Touring the Owyhee Back Country Byway

Rock’n the red JK on this one. Answered lots of questions about the winch and other gear.

Be mindful of private property. Most land owners are friendly, but remember, this is home- and for most for over a hundred years. Be polite and ask for access.

Great photo ops out here

Stone cattle chute- only one I have ever seen made from stone

Post Office in (defunt) Fairly Lawn, Idah

a real “two-holer”

Post cards- most from the 1930-1950 in the outhouse

You are going to get your off-pavement fix with this trip

This last weekend I was able to finally get Melissa and her camera gear out to the Owyhee Uplands Back Country Byway. Abby and I hit this road last year on the Idaho Overland trip with Beau Johnston from Living Overland. On that trip I saw a million photo opportunities so I knew I had to get her back out there.

Taking a lunch break with the group and listening to the history of the Owyhees from people who have seen it in some cases more than 50 years.

Locally known as Mud Flat Road for its impassibility when rain and snow make the terrain an absolute mess, is the primary
access to central Owyhee County. An area rich in history has something for every overlander wanting a day or two of exploration. Off the byway, there are multiple trails to explore, and though most people do it in a few hours, we prefer either an all day trip with lots of stops or a multi-day trip to fully absorb all there is in the area.

There is really only a small window of travel. As mentioned earlier, rain makes the road slick and due to the terrian, it takes several weeks to dry out. In the summer, the heat can become unbearable for many. When Abby and I passed that area last July the temps in the shade were at 108.

We started our trip in Jordan Valley, Oregon which is about an 90 minutes from our base camp in the Boise area. Another route is from Hwy 78 near Grand View, Idaho. If you love off-pavement travel like we do, you will get mostly gravel and dirt road. You will also get the thrill of crossing back and forth over state lines a few times. There is about 90 miles in Idaho and 15 miles within Oregon.

You are alone for the next 120 miles- be sure you go with the right gear. We help back country travelers get ready for trips just like this

Carry a spare tire, fuel, jack, and other roadside repair equipment with you. Also, a Trasharoo helps with picking up trash along the way from the other morons.

As we say in all of our workshops and seminars, prepare for adverse situations. You are alone out here. There are no services, cell phones are out of range, and even our testing with the 2m HAM set up proved that we were alone. This makes a great case for carrying a SPOT GPS unit with you. Top off your rig with fuel in Grandview or Jordan Valley, carry 3-5 gallons of water, your survival kit, and if possible and extra gallon of two of fuel. We also carried a full tool kit along with extra hoses and belts.

We were incredibly fortunate to have “Frankie” along on our trip. Third generation rancher in the area, at 95 years-old has more life in her than most people. Through her we were entertained and educated about some of the small historic details including a trip to the school house in Cliffs, the old post office in Fairy Lawn (both now defunct towns) stories of moonshiners, wagon train contracts, the people she knew in the area, and even games played as children.
Please be aware that there are many parcels of private land along the Byway. Please respect private property by having the right maps and equipment to avoid trespassing.

This is a great trip and recommend it for all regional overlanders. Make sure you checkout our facebook page to see when we are going to be out there again or exploring other regional areas as part of Project ROVE. And as a small reminder, remember, we do workshops and seminars to prepare you for safe back country travel.

We will be doing a full podcast on this trip soon.

School house at Cliffs, Idaho, a now defunt town

Oregon Trail Recon

I know I still owe blog entries on the Idaho Overland trip. Technically I should finish that series first, but first…we keep adventuring and second, out of respect for the trip leader I need to provide ample time for them to post the trip report before we put ours out there. Finally, this was an opportunity to get a day in with my main squeeze, my adventure partner #1, my bride…

The plan was to take off before daylight and hit the Oregon Trail (main) trail around the Boise area at Bonneville Point and move east on the trail. Instead we hit it just east of Boise and followed it east of Mountain Home. The exit is around mile marker 71 at the old truck stop where you pick it up north of I-84.

So with dogs loaded, 5-gallons of water and fuel, a small repair kit, survival bag, and lunch we were on the road around 7:30 and on the trail after topping off with fuel at 8:00.

It was great seeing Melissa pull out her camera as we flushed all kinds of wildlife including owls, hawks, game birds, and rabbits. We even kicked up three peacocks and the first Pygmy Rabbit I have ever seen. There was also a heavy population of Bovine…and the cool part was working ranch hands working the cattle. This is all open range area so caution around cattle. If you hit one, you are liable.

I have tried to do this route in the spring and the roads are just a disaster. Our conditions included loose gravel and sand.

The route is well defined with several historical stops. I recommend researching the trail before driving it, you will get so much more out of the trip. Blood and Thunder by Hampton Sides is a good read that outlines the struggle of the west around the life of Kit Carson who traveled the trail.

We took a detour up to the Danskin Lookout. This is a rugged climb up a narrow back country trail that offers few pullouts if you come up on a vehicle coming down the mountain as you are going up.

We have had tons of fires in the local area and so smoke and visibility have been a problem. Views were not what we expected, however the area was clearer than it was down in the Treasure Valley.

The last 3/4 of a mile are the most rugged and you have a 4×4 to get to the top. Once there it was a feeling of triumph. We hung out for a bit, let the pups play, and then headed back down to rejoin the Oregon Trail.

We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon, and even though it was the first day we were below the triple digits, as the afternoon heated up we slipped out just east of Mountain Home and took I-84 back to the house.

Trips like this should really be done with extra fuel and water. The Scepter fuel canisters are perfect for trips like this. We have been extremely happy with them. Highly durable, light weight, resistant to stress from bloating, and easy to fill into and from. When you travel the back country you need to be prepared.

We have also been happy with the GoPro cameras we are using. Though we have had some difficulty keeping mounts in good repair, the cameras themselves are durable. Quick video of the trip.

Next week we will recon a little more of the trail as a prep to do the McGrudder the following week.

In Search of Jean Baptiste Charbonneau

This weekend’s road trip was focused around the fascination we have recently developed for all things Lewis and Clark. Specifically my daughter Abeni’s interest in “Pomp”. The baby born of Sacajawea during the Lewis and Clark expedition. In fourth grade she did a report on him for social studies, but never gave much thought beyond him being a baby.

Recently she and I have been sitting down and looking over topo and recreational maps. The weekend before last I noticed a tiny marking on one of our maps, indicating it was the burial place of Jean Baptiste Charbonneau.

I asked Abby if she knew who that was and she immediately related it to her report on “Pomp”.

“JBC” as we called him during the mission planning had become pretty vacant after his joining the Corp of Discovery through his birth while on the trail. Not much is discussed about him in history. Unless you really do some searching, you forget about a highly intelligent man who not only was the youngest member of a great expedition, but someone who spoke several languages, understood art, business, philosophy, was a mayor, and was an example of how overlanding is used as he traveled not only throughout the west but also in Europe.

To find his last resting spot we had to travel through Jordan Valley, Oregon.

Jordan Valley began its history in 1863 as a party of prospectors with about 60 horses and mules discovered a favorable camping spot, and so it was agreed to go no further. Before unpacking his gear, one man scooped up some loose gravel, examined it in his prospector’s pan and saw the magic that makes men into prospectors.

In moments every man was digging and panning, and in one hour, all had good exhibits. Within two weeks, claims had been marked and located, and the creek was named Jordan after one member of the traveling party, Michael Jordan. Unfortunately as like other miners, Jordan was scalped by the Indians on the banks of this same stream.

Like many parts of southwest Idaho and southeast Oregon, the area is made up of rough volcanic rocks in the desert and surrounded by picturesque snowcapped mountains that surround the various valleys.

We started out early from Boise (with females all debating the start time) and made our way first down the back roads that lead to the Jordan Craters. We were not able to go down the final section leading to the craters since we were in our Xterra—a high clearance – non 4×4 vehicle that has left us stranded to many times to count. We are heading back soon with the Jeep. There are too many back trails to discover that require a good 4×4.

We happened across one of the many (still active) corrals in the area. These are used for rounding up sheep and cattle to transport from the range area. Many of these old corrals date back to the mid 1800’s. For some reason I am just drawn to these spots in the BLM areas.

After we hiked around a bit and let the pups run around we proceeded on through Jordan Valley – and then out to search for JBC’s final resting spot. We kept asking ourselves how he would have gotten back to this part of the country.

We know that Clark offered to take “Pomp” with him at the end of the expedition in 1806, but the offer was not taken up until several years later, possibly due to the death of his mother, Sacajawea. Records do indicate that JBC had attended a private school paid for by Clark and that later in life he did travel to tour Europe.

In October 1846, Charbonneau, was hired as a scout, probably because of his experience with military movements and his fluency in several languages. JBC joined an 1,100 mile overlanding movement from Santa Fe, New Mexico, to San Diego, California. Their mission was to guide 20 huge Murphy supply wagons to California for the military during the Mexican-American War.

Later in history he pops up as a fur trapper, mayor, and prospector. Its not apparent what caused JBC to contract pneumonia and die. Though there was a stage line in the area at the time, it is possible he may have been on horseback and fallen during one of his river crossings into the water. We have been in the same area as his accident several times and know that not only is it freezing cold, but the Owyhee River in the spring has snowmelt that often turns into whitewater.

Charbonneau was taken to Inskip Station in Danner, Oregon. This small yet fortified outpost was built in 1865, and is about 30 miles from the river and west of Jordan Valley. It is now a ghost town. Here, JBC died on May 16, 1866.

We were truly blessed on this trip and not only were we surprised at what we found at his grave side- but also had the opportunity to see three Golden Eagles in two different areas.

We finished up the day with a visit into the town of Jordan Valley where we feasted on a “traditional” Basque meal of Tots and Fries…

Another Stupid Survival Story

I fully expect to catch flak for this posting…

It amazes me still why people do not keep a survival kit ON THEM when they are out in the woods doing the things they love. Here is the story of three people who could have made their situation much better if they had only taken simple necessities such as a few power bars, water, fire kit, and whistle.

I guess I should point out that I am really glad that they were rescued. Now that we have that out of the way- let’s ponder for a moment the lives that were at risk looking for these three, the tax dollars spent, and perhaps resources that were at risk of being diverted from something that is a little less predictable such as a accident or lost child in the woods.

Most search teams are well trained volunteers using their own time and resources. This can be a personal financial drain. If I was called out for a search today to fly- I would spend about $90 per hour out of my own pocket. Others take off work or cancel other commitments. Don’t get me wrong, I feel strongly about helping in SAR missions and would not trade a single mission I have been on for anything, but to do one when it could have been prevented is something entirely different.

Even a simple and low-budget gps has the ability to get you back to your car and the resilience of a map, compass, and the skills to use them will save your life.

Six days is a long time to be lost. Many people don’t make it that long. I would suspect that there will be long term effects from prolonged exposure to cold weather, drinking unfiltered water from streams, and the potential psychological issues associated with stress.  The father of the lost patrol suffered a back injury, while his wife had hypothermia, and their son had a sprained foot and minor frostbite. All three were dehydrated and obviously hungry.

Let’s examine just a few of their mistakes:

• Jackets left in jeep
• Kept moving- making it hard for searchers to find
• Missing basics such as water, water purification, fire kit, signal kit (whistle, mirror, pen flare), space blanket, small flashlight, energy bars, map, and compass (and skills to use it)
• Focused on their objective (hunting mushrooms) and not aware of their situation

Imagine how this would be a much better situation if they had become lost, had a fire for warmth and signal, searchers calling for them and they could respond by whistle signal, and when aircraft flew over they could have fired a flare from even the smallest break in the trees.

Unfortunately, they could see rewards for putting others at risk and spending our tax money for their plight. I am sure there is a book deal or perhaps a movie about their six-day “shroom” experience in the future.

Keep a survival kit with you at all times in the back country. Know how to use it. Practice using it. I hold training throughout the year sometimes at little or no cost (in some cases you only pay for gear and materials). Don’t become another “Stupid Survival Story”.

UPDATED POST RESCUE LINK- SEE IF YOU CAN FIND WHERE THEY WENT WRONG

Teaching survival to kids– yes even kids can survive much better than adults when properly trained

Weekend Adventure with my Bride

So i will have to catch you up on how I finally finished up my pilot training and earned my Private Pilot Certificate. In the mean time I want to share this weeks adventure. Road tripping with my wife. It started out as an aviation adventure. But after having a plane on hold for a month, buying all the charts and AFDs needed, and getting additional training in a Cessna 172 the weather didn’t hold for us

Instead of bagging our trip we rented (at a very well negotiated price) a new Chevy Camaro, threw our travel bag in the trunk and sped off for then West Coast of Oregon. So over the next few blogs I will share our stops and adventures….including an awesome stay at the Columbia Gorge Hotel at Hood River….stay tuned….
….from the road on my ipad…