Long trip
Nonono, not a drug thing.
I went from Coeur d'Alene, to McCall, to Boise, to Stanley, to Salmon...Lolo and than back to CDA. In three days.
Now, this doesn't sound like a lot, but it is enough for what happened. From CDA to Boise (going through McCall) it is 8 hours...minus waits for construction and traffic. From Boise to Salmon it is 6 hours and when you leave at 1500, that is enough. And from Salmon to CDA? Didn't really pay attention because I had a layover in Lolo. But again, long enough.
All in all I had nearly 20 hours of drive-time for a 17 hour visit with family and 7 of those was me sleeping. Hmm, not enough time in a stationary state.
Well, I showed up at my camping spot on the Salmon close to Shoup, ID at 2100...just enough time to put up the tent before it got dark. BUT, since I could not build a fire (due to fire restrictions) I donned a headlamp and wrote some things down. It is like this:
"- What do these western rivers smell like? There is something similar about all of them. It goes along the lines of that smell you stumble across in pine forests that retreats too quickly to dissect it. It smells like strawberries and sweet, but sharp for some reason. These rivers smell sweet as well, only "fishier." Like a mix of fish, rocks, willow, bugs, slime, reeds...but it is a GOOD smell.
- Right now I can intermittently smell the river and forest fire smoke. A sweet combination. Again, wildfires don't smell like campfires. The mixture of duff, wood, and needles burning combines with the hot rocks, dirt, ash, and brush to produce a wonderfully unique aroma. Takes me back.
- Why can we hear bats squeak sometimes and not all the time?
- Red stars / moon at night, firefighters' delight.
- The moon should be visible over the mountains at some point. I tried staring at the red sun, but it was still too intense. I hope I see the red moon. Photos could be interesting, but now all else is black, so probably not.
- I just drove from Boise to Stanley, then north to Salmon, and west toward Shoup. I am terrible for settling down in a place I don't know, or a spot that isn't a predetermined destination. I must see ALL of the country first. I should have known myself better. As it is, I left Boise at around 1500 and finally got HERE at 2100. Lotsa driving to camp without a fire. Speaking of which, camping without a fire is somewhat depressing. Company would help. As it is, I'm sitting here in the dark, attracting insects with my headlamp, and writing what I think.
- Going to Stanley, Idaho would be better if you headed south from Salmon. When you get there headed east, you don't see much of the mountains (if you don't stop like me.) Also, they only allow camping in designated spots down there...no thank you. I will camp where I want to camp.
- Funny how much I like the area down there. Lodgepole, meadows, peaks...VERY similar to Montana...and at around 6500 feet to boot! Driving up here it is much like I imagine Wyoming. Sage hills, STEEP, open ridges, but then with pines up higher and in the draws. Elk and mule deer country...and the deer I saw? They are HUGE. Just massive bodies.
- I saw baby Bighorns with their mommas on the road at about 4 yards...very cute.
- I bought a new camping stove in Boise. "Dragonfly" by MSR. It will burn nearly every fuel...white gas, kerosene, diesel, gasoline, and jet fuel! I finally tried it out tonight and the thing is perfect! It is the most adjustable stove you can get and it has a lifetime warranty. You could make some serious meals with this thing, for life! I am happy with it.
- I must shut my headlamp off every five minutes or so because the bugs get so thick. Not biting insects, just all over the paper and in my eyes, on my hands, legs, hair. The bats seem to enjoy me though, they are diving closer.
- The water is warm. (Had to wash my hands, going to see if bug spray keeps these bugs away a little bit.)
- Future reference, I won't stop unless I have all the supplies I need. Get them ALL before going camping. Also, put the coffee press and coffee in the truck. I seem to always forget that. Coffee would be important, because I could make that in a pot, but still...I forget it.
- Bug spray does little to these pests when using a headlamp. A small smudge fire is tempting."
That was my time on the road to the Salmon from Boise. The bugs got the better of me and I had to retreat to the tent. I DID go swimming at night, in a place where no one knew where I was at, in what they call "the river of no return." So, I'm an idiot, but it was still hot and I did it carefully. I had a mouse run across my bare foot while sitting there writing...so I devised a deadfall with two sticks and a large rock. Bait was a helligramite. In the morning, the trap was in place, but the bait was gone. I tried the figure-four trigger, but had trouble, so simplified it. Obviously not effective. I shall have to work on that.
So those are the most interesting points of the trip. The poor side of it. All else went well and I'm glad I went.
I went from Coeur d'Alene, to McCall, to Boise, to Stanley, to Salmon...Lolo and than back to CDA. In three days.
Now, this doesn't sound like a lot, but it is enough for what happened. From CDA to Boise (going through McCall) it is 8 hours...minus waits for construction and traffic. From Boise to Salmon it is 6 hours and when you leave at 1500, that is enough. And from Salmon to CDA? Didn't really pay attention because I had a layover in Lolo. But again, long enough.
All in all I had nearly 20 hours of drive-time for a 17 hour visit with family and 7 of those was me sleeping. Hmm, not enough time in a stationary state.
Well, I showed up at my camping spot on the Salmon close to Shoup, ID at 2100...just enough time to put up the tent before it got dark. BUT, since I could not build a fire (due to fire restrictions) I donned a headlamp and wrote some things down. It is like this:
"- What do these western rivers smell like? There is something similar about all of them. It goes along the lines of that smell you stumble across in pine forests that retreats too quickly to dissect it. It smells like strawberries and sweet, but sharp for some reason. These rivers smell sweet as well, only "fishier." Like a mix of fish, rocks, willow, bugs, slime, reeds...but it is a GOOD smell.
- Right now I can intermittently smell the river and forest fire smoke. A sweet combination. Again, wildfires don't smell like campfires. The mixture of duff, wood, and needles burning combines with the hot rocks, dirt, ash, and brush to produce a wonderfully unique aroma. Takes me back.
- Why can we hear bats squeak sometimes and not all the time?
- Red stars / moon at night, firefighters' delight.
- The moon should be visible over the mountains at some point. I tried staring at the red sun, but it was still too intense. I hope I see the red moon. Photos could be interesting, but now all else is black, so probably not.
- I just drove from Boise to Stanley, then north to Salmon, and west toward Shoup. I am terrible for settling down in a place I don't know, or a spot that isn't a predetermined destination. I must see ALL of the country first. I should have known myself better. As it is, I left Boise at around 1500 and finally got HERE at 2100. Lotsa driving to camp without a fire. Speaking of which, camping without a fire is somewhat depressing. Company would help. As it is, I'm sitting here in the dark, attracting insects with my headlamp, and writing what I think.
- Going to Stanley, Idaho would be better if you headed south from Salmon. When you get there headed east, you don't see much of the mountains (if you don't stop like me.) Also, they only allow camping in designated spots down there...no thank you. I will camp where I want to camp.
- Funny how much I like the area down there. Lodgepole, meadows, peaks...VERY similar to Montana...and at around 6500 feet to boot! Driving up here it is much like I imagine Wyoming. Sage hills, STEEP, open ridges, but then with pines up higher and in the draws. Elk and mule deer country...and the deer I saw? They are HUGE. Just massive bodies.
- I saw baby Bighorns with their mommas on the road at about 4 yards...very cute.
- I bought a new camping stove in Boise. "Dragonfly" by MSR. It will burn nearly every fuel...white gas, kerosene, diesel, gasoline, and jet fuel! I finally tried it out tonight and the thing is perfect! It is the most adjustable stove you can get and it has a lifetime warranty. You could make some serious meals with this thing, for life! I am happy with it.
- I must shut my headlamp off every five minutes or so because the bugs get so thick. Not biting insects, just all over the paper and in my eyes, on my hands, legs, hair. The bats seem to enjoy me though, they are diving closer.
- The water is warm. (Had to wash my hands, going to see if bug spray keeps these bugs away a little bit.)
- Future reference, I won't stop unless I have all the supplies I need. Get them ALL before going camping. Also, put the coffee press and coffee in the truck. I seem to always forget that. Coffee would be important, because I could make that in a pot, but still...I forget it.
- Bug spray does little to these pests when using a headlamp. A small smudge fire is tempting."
That was my time on the road to the Salmon from Boise. The bugs got the better of me and I had to retreat to the tent. I DID go swimming at night, in a place where no one knew where I was at, in what they call "the river of no return." So, I'm an idiot, but it was still hot and I did it carefully. I had a mouse run across my bare foot while sitting there writing...so I devised a deadfall with two sticks and a large rock. Bait was a helligramite. In the morning, the trap was in place, but the bait was gone. I tried the figure-four trigger, but had trouble, so simplified it. Obviously not effective. I shall have to work on that.
So those are the most interesting points of the trip. The poor side of it. All else went well and I'm glad I went.
posted by geotracker12 at 6:31 PM
1 Comments:
Like what?... a figure 2 trigger?
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