War Eagle

Yvon Chouinard, founder of the companies Black Diamond and Patagonia is quoted as saying  "It's not an adventure until something goes wrong." I've quoted this to the Scouts of our patrol on numerous occasions, mostly trying to lighten the mood when someone realizes they've forgotten their rain jacket or mess kit utensil. The saying's meaning is deepened by another of Yvon's famous quotes which reads, "Real adventure is defined best as a journey from which you may not come back alive, and certainly not as the same person."  And now enter the Ice Age Bacon Patrol's journey to War Eagle Mountain.

Not to allude that anyone was in real danger of losing their life, but this was certainly a trip of high adventure. The Scouts had been working on their cycling merit badge over the past months and performed multiple 2, 5, and 8 mile rides on varying terrain. The culminating event of the merit badge is a 22 mile bike ride (if you are using mountain bikes on dirt roads and trails) completed within a certain time frame. Our group decided to travel to the Silver City area in September on a camp out and spend our Saturday completing this ride. Our purpose in traveling to this part of Idaho was to begin our ride at the top of one of the high mountains in the area and to take advantage of the downhill as much as possible. 

We met Friday afternoon and loaded bikes and bags. We had a good group so we took two vehicles and rolled off to Silver City. Once into the mountains we arrived at a good downhill stretch and decided to unload the bikes for a shakedown ride, which proved to be fairly uneventful. We reloaded the bikes at the bottom of the hill and traveled on to Silver City. For most on the trip it was their first time to visit the old mining town and we spent the last light of day exploring the town. As dusk fell we loaded the bikes again and headed up the mountain to find a camp site. The evening was filled with pitching tents, an MRE dinner and a few rounds of the night game Fugitive. Then we bedded down for the night. 

The following morning we had a quick breakfast and broke camp. We traveled the rest of the way up the mountain and finally arrived at the top. We unloaded the bikes, made final adjustments and safety checks, and began our descent. Not a mile into the ride we had our first crash and first blood was drawn. We checked wounds, did a bike swap, and continued down the mountain. The views were excellent and the weather was perfect. We found, however, that speed was our enemy and after two other crashes, one that was quite a close call, we had to implement a "no one rides faster than the leader in the front" rule. The rest of the ride continued without significant disturbance and the Ice Age Bacon Patrol finished their 22 mile bike ride. Well done to the Scouts, they had earned every mile. And for a few, it was certainly a journey from which they came back a changed person.

Loading up bikes.

Practicing their square knots.

Eating a quick breakfast before hitting the road.

Nothing like honey in the morning. 

This is why they call it breaking camp.

This group in high spirits...for now.

Camping in one of War Eagle Mountain's many saddles. 

Leave no trace...or cow pie.

Loaded and ready to go.

The view from the top.

Our fearless leader taking one for the team with the first crash of the day.

Racking up the miles.

Some beautiful views.

Taking a breather.

Checking bikes (again) before a steep section.

Our historian, recording history.

Oh how the road rash burns.

Made it! 22 miles (actually 23.2) completed!

Loaded for home.

Pointing to War Eagle Mountain's peak, where they just rode from.

The butcher's bill. What a price to pay for a merit badge!

Crooked River

For our July camp out we decided to head to the Crooked River trail about 17 miles northeast of Idaho City. We left a little early Friday afternoon so we could maximize our time hiking and fishing. The hike in was beautiful with warm weather and few people on the trail. We stopped and fished along the way and caught two trout keepers that we ate later that night with dinner. There were multiple campsites along the way but we found a nice one right next to the river and set up our shelters. For dinner one of the boys worked on their Cooking merit badge and had made burrito filling that we had dehydrated prior to the trip. We cooked up the meat, beans and rice and layered it with cheese on tortillas. It was delicious and the dish has been officially name the Crooked Bean. As an added benefit this meal only dirties the cooking pot and serving spoon so the clean up is minimal. We played some night games and retired for the evening knowing we had an early morning the next day. We awoke around 5:30am because we had a Pioneer Day (24th of July) celebration to make it back for. We had a nice hike out and uneventful drive back to Nampa.

Loaded and ready to hit the road.

One of the boys left his snacks on the roof of the pickup as we drove out of the neighborhood. Luckily he remembered before we had gone to far. We turned around and found his goodies on the side of the road. 

Due to Sticky not having air conditioning we stopped for large fountain drinks with lots of ice. Our PL introduced us to beverage called the Dirty Turtle. Apparently it is Root Beer with flavored creamer added to it. We all tried it and it's...interesting. 

Getting packs and fishing poles ready for the hike.

At the trail head.

 

Stopping to do some fishing.

Crossing Crooked River

Catching some fish.

PL's first time cleaning a fish.

Setting up camp.

Eating the Crooked Bean (Burritos)

Packing up early in the morning.

One of our Scouts tries every concievable method to avoid cleaning his mess kit. This campout he turned it over on the ground and left it over night. In the morning he picked it up and it was still dirty. "Oh man!" he stated, "I was hoping gravity would clean my plate while I slept!" 

We had hiked about a quarter mile from our campsite back to the pickup when the same Scout realized he'd left his fishing pole behind a tree. To give him credit he ran all the way back to the campsite and then to where we were waiting.

 

Made it! I'm not sure why their hands are in the air. Maybe they surrender.

Reynolds Creek

It had been an unseasonably warm spring and the boys started asking about a backpacking trip. We decided to head to a spot close to home and headed to the Reynolds Creek area for our April campout. The drive to the trail head was relatively short but certainly tested the 4x4 capabilities of Sticky Charles. The hike in was perfect and the boys selected an excellent camp spot about three miles in. We set up camp and got our dinner re-hydrating (dehydrated Sky Baby Special). There were a couple of fish caught out of the creek but they were only a couple inches long. That night we enjoyed a dinner of the famous Sky Baby Special, which turned out to be an excellent backpacking dinner. We had fruit and nut cobbler for dessert and read Pat Mcmanus stories around the campfire (these were certainly more entertaining to the leaders than the boys). The following morning we did some additional hiking, ate some oatmeal, packed up and hiked out. We walked up on a rattlesnake sunning in the trail, which is always good for accelerating ones heart. He slithered away as soon as we backed up. I suspect with the early spring that place will be crawling (literally) with snakes this summer. It was a great trip and the boys were like old backpacking pros.

Loading up in Sticky.

At the trail head.

First mile, no sweat...

Second mile, better yet...

Taking a breather.

Camp site selected by the boys.

Setting up tents in the setting sun.

The creek near our camp.

Our camp site from where the boys climbed up to before dinner.

The valley.

Sky Baby Special simmering.

Climbing hills the next morning.

The old guys taking it easy before the hike out.

The quartermaster decided to clean his mess kit by throwing it in the fire. His spoon turned permanently black and his aluminum dish split down one side. Bummer.

Goodbye camp....whats that?

Hiking along the portion of the trail called China Ditch. 

These were once the location of mining car tracks built up by immigrant workers.

We Made It!!