I went on a 3.5 mile, 1,500-foot elevation gain/loss hike on March 22, 2017, in what I'm calling the Danskin Mountains of southwestern Idaho. The beautiful spring weather and relatively light winds made the hike quite pleasant.
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| Tim Bondy - Freelance Hiking Writer |
Map Of The Hike:
Below is a Google "My Map" that I created out of the GPS track I recorded on my smartphone during the hike. Google has updated the My Map feature and it looks very useful ... for now. However, these Google features seem to have a very short lifespan before being discontinued.The lines on the map are the exact path I walked, while the two additional markers are the peak and a secondary destination. Play around with the map and you'll find you can move around inside the app to see more details if you wish.
I hiked further than I originally planned and that is concerning for me for two reasons:
- Because this was a solo hike and if I got hurt, hiking outside of my planned route would have made any rescue more difficult. I leave the specific hiking route I plan to walk with my wife. The only saving grace for the off-plan segment was the visibility of where I was going. In this case, I was directly below the peak I planned on turning around.
- I didn't research the land ownership on the extended trek. The maps I looked at after the hike showed I entered private property. I walked about 400 feet into property owned by Michael Wilder out of Star, Idaho. I feel rather strongly about avoiding private property and on this day, I didn't do my due diligence. My bad.
More about the hike:
- From Boise: It's a 50 minute, 42 mile drive to the trailhead.
- The drive to the "trailhead" is mostly paved with about 6 miles of good gravel road suitable for passenger cars.
- Pick up everything you'll need for the hike before coming into the Mountain Home, Idaho area.
- Trailhead/Parking is or can be just off a two-track at 43.271759, -115.674936. Pick you stopping point and just go.
- This is cattle/ranching country.
- This is also mule deer country.
- There is a two-track leading up to the ridge. Use it or don't but I find going off trail/road you'll encounter less trash and a nicer environment. Explore.
- Know what lands are public and which are private ... that means you too, Tim Bondy.
- Keep Public Lands Public...
- There is a fence on the ridgeline. It's not a private/public divide. Climb under or if you're tall enough step over. There were a few sections, at the time, where the fence was broken down.
- A photo album with way too many pictures from the hike can be viewed at https://goo.gl/photos/G6dYp2g5ztem69K97
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Originally published on March 24, 2017
Thanks,
Tim Bondy Freelance
Writer & Citizen Journalist
I am currently a proud citizen journalist, aka "enemy of the American People!"
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