https://trailimage.com/ Stories, images and videos of small adventure trips in and around the state of Idaho 2020-01-14T00:44:34Z Jason Abbotthttps://www.facebook.com/jason.e.abbott Copyright © 2026 Jason Abbott. All rights reserved. LRc Web https://trailimage.com/2020/first-snow-ride/ 2020-01-14T00:44:34Z 2020-01-14T00:44:34Z https://trailimage.com/2019/brother-ride/rain-in-radium/ 2019-09-01T15:08:35Z 2019-09-01T15:08:35Z

The day with the least ride time was to allow exploration but the weather becomes its own adventure as we make our way from Banff through mountain passes to Radium.

https://trailimage.com/2019/brother-ride/busy-banff/ 2019-08-30T20:40:04Z 2019-08-30T20:40:04Z

It is a day of trail riding — Cowboy, Kananaskis and Smith Dorrien Trails — though perhaps not like you think. Along the way, we enjoy Canadian cuisine and majestic mountains.

https://trailimage.com/2019/brother-ride/across-the-border/ 2019-08-29T22:15:00Z 2019-08-29T22:15:00Z

Brenna and I drive from Boise to Sandpoint, Idaho, to join my brothers for the ride across the northern border into Canada.

https://trailimage.com/2019/mothers-day/ 2019-05-12T13:37:50Z 2019-05-12T13:37:50Z https://trailimage.com/2019/night-rain-in-leslie-gulch/ 2019-04-13T17:31:00Z 2019-04-13T17:31:00Z

In 1937, the Farm Security Administration (FSA) was created as part of the New Deal to lift people out of rural poverty wrought by drought and the Great Depression. It is widely known today for its photography program that, from 1935 to 44, produced some eighty-thousand incomparable images of participants. Malheur County in Oregon, where I’ll be the next couple days, received many FSA settlers. No doubt many of their descendants remain. Dorothea Lange and Russell Lee came to photograph the area for the FSA in 1939 and 1941. I have always been enamored of how unchanged these lands seem from their molten beginning a million years ago. Lee’s and Lange’s pictures substantiate that impression. Original caption: “The cream truck coming down the road represents one steady element in the new settlers’ income.”

https://trailimage.com/2019/bruneaus-red-light-district/ 2019-03-29T22:58:56Z 2019-03-29T22:58:56Z

The military practice area south of the Boise airport is more active today than other times I’ve used its maze of dirt and gravel roads to avoid interstate. Groups of tanks are being readied here and there by helmeted soldiers, like chicks around their mother hens. I wave as one rolls past on the road, the metal chatter of its tracks audible over earplugs and music in my helmet.

https://trailimage.com/2019/spring-yard/ 2019-03-10T22:43:14Z 2019-03-10T22:43:14Z https://trailimage.com/2018/ridge-ride-2018/ 2018-11-11T00:12:44Z 2018-11-11T00:12:44Z https://trailimage.com/2018/photography-meetup/ 2018-10-06T16:17:14Z 2018-10-06T16:17:14Z https://trailimage.com/2018/sandbars-of-time/ 2018-09-08T23:19:18Z 2018-09-08T23:19:18Z

“Do you want to camp this coming weekend?” I asked Brenna several days ago. “Can we ride the motorcycle?” she asked in return. “Yeah,” I affirm, “for sure.” “Oh yea,” she said with drawn out enthusiasm. So I knew it was a go. Or so I thought. Yesterday she was invited to a B.S.U. football game with one of her school friends and now she’s indecisive. I let her know it’s time to choose. “I think I want to camp,” she concludes after considering it for a while. That was a close one. She’s at the age where I know I’m on borrowed time against the pull of peers and pre-teen predilections. I am glad I won this day since I already bought food and packed the motorcycle. These little trips are a highlight of my life. I have in mind an easy ride to somewhere along the Boise River North Fork where I know if it’s busy we can cross the bridge to Barber Flat that doesn’t allow automobiles. It is a typical late summer day in Southern Idaho as we begin up Highway 21 — hot under a smoke hazed sky.

https://trailimage.com/2018/brother-ride/mex-mountain/ 2018-08-21T01:22:24Z 2018-08-21T01:22:24Z

The large flaps snapping in the wind was the first thing to wake me up. I was a little too warm the night before so wanted to leave the rain fly off last night. Joel and Jeremy convinced me to put it on with Joel’s compromise: leave the sides folded open. It is still dark when I awake again to the patter of rain on the flaps I zipped closed against the wind. And when finally the penumbral light of early morning creeps across the lake, rain is still falling. I don’t think I want to get up. When finally we reluctantly emerge, it’s a fight to make a fire; and not clear that it’s worth it. Do we stand in the rain by the fire or under a tree, like Jeremy? The rain shows no sign of fully stopping so at the first lull we hustle to roll and stuff gear into our bags. If it’s going to rain, we might as well be riding. Let’s go!

https://trailimage.com/2018/brother-ride/rocky-ridge-lake/ 2018-08-19T22:10:25Z 2018-08-19T22:10:25Z

In spite of no water white noise, we sleep fairly well again before crawling out of our matching tents to fire up our three matching Jetboil stoves for coffee, banter and maybe oatmeal. The day is dry and bright before we make our way down from panoramic Indian Point to continue on the Lolo Motorway in the tracks of Lewis and Clark.

https://trailimage.com/2018/brother-ride/selway/ 2018-08-18T00:27:56Z 2018-08-18T00:27:56Z

It seems too small to be the Selway River. I guess that’s because I’ve never been this far up it. My brothers and I will camp somewhere along here tonight. We have gone about thirty dirt road miles since we were together on Burnt Knob. I expect Joel and Jeremy will be several minutes behind so I park on the bridge, take a few pictures and do a little local reconnaissance.

https://trailimage.com/2018/brother-ride/magruder/ 2018-08-17T15:34:42Z 2018-08-17T15:34:42Z

Our meet-up point is Elk City in the mountains of North Idaho. We all begin travelling a day early to be ready for a Friday morning departure. I’ve been hoping it would cool down since a sweltering ride to Troy Days (annual hometown celebration) in July but again I see triple digit temperatures as I’m departing Boise. Ugh. I stuffed Brenna’s Puff the Magic Dragon behind the windscreen thinking she’ll be amused to see pictures of Puffy’s adventures. The Peter, Paul and Mary song is among the repertoire we’ve sung together each night since she was a baby.

https://trailimage.com/2018/ouroboros/ 2018-07-21T23:12:06Z 2018-07-21T23:12:06Z

It may be the roughest part of the whole ride but Brenna seemed to like the rocky trail from Boise to Bonneville Point just fine. It’s hot here in the open, on a parched hill overlooking the river valley, so we’re only pausing a minute to make sure our luggage remains well secured. “Can I go look?” Brenna asks, nodding toward the gazebo in the fenced area. She’s been here a few times but doesn’t remember it well. “Of course,” I answer.

https://trailimage.com/2018/lava-loop/ 2018-06-17T00:46:46Z 2018-06-17T00:46:46Z

The South Fork of the Boise River cuts deep into prehistory. Its short stretch between Anderson Ranch and Arrowrock Reservoirs marks the most scenic canyons around Boise, I think. As usual for this direction, I followed the rocky tracks behind Micron along the Oregon Trail wagon route from the early 1800s — a route to the American Dream now marked by discarded mattresses and shot out TVs. At first I hit the rough two-track to Bonneville Point at KTM 500 speeds. The 1290 seemed to be soaking it up well until the top luggage box I was taking on a test run popped off (I hadn’t secured it correctly). Then I tipped over while turning around on the rolly rock hill where the box landed and scraped up a few things. It was not a proud moment. So that’s how this ride started.

https://trailimage.com/2018/north-fork-crossing/ 2018-05-27T23:23:22Z 2018-05-27T23:23:22Z

It takes a little thinking to come up with a campsite meeting my Memorial Weekend criteria: probably not busy, easy to reach in our tiny car, not under snow (obviously), not a repeat of recent years, and geologically interesting. Our winner is the North Fork Crossing recreation area in the Idaho Owyhees near Oregon. I’ve only been there by motorbike and that several years ago but it stuck in my mind as a place I’d like to explore.

https://trailimage.com/2018/spring-2018-yard-safari/ 2018-04-07T22:41:30Z 2018-04-07T22:41:30Z

The neighbor’s sky scraping poplar tree released its panoply of reproductive fuzzy and crunchy things, cueing the annual emergency pond scooping followed by palliative picture making.

https://trailimage.com/2017/autumn-yard/ 2017-11-12T20:29:44Z 2017-11-12T20:29:44Z https://trailimage.com/2017/owyhee-powder/ 2017-10-15T19:02:09Z 2017-10-15T19:02:09Z

Apparently making up for lost time now, my neighbor Tony sends out word of another autumn ride, this time to the south. I RSVP in the positive once I’ve secured permission from the boss.

https://trailimage.com/2017/out-of-retirement/ 2017-09-27T18:45:39Z 2017-09-27T18:45:39Z

Our motorcycles maybe thought we’d retired but no, the hiatus is over. My neighbor Tony and I pull the bikes out to spend a day riding narrow trails through evergreen Idaho mountains.

https://trailimage.com/2017/brother-ride/north-fork/ 2017-08-30T18:48:13Z 2017-08-30T18:48:13Z

On the third and fourth days of our annual Brother Ride, we leave the beautiful campsite along the shore of high mountain Big Trinity Lake with plans to descend to historic Atlanta, Idaho, then venture on trails unknown to camp along the North Fork of the Boise River before returning home.

https://trailimage.com/2017/brother-ride/middle-fork/ 2017-08-29T18:29:25Z 2017-08-29T18:29:25Z

On the second day of our tenth annual ride, my brothers and I descend from Lava Mountain for gas before heading deeper into the mountains. At least that’s the plan. Mountains have a way of messing with plans.

https://trailimage.com/2017/brother-ride/south-fork/ 2017-08-28T21:23:10Z 2017-08-28T21:23:10Z

The four of us — my brothers minus Jesse, Kayla’s boyfriend Nick and I — ride northeast from Boise to rise above the desert in search of solitude along narrow mountain paths.

https://trailimage.com/2017/boiling-over/ 2017-07-30T21:48:20Z 2017-07-30T21:48:20Z

We might care about cosmetic damage if we weren’t focused on more basic things like the engine working. If you’ve read my notes from other trips with the Husky, you may remember it hasn’t been reliable. It never stranded us (my brothers and I) but it added unpleasant hours to our travels. Before taking it out again, I wanted to put a rebuild kit in the carburetor. While I did that, Nick replaced the spark plug, oil, a weepy stator cover gasket and broken rear fender. It’s nice to have help. The bike doesn’t look much different but I hope it’s happier.

https://trailimage.com/2017/sunken-island/ 2017-06-05T00:36:09Z 2017-06-05T00:36:09Z

School has only been out a day and already “I’m bored” complaints are buzzing around the house like flies. Happily, we’re close to the river and foothills so we can always hop on our bikes or set out on foot from home for a bit of perspective.

https://trailimage.com/2017/ducklings/ 2017-04-28T17:45:46Z 2017-04-28T17:45:46Z

Plants are still filling back in after last year’s rebuild in search of a leak but the ducks are still happy to make our pond their pitstop for a quick snack and the toilet.

https://trailimage.com/2017/big-jacks-turn/ 2017-04-01T01:43:18Z 2017-04-01T01:43:18Z

It is just Brenna and I this weekend which means … there will be camping.

https://trailimage.com/2017/peter-grubb-hut/ 2017-03-20T19:37:00Z 2017-03-20T19:37:00Z

For my first winter retreat with Gaia GPS, we ski and snowshoe on record breaking Sierra Nevada snowpack to spend two nights in a hut at 8,000 feet. It’s bound to be good team building.

https://trailimage.com/2017/lunch-yard-safari/ 2017-03-10T21:15:15Z 2017-03-10T21:15:15Z https://trailimage.com/2016/ice-volcano/ 2016-12-29T19:49:25Z 2016-12-29T19:49:25Z https://trailimage.com/2016/orange-owyhees/ 2016-11-13T20:33:34Z 2016-11-13T20:33:34Z

My neighbor and I take advantage of the year’s waning sun to find high desert adventure across the Snake River in the once heavily mined hills around Silver City.

https://trailimage.com/2016/danskin-clouds/ 2016-10-30T19:09:51Z 2016-10-30T19:09:51Z

An oft expressed intention was finally made real as my neighbor and I got out for a ride together. For a solid five hours, I saw the world without made-up political memes. At first my eyes stung but slowly they adjusted to the lack of hyperbole.

https://trailimage.com/2016/brother-ride/noseeum-lake/ 2016-09-05T20:37:03Z 2016-09-05T20:37:03Z

Today is a town day. My brothers and I will resupply in Avery then return south for another lakeside night. At least that’s the hope. On this “best of” ride, tonight’s is the only campsite we’ve never been to. We weren’t able to make it last time we tried to get there.

https://trailimage.com/2016/brother-ride/lost-lake/ 2016-09-04T19:22:06Z 2016-09-04T19:22:06Z

At just a bit over π miles to the next campsite, it should be an easy day, in spite of almost exclusive single track. We’ll ride from Crater Peak to trails among the Marble Creek headwaters then around to Lost Lake, another of our original brother ride campsites.

https://trailimage.com/2016/brother-ride/crater-peak/ 2016-09-03T18:59:40Z 2016-09-03T18:59:40Z

In an ode to the early years, and contrary to previous plans, Jeremy, Joel and I begin our annual ride in the foothills of Moscow Mountain, at our mom’s house, and make our way to the first ever Brother Ride campsite on Crater Peak.

https://trailimage.com/2016/no-more-leak/ 2016-07-16T17:38:28Z 2016-07-16T17:38:28Z

Yes, it appears to be fixed. Sadly, the solution involved no midnight elephants or spacetime rifts. The flexible pipe between the pump and waterfall had an intermittent leak. Why intermittent? I don’t know. I dug it up and watched a few weeks and found no damp ground. But then it sprayed me when it flexed as I repositioned it. Maybe it varied with the sprinkler schedule, leaking less into saturated soil, or temperature, expanding and contracting — one of the world’s great mysteries.

https://trailimage.com/2016/stanley-lake-snow-hike/ 2016-05-23T16:50:31Z 2016-05-23T16:50:31Z

I borrow Kayla’s Brazil backpack — cerulean with a yellow silk flower — so I can join a co-worker for a short hike and camp trip somewhere around Stanley.

https://trailimage.com/2016/kuna-cave-fails-to-impress/ 2016-04-16T20:22:15Z 2016-04-16T20:22:15Z

I have had my fill of the place but I think Brenna might find Kuna Cave a fun adventure so her and Hunter join me in the little car for the short drive to dusty spelunking while Jessica is busy with meetings.

https://trailimage.com/2016/av-club-reunion/ 2016-03-18T19:08:42Z 2016-03-18T19:08:42Z

It has been a few years since Jess Jackson and I plied the lesser known riparian areas for attractive detritus. Now that I’m working nearby, a reunion was in order. Expect more.

https://trailimage.com/2016/until-the-fog-lifts/ 2016-01-07T16:28:45Z 2016-01-07T16:28:45Z

I spent an afternoon planning a winter 2016 motorcycle loop but thought better of it as I noticed the mud I’ve been pedaling through to work. So I wrote a post about mud.

https://trailimage.com/2015/little-abbott-autumn/ 2015-11-22T00:01:46Z 2015-11-22T00:01:46Z https://trailimage.com/2015/danskin-november/ 2015-11-08T19:35:18Z 2015-11-08T19:35:18Z

I have been wanting to complete the loop I attempted this spring, up Lava Mountain, across Bear Gulch and back down Rattlesnake Creek. I loved riding Lava Mountain in 2013 and haven’t been able to get back. I was a bit too early this spring. The ridgetop trail was blocked by deadfall and snow. Now I wonder if it’s too late.

https://trailimage.com/2015/military-reserve/ 2015-11-03T20:55:06Z 2015-11-03T20:55:06Z

The final mild days of autumn and a new co-worker from Twin Falls, also a photo enthusiast, are occasion to walk the riparian ravine — a green stripe among beige hills — in Boise’s nearby Military Reserve.

https://trailimage.com/2015/brother-ride/over-moscow-mountain/ 2015-09-08T17:38:15Z 2015-09-08T17:38:15Z

The last of our five day ride requires only that we make it to our mother’s house in the evergreen hills between Troy and Moscow, Idaho. This day seems always to arrive sooner than expected, four brothers, five days in the blink of an eye.

https://trailimage.com/2015/brother-ride/huckleberry-lookout/ 2015-09-07T20:03:42Z 2015-09-07T20:03:42Z

The fourth of our five day ride begins with single track. We climb through trees from our meadow campsite to ridges that lead us to the historic Red Ives Ranger Station. Then we speed through showers on the little highway along the St. Joe River for much needed fuel in Avery before continuing back to forest climbs up to Huckleberry Lookout.

https://trailimage.com/2015/brother-ride/simmons-creek/ 2015-09-06T18:25:10Z 2015-09-06T18:25:10Z

The third of our five day ride has no food or fuel stops. We descend from Shefoot and follow the Idaho-Montana border south to the St. Joe headwaters to camp near Simmons and Washout Creeks.

https://trailimage.com/2015/brother-ride/snow-on-shefoot/ 2015-09-05T18:49:40Z 2015-09-05T18:49:40Z

On the second of our five day ride, my three brothers and I follow mountain ridges through sodden clouds from our campsite along Big Creek to Wallace for gas and lunch at the Red Light Garage then over Moon Pass to sleep on Shefoot. The weather is entertaining.

https://trailimage.com/2015/brother-ride/up-big-creek/ 2015-09-04T17:22:53Z 2015-09-04T17:22:53Z

We meet for the eighth year in a row, my brothers and I, to ride and camp off our motorcycles for a few days in Idaho mountains. Fires and a funny forecast mean we aren’t sure what we’re getting into. For the first day of five, we ride from our mother’s house on forest roads to tiny Calder, Idaho, along the St. Joe then up the tributary Big Creek.

https://trailimage.com/2015/boulder-basin-team-building/ 2015-08-08T21:39:08Z 2015-08-08T21:39:08Z

Boulder Basin came to mind when the need for a getaway arose. It’s about as far removed from civilization as you can get in an automobile around here, enough of a trip that you’d best plan on spending the night.

https://trailimage.com/2015/walking-around-chicago/ 2015-05-18T21:53:49Z 2015-05-18T21:53:49Z

My co-worker Mike and I had some training in Chicago. It was a small class — no evening itinerary — so after catching up on anything from work, we had time to walk about.

https://trailimage.com/2015/overnight-on-hunters-knoll/ 2015-05-03T14:28:28Z 2015-05-03T14:28:28Z

You can’t keep us indoors with their mom once again away. I let the kids vote (probably a mistake) on an hour drive or three with our resulting sights set on an overnight among the trees overlooking Boise. At least we won’t end up stuck in big mountain snow. Or will we?

https://trailimage.com/2015/lava-rattlesnake-and-devil-creeks/ 2015-04-19T20:05:17Z 2015-04-19T20:05:17Z

An idea to ride overnight in the Upper Reynolds Creek area gave way to a simpler day ride to check on my old friend Lava Mountain and see if I could connect from there across Bear Gulch for a half-day of riding single track by myself.

https://trailimage.com/2015/willow-creek-campground/ 2015-04-11T13:18:31Z 2015-04-11T13:18:31Z

Brenna’s mom is out of town. You know what that calls for! Camping. Since she’ll have the Jeep, we’ll make due with campground camping we can reach with the baby hippo car. I’ve always liked the look of a few spots above Arrowrock Reservoir so we set our heading accordingly. Engage!

https://trailimage.com/2015/swan-falls-dam-to-wilson-creek-via-murphy/ 2015-02-08T18:27:48Z 2015-02-08T18:27:48Z

Michael and I take advantage of unseasonably warm February weather to explore roads and histories south of the Snake River.

https://trailimage.com/2014/light-december-snow/ 2014-12-30T20:02:05Z 2014-12-30T20:02:05Z

The last two days of 2014 are dusted with snow and colored with sun, a dichotomy I’m glad to indulge with several stops while biking to and from my office downtown. May the new year be so beautiful.

https://trailimage.com/2014/ten-degrees-too-early/ 2014-11-14T15:28:02Z 2014-11-14T15:28:02Z

Winter came a month early. I enjoy the blanket of sparkling white and added challenge of biking a slippery path. It sure would have been great to rake the leaves up first, though. Oh well the fiery fog and glowing hoar frost are beautiful just the same.

https://trailimage.com/2014/home-along-the-river/ 2014-11-07T15:01:22Z 2014-11-07T15:01:22Z

The sharp morning light of a week ago is today muted by mist rolling off the cold water along my bicycle commute to work. Lucky for me, this common autumn scene never fails to delight and I’m glad for the chance to meander.

https://trailimage.com/2014/election-leaves/ 2014-11-03T15:20:18Z 2014-11-03T15:20:18Z

Political outcomes won’t change it: things that brought joy yesterday are those which bring joy today — full suspension bunny-hop from asphalt to dirt, glittering leaves and deep breaths of cold air. “It does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg … Reason and free enquiry are the only effectual agents against error.”

https://trailimage.com/2014/brother-ride/blacks-creek-road/ 2014-09-02T17:05:55Z 2014-09-02T17:05:55Z https://trailimage.com/2014/brother-ride/big-trinity/ 2014-09-01T16:34:59Z 2014-09-01T16:34:59Z

From 9,000 feet to 9,000 feet, my three brothers and I leave Washington Basin for lunch and fuel in Ketchum before beginning our westward leg along the South Fork of the Boise River toward home.

https://trailimage.com/2014/brother-ride/washington-basin/ 2014-08-31T18:01:22Z 2014-08-31T18:01:22Z

From our wet campsite along Canyon Creek below Pinyon Peak, my three brothers and I ride over Loon Creek Summit to visit the Yankee Fork Dredge then, deviating from earlier plans, we take lunch in Stanley before finding out way to camp high in Washington Basin.

https://trailimage.com/2014/brother-ride/pinyon-peak/ 2014-08-30T16:43:21Z 2014-08-30T16:43:21Z

Along Deadwood Reservoir, through Bear Valley to Pinyon Peak, our second day of riding treats us to vistas even more vast. We are held up by mechanical troubles but not deterred. Rocks in our path are an integral and expected part of the experience.

https://trailimage.com/2014/brother-ride/scott-mountain/ 2014-08-29T22:25:04Z 2014-08-29T22:25:04Z

The first day of our seventh annual Abbott Brother Ride, this time, for the first time, in South Central Idaho. We stage at my house then head over the Boise Ridge, from desert to forest, on our way to high mountains.

https://trailimage.com/2014/switchbacks-to-goat-lake/ 2014-07-19T19:43:42Z 2014-07-19T19:43:42Z

Michael I ride from Boise through Prairie and across the mountains to Pine and Featherville before turning north to camp around a high mountain lake. We cover highway, gravel, dirt roads, ATV and singletrack, a real dual sport adventure.

https://trailimage.com/2014/mccroskey-to-bald-mountain/ 2014-06-21T19:05:45Z 2014-06-21T19:05:45Z

Jeremy and I travel from our homes to Farmington, Washington, for some quick riding with our brother Joel around our childhood stomping grounds north of Moscow Mountain.

https://trailimage.com/2014/hunter-rides-daggett/ 2014-05-25T03:15:51Z 2014-05-25T03:15:51Z

Hunter leads us up Rocky Canyon to the Boise Ridge and a great campsite he finds near Deer Point. The next morning, in spite of a warning, he decides to brave Daggett Creek.

https://trailimage.com/2014/owhee-snow-and-sand/lowlands/ 2014-05-19T18:58:16Z 2014-05-19T18:58:16Z

From my secret campsite behind Silver City (disregarding the GPS track), I descend Bachman Grade to explore some lesser known canyons within the Owyhee Front.

https://trailimage.com/2014/owhee-snow-and-sand/uplands/ 2014-05-18T22:25:42Z 2014-05-18T22:25:42Z

I ride across the Snake up Reynolds Creek to explore roads and routes I’ve not seen before camping somewhere in the mountains behind Silver City.

https://trailimage.com/2014/winter-camp-breakdown/ 2014-05-03T17:17:56Z 2014-05-03T17:17:56Z https://trailimage.com/2014/riverside-with-my-hula-girl/ 2014-04-27T23:20:25Z 2014-04-27T23:20:25Z

She was so excited by the prospect of a simple walk by the river, how could I say no. So after days of intermittent rain, Brenna and I spend two hours walking the familiar paths near home.

https://trailimage.com/2014/three-fingers-gulch/ 2014-04-12T17:18:37Z 2014-04-12T17:18:37Z

Michael and I ride from Succor Creek Road through the Oregon Owyhees in an eighty mile loop around Three Fingers Butte.

https://trailimage.com/2014/little-brenna-at-little-jacks-creek/ 2014-03-25T20:30:49Z 2014-03-25T20:30:49Z

She has been asking about it almost daily for weeks and finally we’re making it happen, a camp out for just Brenna and me. I liked what I saw last week motorcycling around Little Jacks Creek so that’s where we are headed with hot dogs, marshmallows and our best hiking flip-flops.

https://trailimage.com/2014/oreana-and-little-jacks-creek/ 2014-03-16T20:23:30Z 2014-03-16T20:23:30Z

Per my usual process for a solo ride, I pan around Google Earth looking to see things I haven’t seen, consult with the Idaho Trails site and finally lay out a route in the GPS software. It works great thirty percent of the time.

https://trailimage.com/2014/evening-ride-to-the-river/ 2014-03-09T01:34:48Z 2014-03-09T01:34:48Z https://trailimage.com/2014/winter-sticks-and-bridges/ 2014-02-02T23:33:44Z 2014-02-02T23:33:44Z

Feeling cooped up on a cold weekend while Jessica is away, I suggest a walk along the river. The inversion is finally gone. It should be nice.

https://trailimage.com/2014/pedaling-through-night-fog/ 2014-01-16T01:19:41Z 2014-01-16T01:19:41Z

Bike lanes clear of snow enable me to resume the ride to work and a more portable camera permits a few images of the dense fog we’ve experienced this week.

https://trailimage.com/2013/across-swan-falls-dam/ 2013-11-02T20:00:32Z 2013-11-02T20:00:32Z

Hunter and I explore a homestead and ancient petroglyphs along the Snake River across Swan Falls Dam. Heavy clouds darken the sky as we’re close to completing our arid loop. (Before you get excited, note this route is currently closed to motor vehicles.)

https://trailimage.com/2013/atlanta-loop/ 2013-10-05T17:00:13Z 2013-10-05T17:00:13Z

Michael and I make a loop between Idaho City, Rocky Bar and Atlanta, Idaho, down forest roads, through a bit of snow, and finally ridge-top single track. It was a good thing he brought a saw or we might have missed “whoopty hell.”

https://trailimage.com/2013/trails-around-deadwood/ 2013-09-14T17:33:39Z 2013-09-14T17:33:39Z

I am led by some guy I haven’t met before, Michael, down hours of mountain single track around Deadwood Reservoir. We start up to Bogus, through Placerville and Crouch before hitting narrow mountain trails I’d never ridden before — adventure as usual.

https://trailimage.com/2013/brother-ride/camp-george/ 2013-08-12T23:06:42Z 2013-08-12T23:06:42Z https://trailimage.com/2013/brother-ride/black-canyon/ 2013-08-11T20:27:38Z 2013-08-11T20:27:38Z https://trailimage.com/2013/brother-ride/long-road-to-yoosa/ 2013-08-10T19:11:01Z 2013-08-10T19:11:01Z

Plans for an easygoing day go the way such plans usually do. We take an unexpected run at Windy Ridge and make an unexpected visit to one of our 2010 campsites. “Unexpected” is the word of the day. We conclude the day laughing around a fire under tall cedars. All’s well that ends well.

https://trailimage.com/2013/brother-ride/larch-butte-exposure/ 2013-08-09T23:40:32Z 2013-08-09T23:40:32Z

We are ready to ride, year six. We point our three motorcycles east from Pierce to Weitas Creek across forest roads and trails. What should be a short day of riding turns into something else.

https://trailimage.com/2013/brother-ride/a-night-in-pierce/ 2013-08-08T23:17:41Z 2013-08-08T23:17:41Z

I haul two motorcycles — one for me, one for Jeremy — to Pierce, Idaho, starting point for the year’s Abbott Brother ride. I am there an evening in advance to secure our spot so I use the extra time to visit historic sites around the town.

https://trailimage.com/2013/indomitable-boulder-basin/ 2013-07-20T16:08:21Z 2013-07-20T16:08:21Z

I camp two nights for a local club ride meant to climb the challenging trail to historic Boulder Basin near Sun Valley. There is camaraderie and beauty in the midst of defeat.

https://trailimage.com/2013/big-trinity-damsels/ 2013-07-07T00:28:37Z 2013-07-07T00:28:37Z

Brenna and I drive to the recently opened Trinity Recreation Area to camp along Big Trinity Lake and feed the mosquitoes. She swims, makes me a flower salad and map while I prepare the hotdogs and marshmallows. After a restless night we leave to the sunrise reflecting fire off placid waters.

https://trailimage.com/2013/flowers-erupt-from-lava-mountain/ 2013-06-22T20:53:21Z 2013-06-22T20:53:21Z

I go alone to follow narrow trails along unexplored Lava and perhaps Rattlesnake Mountains. I hope to reach North Star and Smith Creek Lakes seen on the map. The scenery is the best I know this close to home even as aches and pains remind me of my age.

https://trailimage.com/2013/seeking-gold-in-silver-city/ 2013-06-15T22:51:14Z 2013-06-15T22:51:14Z

Little Brenna and I take the doors off the Jeep for a drive to Idaho’s historic Silver City and the surrounding alpine mountains. On the way we stop at the Owyhee Museum in Murphy then begins our search for the gold we finally discover in the setting sun with only a minor loss of skin.

https://trailimage.com/2013/asleep-along-eagleson/ 2013-06-02T02:02:30Z 2013-06-02T02:02:30Z

Hunter and I trailer to the Eighth Street trailhead then ride the rest of the way to the ridge and Eagleson for his first overnight trip off the motorcycle. We see a skink, sit around a fire, sleep and ride home through some difficult mental terrain.

https://trailimage.com/2013/mccroskey-park-memorial-weekend/ 2013-05-25T18:55:13Z 2013-05-25T18:55:13Z

My brother Joel and I explore the ATV and single track trails around Skyline Drive in McCroskey State Park before setting up camp in view of Moscow Mountain.

https://trailimage.com/2013/my-own-backyard-boise-ridge-trails/ 2013-05-18T23:17:55Z 2013-05-18T23:17:55Z

“You alright?” I asked the young guy as he stood, straightened his shirt and brushed off the dust. “Yeah, fine,” he answered in a subdued tone. “You guys are haulin’!” I observed. “Yeah,” was all he said in the same tone. The hills facing Boise are criss-crossed with trails, most of them for hiking and biking but a few are marked for motorcycles as well. Hunter has been saying he’d like to ride and camp but when the day arrived he wasn’t feeling like it so I decided to make a quick run up around the ridge by myself.

https://trailimage.com/2013/hunter-at-hemingway-butte/ 2013-05-04T22:18:15Z 2013-05-04T22:18:15Z

Hemingway Butte just south of the Snake River is an area I haven’t ridden since before Hunter was born. It’s dry and dusty trails create an experience more visceral, more prosaic than aesthetic. “The trailheads offer restrooms and loading ramps, and they provide access to hundreds of miles of roads, moderate to difficult trails and sand washes on steep, rocky terrain.”

https://trailimage.com/2013/camping-by-willow-creek/ 2013-04-28T13:28:03Z 2013-04-28T13:28:03Z

I ride over the hills to the Danskin area for my first overnight trip of the year and first time camping from the KTM. Luggage woes and difficult trails keep me from getting as far as planned but morning along Willow Creek makes it all worth it.

https://trailimage.com/2013/hunters-first-trail-ride/ 2013-04-25T01:59:11Z 2013-04-25T01:59:11Z

I was also twelve the first time I rode a motorcycle (my cousin Jeff’s). Hunter practiced a little around the house — as much as we imagined the neighbors would tolerate — and briefly in the open dirt south of the Idaho State Correctional Institution, but this was his first point-A-to-point-B ride.

https://trailimage.com/2013/danskin-on-the-new-ktm/ 2013-04-16T23:25:25Z 2013-04-16T23:25:25Z

After a couple months parked in pieces in the garage, I finally get the new KTM out for a first dirt ride on the Danskin trails under patches of blue and between sheets of rain. The whoops are more pleasant than on the GS and the singletrack more inviting.

https://trailimage.com/2013/without-training-wheels/ 2013-03-10T00:03:24Z 2013-03-10T00:03:24Z https://trailimage.com/2013/snow-mermaid/ 2013-01-11T23:04:32Z 2013-01-11T23:04:32Z

What she actually said was, “when you put this on the computer, call it, ‘Tell mommy this is a mermaid.’” She knows how this works. I was working at home so agreed to her oft repeated request to go to the river.

https://trailimage.com/2012/trinity-ridge-fire-tour/ 2012-10-30T18:55:32Z 2012-10-30T18:55:32Z

A long loop with unknown impediments requires an early departure. Snow and fire kept us out of the Trinity Recreation area this year. I’m curious to see what remains. Some effort is required to push the GS uphill through snowdrifts.

https://trailimage.com/2012/pumpkin-mushroom/ 2012-10-20T21:21:03Z 2012-10-20T21:21:03Z

I asked the day before where she’d like to go for a Saturday outing. “The river.” I liked her choice, though if you know Brenna, you won’t be surprised to learn the simple idea turned into a plan with detailed requirements.

https://trailimage.com/2012/dagger-falls-i-freeze/ 2012-10-07T00:36:32Z 2012-10-07T00:36:32Z

I ride for an autumn night by myself near Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountains but am kept from my intended destination by wildfire. I find myself camped instead near an old fishway and falls along the Middle Fork of the Salmon, gateway to wilderness and “river of no return.” I spend the evening exploring on foot and the morning trying to warm up.

https://trailimage.com/2012/big-nasty/ 2012-09-15T22:56:08Z 2012-09-15T22:56:08Z

Thanks to a Facebook note from an old co-worker, Jon Forst, I was reminded of this annual, world class hillclimb event, The Big Nasty, less than an hour from home. I thought it would be a good event for just Hunter and I — some man time. ¹ http://www.bignastyhillclimb.com/; https://www.facebook.com/pages/Big-Nasty-Hillclimb/229332530446786

https://trailimage.com/2012/brother-ride/crater-peak-again/ 2012-07-23T19:10:59Z 2012-07-23T19:10:59Z

The fourth day we would go from The Cedars campground by Red Ives Ranger Station through the mountains to Crater Peak. I wasn't sure how long it would take.

https://trailimage.com/2012/brother-ride/fire-in-the-river/ 2012-07-22T20:58:51Z 2012-07-22T20:58:51Z https://trailimage.com/2012/brother-ride/made-it-to-montana/ 2012-07-21T20:29:36Z 2012-07-21T20:29:36Z

Marble Creek through Avery, up to Stateline Road and down to Diamond Lake in Montana. The southern line is part of our return route.

https://trailimage.com/2012/brother-ride/marble-creek/ 2012-07-20T18:32:20Z 2012-07-20T18:32:20Z

After a suspension rebuild, new final drive seals and whatever else, the final step was to wire in six one-to-two amp USB ports for all the gizmos.

https://trailimage.com/2012/brenna-in-waterland/ 2012-05-13T20:28:42Z 2012-05-13T20:28:42Z https://trailimage.com/2012/alone-in-the-owhyees/ 2012-04-28T18:00:46Z 2012-04-28T18:00:46Z

Eager for a spring ride, I flew around in Google Earth and found a day-long route with highlights along the Owyhee Uplands Back Country Byway — an ancient shoreline, waterfall and big canyons.

https://trailimage.com/2012/flooded-wood-duck/ 2012-04-14T19:50:28Z 2012-04-14T19:50:28Z

After McDonald's, we walked along the river to see the usual spring path flooding.

https://trailimage.com/2012/leslie-gulch-to-birch-creek-camping/ 2012-03-31T19:43:15Z 2012-03-31T19:43:15Z

Happy Trails nerf bars and skid plate were applied to Joel's KLR the night before our ride. Thanks to Ed for making that come together in spite of not officially having all the parts in stock. Joel used my faux dremel to clean up some plastic edges then accidently touched it on the windshield for the final, finishing touch.

https://trailimage.com/2012/juntura-by-desert/ 2012-03-10T18:04:52Z 2012-03-10T18:04:52Z

Tyson and I ride our big bikes through the desert from Boise to Juntura, Oregon with a gnarly stop in Dry Creek Gorge. Dinner at the Oasis caps a day that ends with us flying home on the darkened Interstate.

https://trailimage.com/2012/dark-sands/ 2012-01-29T00:20:46Z 2012-01-29T00:20:46Z

Straight ahead.

https://trailimage.com/2012/riverside-snowman/ 2012-01-18T17:24:12Z 2012-01-18T17:24:12Z

If I get a snow day then Brenna does too. Roads too slippery for commuting give us a day to see the neighborhood recast in white.

https://trailimage.com/2011/wood-duck-in-december/ 2011-12-29T21:09:07Z 2011-12-29T21:09:07Z

A look at the new bridge going in and what it's done to our little walking spot.

https://trailimage.com/2011/klr-club-in-the-owyhees/ 2011-10-30T17:45:53Z 2011-10-30T17:45:53Z

“Special” Ed leads four of us through his old stomping grounds along the Owyhee River and Reservoir. I’m the only one without a KLR. We find evidence related to a homicide and visit Leslie Gulch before I part from the group for an eerie night visit to Jordan Craters.

https://trailimage.com/2011/brother-ride/bailout-to-benewah/ 2011-09-05T18:23:59Z 2011-09-05T18:23:59Z

After yesterday’s trail troubles, we take the easy but long road from Elsie on our way to Crystal Lake only to find the final trail too narrow and steep for riding. With day’s end approaching, we hustle to find an acceptable alternative, finally settling in for a beautiful sunset over Benewah Lake.

https://trailimage.com/2011/brother-ride/exercise-and-elsie-lake/ 2011-09-04T17:42:21Z 2011-09-04T17:42:21Z

We see great country even as we face a day of dead-ends, one after another, trying to make our way to Wallace then Elsie Lake. Logging operations blocked three routes, sending us through the woods or miles around. It is nearly dark when we’re finally able to set up camp.

https://trailimage.com/2011/brother-ride/tunnels-to-loop-creek/ 2011-09-03T16:36:11Z 2011-09-03T16:36:11Z

From Crater Peak we venture to areas unknown around Monument Buttes before taking lunch in Avery and heading north of the St. Joe River for the first time. We ride through the several Moon Pass tunnels before staking a claim up Loop Creek.

https://trailimage.com/2011/brother-ride/crater-peak/ 2011-09-02T20:44:33Z 2011-09-02T20:44:33Z

My brothers and I set out for our fourth annual motorcycle camping ride in the mountains of North Idaho. For the first day, we revisit our favorite subalpine ridge site behind Clarkia.

https://trailimage.com/2011/hat-point-above-hells-canyon/ 2011-07-07T19:21:31Z 2011-07-07T19:21:31Z

Greenhorn Ben joins me for an overnight ride along Hell’s Canyon on our way to North Idaho, me for a high school reunion and Ben to see family. We enjoy a beautiful view of the Seven Devils from our campsite on the lip of the canyon.

https://trailimage.com/2011/panhandle-past-and-future/long-shadow-home/ 2011-06-15T02:13:40Z 2011-06-15T02:13:40Z

Her college orientation complete, Laura and I begin the ride back to Boise as far as light allows, past and future connected by penumbral roads.

https://trailimage.com/2011/panhandle-past-and-future/old-house-and-school/ 2011-06-13T19:02:31Z 2011-06-13T19:02:31Z

I use a day I have to myself, while my mom is at work and Laura at college orientation, to tour around my boyhood school and home, my memories, in Troy, Idaho.

https://trailimage.com/2011/panhandle-past-and-future/rain-in-laird-park/ 2011-06-12T21:10:58Z 2011-06-12T21:10:58Z

While Laura spends the day visiting with my mom and her friends, my brother Jesse leads us on a ride over Moscow Mountain to forest trails around Laird Park.

https://trailimage.com/2011/panhandle-past-and-future/backroads-with-laura/ 2011-06-11T19:47:06Z 2011-06-11T19:47:06Z

My oldest daughter Laura and I ride two-up three hundred miles north on winding highways and back roads to Moscow and Pullman where she will begin the next chapter of her life as a student at Washington State University.

https://trailimage.com/2011/stalled-in-willow-creek/ 2011-06-05T17:37:14Z 2011-06-05T17:37:14Z

I am just not feeling it yet. Oh sure, there’s the wind, the blue sky, the rumble of the boxer engine below, but heading down the road to the mountains with Hunter on board, I might as well be sitting in the office chair at work for how excited I am. Our plan to go on a longer ride before Hunter travels to his dad’s for the summer has been repeatedly postponed by rain, graduation events and birthday parties. Such is life with the four kids. Today is our last chance. Hunter’s plane departs at 6:10.

https://trailimage.com/2011/zeno-falls-on-ben/ 2011-05-06T17:17:27Z 2011-05-06T17:17:27Z

I meet up with a new rider, Ben, for a ride south across hills arid and unknown to us around Big Jacks Creek and beyond toward Nevada. We explore a homestead and Zeno Falls before struggling to find the route home.

https://trailimage.com/2011/swan-falls-but-once/ 2011-04-10T19:52:22Z 2011-04-10T19:52:22Z

A rare ride with Kayla to Initial Point then Swan Falls Dam and across the desolate Birds of Prey area to Grand View and much needed dinner at the Black Sands Resort along the C.J. Strike Reservoir. We only fall over once.

https://trailimage.com/2011/riverside-flooding/ 2011-04-10T00:50:53Z 2011-04-10T00:50:53Z

They got midway and decided it was too deep so I carried them both. They liked that.

https://trailimage.com/2011/indian-hot-springs/ 2011-03-26T20:56:00Z 2011-03-26T20:56:00Z

I join Phil, Ryan, Sam and Tyson for a little of Idaho’s Centennial Trail along the Bruneau and an overnight along hot springs. The road into the canyon conspires with morning snow to mean us harm.

https://trailimage.com/2011/snow-on-the-beach/ 2011-02-08T21:48:15Z 2011-02-08T21:48:15Z

Hunter and Brenna ran to claim the first good hitting, poking or zapping (magic) stick they could find.

https://trailimage.com/2011/in-a-mirror-darkly/ 2011-01-25T15:31:07Z 2011-01-25T15:31:07Z

Job security has been welcome in these times but it’s hard to know what’s ahead. Some expect, and even seem to hope for calamity, the dissolution of society. Such ideas seem masochistic, mentally defective. I did put a survivalist book on my Amazon wish list, though. I’ll read it in the woods if I need to.

https://trailimage.com/2011/stuffed-puppy-walk/ 2011-01-23T23:14:44Z 2011-01-23T23:14:44Z

The stick in her hand is a "magic wand" she found.

https://trailimage.com/2010/yellow-mist/ 2010-11-04T13:52:02Z 2010-11-04T13:52:02Z

In twelve years of bicycle commuting, I’ve seen it plenty. But it’s still striking, the mist and November sun seeming to light a fire on the water.

https://trailimage.com/2010/november-oranges/ 2010-11-02T13:59:58Z 2010-11-02T13:59:58Z

Mornings brilliantly gold; half-lit mornings carpeted in silent snow; mornings hardly visible in the fog — these are why I can’t think of doing a job that would have me riding to and fro in a car, straight line, start and stop.

https://trailimage.com/2010/sleeping-on-the-shore-of-louis-lake/ 2010-10-16T14:10:02Z 2010-10-16T14:10:02Z

Ryan puts out a late season invitation for a night along the beautiful Louie Lake. About five of us answer the call to ride a couple hours north and climb the rocky trail to the lake’s edge where we sit around a fire and tell stories of old rides. After a wet and windy night we ride autumn-colored backroads by Yellow Pine to home.

https://trailimage.com/2010/brother-ride/two-breakdowns/ 2010-09-06T16:54:59Z 2010-09-06T16:54:59Z

Tired of being cold and shot at, we spend a lazy morning along the Clearwater fishing and relaxing before heading homeward. I spend most of the next day brokedown atop Whitebird grade.

https://trailimage.com/2010/brother-ride/thundersnow/ 2010-09-05T16:50:57Z 2010-09-05T16:50:57Z

We ride through snow and rain after trying to explore some single track in the Great Burn. Casey decides to leave for home but the rest of us continue to lightning, more snow and bullets going off in our fire.

https://trailimage.com/2010/brother-ride/cayuse-creek/ 2010-09-04T15:48:11Z 2010-09-04T15:48:11Z

From Camp Martin we hit some highlights along the motorway before dropping down to Lochsa Lodge for food and gas. After an ice cream disappointment, we ride back over the ridge to Cayuse Creek where we set up camp. Late that night we get a strange visitor.

https://trailimage.com/2010/brother-ride/camp-martin/ 2010-09-03T18:03:15Z 2010-09-03T18:03:15Z

My brothers and I — all four of this time — head out from Moscow, Idaho, for four nights along the trails Lewis and Clark followed about the same time of year in 1805. The GPS is tricky but we make it safely to historic Camp Martin.

https://trailimage.com/2010/meeting-captain-bonneville/ 2010-08-30T00:44:26Z 2010-08-30T00:44:26Z

We ride east together, Hunter and I, across remnants of the Oregon Trail for a little visit to Bonneville Point, the historic site from which Boise was named. Hunter, though, is more interested in thorns and grasshoppers than history.

https://trailimage.com/2010/troy-days-and-moscow-mountain/ 2010-07-11T16:40:25Z 2010-07-11T16:40:25Z

I ride the GS1200 north from sweltering Boise to Moscow to visit family and my hometown Troy Days. Later, my brothers and I ride some singletrack on Moscow Mountain before celebrating my nephew’s seventh birthday.

https://trailimage.com/2010/marking-art-in-tuscarora/going-home/ 2010-06-10T16:30:32Z 2010-06-10T16:30:32Z

Laura and I hasten but fail to beat a storm as we head homeward, stopping twice for shelter, making memories sure to last a lifetime.

https://trailimage.com/2010/marking-art-in-tuscarora/in-the-mountains/ 2010-06-09T20:37:41Z 2010-06-09T20:37:41Z

While the Tuscarora art students are busy with projects, I take a day to explore the expanse of mountains I saw from the ridge above town.

https://trailimage.com/2010/marking-art-in-tuscarora/in-the-hills/ 2010-06-09T00:26:35Z 2010-06-09T00:26:35Z

At first with Laura and then on my own I explore the hills immediately above Tuscarora. Brown and featureless from a distance, I find up close they’re decorated with an impressive variety of colorful flora.

https://trailimage.com/2010/marking-art-in-tuscarora/the-town/ 2010-06-08T19:00:15Z 2010-06-08T19:00:15Z

We arrive early in Tuscarora, Laura and I, and bide our time exploring the small town and its environs. When the other students arrive, I document some of their projects and look more closely at items on display at the pottery school.

https://trailimage.com/2010/marking-art-in-tuscarora/getting-there/ 2010-06-07T23:40:58Z 2010-06-07T23:40:58Z

Laura and I ride together on the GS from home south into Nevada on our way to tiny Tuscarora for a high school trip. We stop to sleep at Wild Horse Crossing campground before continuing through mountains and across desert to our destination.

https://trailimage.com/2010/rain-on-mud-flat-road/ 2010-05-29T16:59:13Z 2010-05-29T16:59:13Z

Sam leads three of us on a day-ride around the Owhyee Uplands Back Country Byway. We encounter a little weather at the highest altitudes while Toni and Heath on their smaller bikes pursue a more exploratory route. They show up later muddy and disheveled.

https://trailimage.com/2010/mayfield-skull-rock-y-stop/ 2010-05-15T14:46:55Z 2010-05-15T14:46:55Z

I meet again with some thirty fine members of the Idaho Adventure Motorcycle Club for breakfast at Rockies Diner before being led by Sam by Bonneville Point past Mayfield and Skull Rock for lunch in Pine, Idaho. From there we split up to return by different routes.

https://trailimage.com/2010/wood-duck-island-deer/ 2010-03-07T21:15:48Z 2010-03-07T21:15:48Z

I said, "Hunter, your ears stick out when you wear your hat like that." His reply, of course: "I want my ears to stick out." So, "okay, let me take a picture then," I replied.

https://trailimage.com/2009/purple-morning-majesty/ 2009-12-30T15:59:55Z 2009-12-30T15:59:55Z

The morning provides a proper coronation at the usual spot while a jester in the guise of a fox watches from the bushes. What does the fox say?

https://trailimage.com/2009/freezing-fog-on-the-river/ 2009-12-11T16:24:41Z 2009-12-11T16:24:41Z

Another in a series of impressive sunrises compels me to pause on my way to work and watch the interplay of billowing fog and beams of light.

https://trailimage.com/2009/minus-six-by-the-river/ 2009-12-08T16:01:05Z 2009-12-08T16:01:05Z

It is that special time of year when temperatures drop to single digits and mist rises from the frigid river into golden morning light. I don’t want to lose my warmth but I’m compelled to pause and admire the ice and light.

https://trailimage.com/2009/brennas-riverside-cairn/ 2009-10-21T14:07:04Z 2009-10-21T14:07:04Z

It was a nice ride in this morning, though clear skies have since been replaced with grey.

https://trailimage.com/2009/sick-brenna-and-geese/ 2009-10-19T20:25:01Z 2009-10-19T20:25:01Z

Perhaps some fresh air will help Brenna's cold.

https://trailimage.com/2009/one-day-three-peaks/ 2009-09-19T18:58:50Z 2009-09-19T18:58:50Z

I ride with a few of the Idaho Motorcycle Club crew to Pilot Peak, Sunset Mountain summit and Jackson Peak, then take off on my own for a little exploration, discovering one of the rare Idaho Moai.

https://trailimage.com/2009/brother-ride/crater-peak-reunion/ 2009-09-07T00:58:29Z 2009-09-07T00:58:29Z

My brothers and I are pleased to find last year’s primitive campsite largely intact and set about making improvements for the expected years to come while storm clouds play across the wide horizon until rain drives us into our tents.

https://trailimage.com/2009/brother-ride/rain-in-avery/ 2009-09-06T16:08:39Z 2009-09-06T16:08:39Z

The expected night storm is delayed until morning as we depart Lost Lake in a drizzle for whatever shelter we might find in Avery, Idaho. After that pit-stop, we explore some mountains before pointing toward our final blissful campsite.

https://trailimage.com/2009/brother-ride/lost-lake-crawdads/ 2009-09-05T17:11:01Z 2009-09-05T17:11:01Z

From Marble Creek we make the short but somewhat technical trek to Lost Lake where we find another perfect campsite, marred only by an afternoon flash mob and prehistoric lake inhabitants. A predicted storm inspires Jesse to dig a canal system around his tent.

https://trailimage.com/2009/brother-ride/bright-moon-at-marble-creek/ 2009-09-04T23:34:28Z 2009-09-04T23:34:28Z

My brothers and I join forces a second time to ride with a friend Casey from home base in Moscow, Idaho to an idyllic spot along Marble Creek in the St. Joe Ranger District where we probe the mysteries of MREs and revel at a preternaturally bright moon.

https://trailimage.com/2008/boise-ridge-with-the-boy/ 2008-10-19T20:37:55Z 2008-10-19T20:37:55Z

Hunter joins me on the GS for a short ride to the Boise Ridge, including the top of Trail Four, and back.

https://trailimage.com/2008/trailer-park/ 2008-10-02T18:47:38Z 2008-10-02T18:47:38Z

The kids have Thursday and Friday off school so I took the day off and the younger half of us went for a bike ride along the river.

https://trailimage.com/2008/brother-ride/cold-ride-home/ 2008-09-21T15:15:19Z 2008-09-21T15:15:19Z

We retreat early from the cold and wet mountains for the warmth of home before I speed to Boise on winding Idaho highways.

https://trailimage.com/2008/brother-ride/camping-with-cows/ 2008-09-20T13:25:49Z 2008-09-20T13:25:49Z

Led astray by evolving, unmarked forest roads, and trying to beat the rain, we end up bovine bedfellows, one of us nursing an injury.

https://trailimage.com/2008/brother-ride/party-on-crater-peak/ 2008-09-20T00:38:53Z 2008-09-20T00:38:53Z

My brothers and I ride for the first time as adults to camp in the mountains of the St. Joe Ranger District that we remember fondly from childhood.

https://trailimage.com/2008/unholy-trinity/ 2008-08-31T00:48:22Z 2008-08-31T00:48:22Z

My oldest daughter Laura and I ride together on the GS1200 through Smith Prairie for Trinity Lookout only to be yelled at when we arrive. We return through Featherville, not getting home until late at night.

https://trailimage.com/2008/arrowrock-to-thorne-creek-butte/ 2008-08-10T16:13:25Z 2008-08-10T16:13:25Z

I ride with a club I just learned about up Blacks Creek to the Y-Stop, over to Arrowrock then up to Thorn Creek Butte before an ice cream stop (thanks Sam) in Idaho City.

https://trailimage.com/2008/troy-days-beers-and-bears/ 2008-07-19T20:08:17Z 2008-07-19T20:08:17Z

I ride north from the sweltering heat to attend Troy Days and ride with my brother Jesse around the forested mountains.

https://trailimage.com/2008/finding-kuna-cave/ 2008-05-31T20:42:49Z 2008-05-31T20:42:49Z

Having lately visited my first lava tube cave near Shoshone, Idaho, a friend and I decide to investigate the close-by Kuna Cave.

https://trailimage.com/2008/cement-replaces-asphalt/ 2008-04-23T22:45:28Z 2008-04-23T22:45:28Z

Another section of the path I bike to work is under construction. I guess when it's done it will be nice to ride a newly surfaced path for almost the full distance of my commute.

https://trailimage.com/2008/ice-flows-on-the-river/ 2008-01-24T14:52:31Z 2008-01-24T14:52:31Z

I have been biking to work for about ten years. I don’t often see ice flows on the river. It seemed I should record it though 5°F felt like a reason not to.

https://trailimage.com/2007/muddy-walk-on-the-oregon-trail/ 2007-11-20T00:29:21Z 2007-11-20T00:29:21Z

Hunter and I set out with his bicycle in the bed of the truck to explore some of the Oregon Trail above the Boise River near our house.

https://trailimage.com/2007/castle-rock-in-a-sling/ 2007-10-28T19:21:38Z 2007-10-28T19:21:38Z

I was poised and waiting for the biting shot.

https://trailimage.com/2007/dirt-biking-boise-ridge/ 2007-09-09T17:20:50Z 2007-09-09T17:20:50Z

I join Ely from work and a couple of his riding buddies for a dirt loop around the Boise Ridge. A few obstacles along the way ensure entertainment.

https://trailimage.com/2007/rebuilding-the-greenbelt/ 2007-08-21T21:50:43Z 2007-08-21T21:50:43Z

This work is really screwing up my bike commute.

https://trailimage.com/2007/lucky-peak-with-laura/ 2007-08-16T00:17:21Z 2007-08-16T00:17:21Z

My daughter Laura rides along on the XR 650L while we seek the elusive southern route from Aldape to Lucky Peak. We also try to make our way to an old mine I once encountered near Highway 21.

https://trailimage.com/2007/cricket-ridge-ride/ 2007-08-04T02:04:07Z 2007-08-04T02:04:07Z

My daughter Laura and I ride together on my XR 650L up Rocky Canyon Road, across the Boise Ridge for a small loop around the top of Trail 4, above Hulls Gulch, then return the same way as the sun sets. Along the way we encounter our old friend, the ostentatious Mormon Cricket.

https://trailimage.com/2007/wood-duck-birds-and-bees/ 2007-04-23T19:07:00Z 2007-04-23T19:07:00Z

Several of these flitted about as we watched for heron at Wood Duck Island.

https://trailimage.com/2006/sunrise-geese/ 2006-12-04T15:54:41Z 2006-12-04T15:54:41Z

As long as work and life have me biking by the river at sunrise, I might as well pause to appreciate it.

https://trailimage.com/1996/autumn-ride-to-boise/ 1996-10-12T17:00:00Z 1996-10-12T17:00:00Z

Weather had been unusually nice and my friend Greg Bunce had some business in Boise so, at his prompting, we decided to make it a weekend motorcycle trip from our homes in Moscow, Idaho. I would hang out with my childhood friend Brett, who’d moved there a few years earlier, while Greg was busy. At the time, I worked at the University of Idaho computer store and so had access to demonstration units of some of the first-ever consumer digital cameras, such as the Apple QuickTake and Casio QV-10. I used them quite a bit — so cool to see the photos right on our computer monitors! What we didn’t see comparing our fourteen-inch screens to 4 × 6 prints was just how much quality was lost compared to film. It’s almost tragic but I guess also a bit of history. These were probably shot on the QV-1o. Its images were less than one-tenth of a megapixel (320 × 240).

https://trailimage.com/1996/sunshine-on-the-olympic-peninsula/ 1996-08-25T15:10:00Z 1996-08-25T15:10:00Z

I slept there by the fire. This was our perch overlooking the river, hoping the locals would give us more entertainment.

https://trailimage.com/1996/moscow-mountain-rain-ride/ 1996-05-08T06:00:00Z 1996-05-08T06:00:00Z

Sometimes you can't wait for the sun to shine.

https://trailimage.com/1996/paradise-flooded/ 1996-02-09T17:30:51Z 1996-02-09T17:30:51Z

Water lapping at the backside loading dock called for a little workday exploration. What is going on?!

https://trailimage.com/1990/widow-peak-senior-picture/ 1990-07-16T20:53:38Z 1990-07-16T20:53:38Z

Although several years and many rides preceded this one, I think this is the oldest (the exact date is an educated guess) of which I have pictures, a quest for high school senior photos in the mountains above Clarkia, Idaho.