As we enjoy a winter storm on the Boise ridge- winter camping, tele turns, and a lot of quality time with the angry man.
- December 29-30, 2007
- Team: Lew and John
- Total: a little over 20 miles
- Deer Point turn off from Bogus Basin road to camp just past Hardguy: 5 hours
- Camp to Seven-mile creek in Rocky Canyon: 4.5 hours
Note: click images to see a larger version in a new window
When everyone else dropped out, Lew and I decided to do this trip on our own. Tom dropped us off at the Deer Point turnoff and we were off in a freezing fog. As we got higher, the light fog turned into a white-out with a steady, strong wind. Crossing the initial parts of the ridge, it was hard to tell where the road was. In the quiet areas, we could see Gordy's tracks from last week, but other places we couldn't tell if it was up or down. We did see some drifts that rival Maveriks (surfer reference for Lew). But then we got into the trees and it was quite nice. We also found snomo tracks, so we weren't busting through 10 inches of snow. Here Lew approaches the top of HardGuy, where we stopped for lunch. |
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Since it was too foggy to see up high, we opted to camp in clearer weather, just above the Hardguy turnout. We set up the tent, unpacked our bags, and went seeking turns. It was a little bony, as you can tell by the brush sticking out of the snow. |
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| As we went up, the evidence of freezing fog and wind were everywhere. Note the frost feathers on this willow branch. |  |
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| We climbed for a while, but the brush just got thicker. Still, it was very pretty and we were enjoying the winter scenery. |  |
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But we insisted on getting in at least a few turns. |
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Then it was back to the tent. We filled the long, long hours of darkness by melting snow and telling stories. The pinot and Yukon Jack also helped. During the night, the storm raged. Fortunately, we had picked a protected spot so it wasn't too bad. But every now and then a clump of snow would smack the tent. And the nearest tree was probably over 100 feet away. Although our spot was protected, we also had an excellent view of the twinkling lights of the Boise valley. Beautiful. All that tea meant we enjoyed the view fairly often. |
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| The next morning, we brushed out of the about 3" of new snow and started on our way up the hill to Eagleson summit. |  |
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| Over Eagleson, there were again fresh snomo tracks, so we made good time. Here Lew ducks to get under some recent downfall. |  |
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After we climbed to the top of 8th street, we were again in the fog-out, But every now and then, we got great views. This one of downtown Boise was taken as we began our descent down to Aldape summit. When we got to 7-mile creek, a kind soul let us toss ourselves and our gear into the back of his pickup for a thrilling ride down the snow-covered (but rutted) road. |
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