground up by the Secesh singletrack, we met some dirt bikers with a chainsaw.  They were riding a loop from Burgdorf Hot Springs, not sure if it matches the the Secesh singletrack option (didn't compare maps).  They said they cleared 95% of the down trees between Burgdorf and Ponderosa, and that the first 3-5 miles up towards Bergdorf were really easy until it gets steeper.

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Temporary ACA Route Road Closures / Re: IDHSMBR -Idaho Hot Springs Mountain Bike Route - June 2017

« on: July 03, 2017, 12:12:23 pm »

Roger at Elephant's Perch bike shop in Ketchum knows all the closures, doesn't think the old route goes. Heading towards Stanley he recommends riding on the wide highway shoulder out of Ketchum towards Galena Lodge. The Harriman trail out of town is closed. Ride 3-4 miles on the shoulder ignoring the sign where it tells you to get on the Harriman trail. After 3-4 miles, the Harriman crosses the highway so it's on the right. Hop on it there & take it to the Galena lodge.

Rodger  says it's a little complicated getting on the old toll road from there, but very worth it

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Temporary ACA Route Road Closures / Re: IDHSMBR -Idaho Hot Springs Mountain Bike Route - June 2017

« on: July 02, 2017, 10:21:26 pm »

Pat at Cyndy's Featherville Cafe in Featherville told us 7 miles of road is washed out vs last year. Due to mechanical issue we diverted to Ketchum to visit a bike shop. Pat is a great resource as is Chris Leman with the BCRD who knows folks who are scouting a route from Atlanta to Ketchum. Pat in Featherville is awesome. He caters to cyclists & the good was great.

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Temporary ACA Route Road Closures / Re: IDHSMBR -Idaho Hot Springs Mountain Bike Route - June 2017

« on: June 30, 2017, 11:35:47 am »

Thank you for the information. I am sorry to hear about the Harriman Trail; pictures look beautiful. When we get to Sun Valley, we will try to get an update on trails to the north. I think a call to Galena Lodge is a way to get the status??

I heard from a cyclist on facebook who went from Featherville to Ketchum on June 11 that the water was really high. He managed to get through (I didn't hear what route he took), but gave cautions that it was risky.  The water on the south fork of the boise at featherville has dropped from around 4000 CFS (june 11) to 2140 CFS (june 30), and hopefully will drop farther by the time we get there.  I'm not sure what that means for conditions on the ground, but here's the site I'm checking (just posting for anybody else who is interested):

https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?cb_00060=on&cb_00065=on&format=html&site_no=13186000&period=&begin_date=2017-06-11&end_date=2017-06-30

Coming from southern Arizona where we have had record heat and decades+ drought, it's hard for me to contemplate all this moisture!

Sarah

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Temporary ACA Route Road Closures / Re: IDHSMBR -Idaho Hot Springs Mountain Bike Route - June 2017

« on: June 28, 2017, 12:36:14 pm »

Unfortunately the vimeo video is marked private, so we cannot look at it :-(

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Temporary ACA Route Road Closures / Re: IDHSMBR -Idaho Hot Springs Mountain Bike Route - June 2017

« on: June 28, 2017, 12:35:33 pm »

We are headed out in a few days going CCW from Boise. I called the ranger and was referred to some web pages from the Sawtooth National Forest about closures due to flooding. I have yet to scrutinize these compared to a map. Has anybody been through there recently who can advise? 

https://www.fs.usda.gov/detailfull/sawtooth/home/?cid=stelprdb5161133&width=full
http://www.trails.bcrd.org/
https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/sawtooth/home/?cid=FSEPRD544335

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Rocky Mountain / Re: Vehicle Parking near Arrowrock Reservoir

« on: January 10, 2017, 10:25:48 pm »

What about Spring Shores Marina?  Would there be longish parking available there?

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Rocky Mountain / Vehicle Parking near Arrowrock Reservoir

« on: January 10, 2017, 05:14:26 pm »

We are planning to ride the Idaho Hot Springs Mountain bike Route this summer, and we will be starting in Boise.  We are looking for a place we can park a vehicle that might save us riding part of the spur trail from Boise. Is there a place up near Arrowrock where we could park a vehicle and leave it for a 10 days or so?

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Rocky Mountain / Re: Idaho Hot Springs Summer 2016 -- stay in hotels / guest houses?

« on: November 08, 2016, 06:00:39 pm »

Thanks.  We may try to cowboy camp with a couple of hotel/lodge stays, especially in the event of bad weather.  We do have the maps in hand, including the single track options which sound great!

If anybody has favorite hotels/lodges/guesthouses along the route, we'd be glad to hear about them.

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Rocky Mountain / Idaho Hot Springs Summer 2016 -- stay in hotels / guest houses?

« on: November 07, 2016, 10:44:43 am »

I in the initial stages of planning a summer ride around the Idaho Hot Springs route, starting and ending in Boise, probably counter clockwise.  I'll be on my full suspension mountain bike.   Camping sounds like the most fun option to me, but my partner wondered if we can minimize gear hauling by going from hotel to hotel.  Has anybody done that on this route?