After a wet July 4th thunderstorm rolled through the woods hood, I stepped outside and found a quiet spectacle unfolding on the forest floor: a handful of tall, shaggy mushrooms rising out of the pine needles and damp soil. These were Shaggy Ink Caps — Coprinus comatus — also known as Lawyer’s Wig.
From Wikipedia: “Payette Lake is a natural lake in the western United States, located in west central Idaho at McCall. Formed by glacial activity, it is situated in the upper drainage basin of the Payette River, which drains into the Snake River.” A natural wonder and true gem.
A few years ago, I posted on this blog about a trip I took to visit my friend Wes deep in the wilderness of the Salmon River country in Idaho, U.S.A. At the time Wes was the manager of the iconic Shepp Ranch. I whipped up a vignette of my adventures accompanied by some of … More Take a Journey: Deep into the Salmon River Country (A Vignette)
Idaho was once described by early surveyors as a “geographic monstrosity”. The pictures below speak to that statement, but as pictures often do, they may fall just short. I mention the “geographic monstrosity” description because these images were captured at what is essentially Idaho’s only North South State highway chokepoint, White Bird summit on Highway … More Rainbows On The Salmon Breaks
Photo journey of a backcountry adventure in our backyard here in Central Idaho last Fall. Road based, this far away route takes you over 7 summit crossings. First block of shots showcase Pilot Peak, with views into the South Fork Salmon river breaks and the Lick Creek sub-range of the Salmon River Mountains in the … More 5 Days 7 Summits
Winter in the Salmon River mountains of Central Idaho covers up so much of what we love in the backcountry; colorful plants, insects (there’s a few if you pay attention), birds (the ravens, owls, goshawks, woodpeckers, and some resident song birds stick around), fast moving creeks, unique rock formations, archeological sites and so much … More Take a hike with me: South Bruin
The views on the East side of Lick Creek never disappoint. Everywhere you look there is a gnarly rocky chute, a prominent chunk of vertical granite, or a U-shaped hanging valley with a waterfall finding its way to the valley floor. Lick creeks headwaters form at Lick Creek summit, and flows 3000 feet down into the … More Moon On The Mountain
I recently added another mountain top to my collection, Box peak (8240 ft. and unnamed on many maps). Box is the prominent peak to the North and East, as seen from downtown McCall, Idaho and Payette lake. It resides in the Salmon River Mountains in the Lick Creek subrange. Approach is a very straightforward hike … More Mountain Pose ~ Box Peak ~
Radical Earth 