Calling Idaho BPers....

“Putting out a call to all Idaho BPers. I will be in the Lewiston/Clarkston area from 6-30 Aug and I don't know the area at all. I would greatly appreciate any trails for weekend bp's or dayhikes that anyone could send.
Thank you”

“I'm not from Idaho, the the area you are talking about is in my back yard. First off, get a good map. Then, go to the Willow Flat campground up by Mink Creek. Then you can hike up to Bloomfield lake. Very beautiful hike.

Then drive down to Logan Canyon (Utah, but a short drive from Lewiston) and head up to Tony Grove lake. From there, you can hike up to White Pine lake, again a very pretty hike. Or you can head a different direction to Mt. Naomi, the highest point in the Bear River range; beautiful vista there, you can see all the way from Jackson to the north, or the Uintah range to the south.

For another beautiful hike on the other side of the mountain, drive up to Richmond Utah, (even closer to Lewiston) and head for the High Creek trail head. From there you can hike up to High Creek lake (very small lake, but beautiful hike). That trail follows High Creek for quite a distance.

Good luck and I hope you have a great time. If you have any other questions, ask away.”

“I never knew Logan Utah was close to Lewiston. I'll have to check that out. A great weekend backpack from Lewiston is to the Seven Devils. It is a group of rugged peaks, near Riggins, about a 2.5 hour drive from Lewiston. It has good lakes for camping and fishing, and the peaks are great little scrambles.

Are you looking for fishing? The Locksaj, St. Joe and Clearwater rivers are close for that. Canoeing? The Clearwater and Snake Rivers. Alpine hikes? Northern Idaho is a few hours away, at Pond Oreille lake (I don't know the spelling).

Willing to do a long drive (but far shorter than driving to Utah) go to the Sawtooths, but its too far for a weekend.

What kind of activity are you looking for? Why are you going to be in Lewiston?”

“I will be there attending school.”

“What kind of outdoor activities are you interested in, and how many hours are you willing to drive?”

“I'm a NC girl, but I was on a business trip last week in Idaho and Utah and I stayed one night in Logan. That evening I drove up to Tony Grove and started the hike up to Mt. Naomi. It was after 6:30 pm when I started the hike and I decided to turn around at 7:45 without getting up to the summit because I was alone and didn't know how long it would stay light. Turns out it stays light a long time...I probably could have made it up there and back without too much twilight. I hate to hear what a nice view I missed. The wildflowers and aspens were particularly nice though. I enjoyed the solitude of the Mt. Naomi hike more than the 3 crowded hours I got to spend in Yellowstone.”

“Hey hippie, I'm in Moscow, just 32 miles north of you. What kind of stuff do you like to do. I've hiked for 25 years between the Salmon River and Canada and know a few good places.

Idaho Bob mentioned the Seven Devils. I highly recommend that. There are not many places in the lower 48 where one can look into an 8,000' hole. The maps of the Devils don't show many of the best trails in the area--and the trails that even make some of the places doable. Maybe we can get together for a little while and I can outline them for you.

East of Moscow the Elk Creek Falls area is a great dayhike area. Five waterfalls in a mile raning from 20 to 100' tall. The trail winds through a big shady fir and cedar forest. A mile to the west is the Bull Run Falls. They are very nice too but hardly anyone knows they are there.

Another great and easy dayhike would be up O'Hara Creek on the Selway. It is about 8 miles up the river from the confluence with the Lochsa.

The Gospelhump Wilderness SE of Grangeville has some excellent alpine day hikes. I recommend Moores Lake first. I gaurantee you will see moose there, perhaps a big elk herd also. The Wiseboys Lakes are good too, but very difficult to reach.

The wildest country of all within a few hours would be the Selway Crags in the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness. Awesome fishing on many high lakes. You hike for miles on open ridges with snowy mountains all around. It is tough though. Lots of steep country and trails no trails are maintained there.

North of Lew in ID you can hike anything between dessert and cool temperate rain forests with 200'+ trees over giant ferns. There are so many places.

Good Luck and have a great time!”

“To alll that responded- Thank you(with a deep bow) I will be looking forward to these hikes! I will keep in contact and we will all have to do a hike together.
Next question: I was wondering if there are any good festivals, gatherings, whatever you want to call them going on in the same time frame?”

“The Harmonica Festival is this weekend, in YellowPine Idaho. Too bad you'll miss that one. I don't know of any others, but I'll look into it.”

“Hey, HippieHiker, I have a friend living in Lewiston, Clarkston area. He says it is just gorgeous around there. I bet you'll love being there for school.”

“Most of the good summer festivals are over. However, Lewiston will have "Hot Summer Nights" toward the end of August. A couple of old time rock bands usually come.”

“Does anybody have pictures posted of their backpacking trips to Idaho?”

“I have some photos of Idaho trips on my photo page on Phils site. Check em out!”

“Thanks...they are great...some nice mountaineering shots in there....


What happened to the link for your website, I tried but it doesn't work.”