Mission to Atlanta

MOre than a home–its a gateway to the Sawtooths

Mission Accomplished! Brad and his very sweet mother standing in Atlanta! I know I do trips with just me and my pup- but I really enjoyed having them along.

Atlanta was the first Idaho ghost town we went to shortly after moving to the gem state in early 2005. I have hunted the area with friends, taken several trips in the winter and early spring “trying” to get to the town, and have flown in there with a fellow pilot a few times. This last weekend I had a chance to take a good buddy and his mother out with me. She has lived in Idaho her entire life and has never seen it…so this mission had a purpose.

Placed on the head waters of the Boise River, Atlanta was founded by John Stanley’s prospecting party when they discovered gold in the area somewhere between 1863 and 1864.  The Stanley team had come through Bear Valley and the Stanley Basin before striking over to the head of the middle fork of the Boise. Though Idaho was not directly involved in the Civil War, Confederate sympathizers named the load “The Atlanta” after the Civil War battle of its namesake.  In 1865, the streets of Atlanta City were laid out and by 1867 it had a Post Office. Still working today is the Hydro-electric dam, though the aerial tramline used during a period of re-growth from 1904-1912 is no longer there.

From its beginning, the highly remote location of the Atlanta lode made difficult to develop the district and to bring in the necessary equipment. However, the extremely high-grade ore available in quantity in made it easy in 1868 to interest a large number of British investors in the area. Through this investment, technical equipment and expensive machinery was brought in, increasing attention to the Atlanta lode.

Before major operations ended in 1953, Atlanta produced some 18 million dollars ranking it as Idaho’s major hard-rock gold producer. Periodically through the years, several investors have looked at mining the area, even using chemically dependent strip mining.

Atlanta is about 100 miles from our base camp in Meridian and 60 of that is on the barley improved Middle Fork Road built to solve the transportation problems of the mine. The road includes loose gravel and sand, shale rock and miles of washboard that will rattle any fillings you have in your teeth. This is the only access in the winter and the road becomes treacherous with ice and snow.

From Boise, we take Highway 21 to the Lucky Peak turn-off, which becomes the Middle Fork Road. You skirt along both Lucky Peak and Arrow Rock reservoirs, the Middle Fork of the Boise River, and see dramatic scenery from high desert plains to Ponderosa Pines. You can catch glimpse of Elk, Deer, Antelope, and Moose. Be sure to use caution of the road due to oncoming traffic, loose rocks and soil, and on occasion, deadfall on the roads.

The other route is to drive past Idaho City and over Moore’s Creek Summit. Here you can take the Edna Creek Road. Take a solid set of maps, use an app such as Topo Maps for the iPad, and check where you are often. Roads and tails change names and while going straight on one road, it can change names with a slight curve. An example is how coming out of Atlanta, turning on Swan Hold, becoming the Owl Creek Road, and then eventually after a few other detours you are on Edna Creek. Granted, all different roads, just be aware that a single road does not take you on a single shot to your intended destination.

Take plenty of water with you, shovel, hi-lift jack, repair equipment and tools, and your survival pack. I have been stuck overnight in this area and if you are far enough back in, help is not going to be driving by. A licensed HAM operator with long-range gear can hit Schaffer Butte for comm. Since cell phone service can be up to a 60 mile walk if you break down. These roads on summer weekends are populated with all kinds of recreationist, on Sunday evening in early May, you won’t find help passing by. As for fuel, Going Lucky Peak/ Middle Fork Road, your last chance for gas is on I-84 and Highway 21. If going Edna Creek, top off in Idaho City. HIGHLY recommend at least an extra two-gallons of go-juice. On another note, be aware that there are active mining claims on this road. Please do not mess with the equipment, and don’t start turning rocks or soil looking for “stuff”. Last, don’t look like a typical yuppy tourist. These are hard-working folks that live up in the area. Don’t be a geek, you ruin it for the rest of us.

Hard to see, but those are prospectors down there working their claim.

We enjoy taking our time to stop for pictures of wildlife, historical relics, and scenery. A good hearty picnic lunch and even dinner can make it a great trip.

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.