Trip Photo Albums

Lucky Peak:

Lucky Peak Reservoir, just to the Northwest of Boise Idaho, is a popular place for all sorts of boating. Not only do people water ski here, fishing boats, sail boats or sail boards can often be found on the water. I like this body of water for the variation of geology that ranges from basalt mountains, glacial till sections to sandy beaches. Trees are a bit sparse, but not essential for a good kayak paddle day trip. Sometimes I do 14 miles and other time I’ve been able to stretch this to 26 miles between the Lucky Peak Dam to Arrow Rock Dam and back following the shore line.

Grand Canyon, South Rim:

One popular trip at the Grand Canyon is to go down the South Kaibab Trail and come back up the Bright Angel Trail. This hiking trip simplifies some of the legistics because you can leave your vehicle at the Bright Angel Trailhead and take the free shuttle to the start of the South Kaibab Trailhead (North rim to South rim requires a four hour shuttle between the rims). In 2015 we did this South Rim trip on the Grand Canyon: Day 1) Hike to Bright Angel/camped; Day 2) leaving all camping gear at camp, did a day hike to Ribbon Falls and back; Day 3) Hike to Indian Garden/camp with evening hike to Plateau Point to see the sunset; Day 4) Finished the hike out of the canyon.

Upper Missouri River:

In 2018 we did a 150 mile, six day paddle of the Upper Missouri River in Montana. This section is associated with the cross continental journey of Lewis & Clark. We first toured the museums at Fort Benton and assemble our boats the day before we started the paddle. All the drinking water needed to be carried on the boats because of the silty river with agricultural runoff (that’s lot of water to pack – figured 3 liters per person per day). The trip was full of interesting geology with American history that goes back to the early parts of the nation. Misquotes were really bad at our take out point (James Kipp landing). Very grateful for taking the Nemo Bugout tarp screen tent. The National Conservation Lands Boaters’ Guide is a great resource for this trip in that it gives you the river map of the section, has the mile markers that match those on the banks, historical significant stories of the locations, plus whether the section is private or public land.

Toxaway/Petit Loop:

The Toxaway-Petit loop in the Idaho Sawtooth National Forest is full of alpine lakes against solid rock mountains. It is a popular backpacking loop that takes you by water falls and Alice Lake, which is backed by El Capitan (elevation 9,901 ft). The book says this is a 18 mile loop, but it sure seems like it was more like 20 miles. We did this section in 4 days in the summer of 2018.

Hidden Lake:

Nestle into the Eagle Cap Wilderness in Oregon is the alpine gem, Hidden Lake. We made this trip in the fall of 2019 while there were still huckleberries along the trail.

Loon Lake Bomber 2020:

In 1943, a B-23 Dragon Bomber on a training mission crash landed on an ice covered Loon Lake, north of McCall, Idaho. The plane was left there and can still be hiked to. In 2020, a group of us made the day hike to see the wreckage and what is left of the plane.

Loon Lake Bomber 2022:

With some friends, I made a backpack trip into Loon Lake in the Fall of 2022. The 1st night, we stayed at the Chinook Campground. The following day hiked to to Loon Lake and set up camp on the North side of the lake. That evening did a quick hike to see the bomber. The following day, hiked out along the Secesh Rivertrail.

Green River:

The Green River runs from Wyoming into Utah where it connects to the Colorado River. The section we travel on was through the Labyrinth Canyon from Ruby Ranch to Mineral Bottom. This 47 mile stretch goes through red rock canyons with a lot of opportunities for hiking. We did this trip in the spring of 2021.