Tags
car camping, Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Area, friends, Idaho, Ladd Hamilton, Magruder Corridor, primitive roads, Selway Bitterroot Wilderness Area
It was a most auspicious day, beginning with the fact that it did not rain during the night. Day two on the Magruder Corridor; I was traveling with friends, the Thomases—not just for company but also for safety. We nicknamed it the Magruder Trail because parts of it are merely a glorified goat trail. Technically, this road is a 600-foot wide corridor between two major wilderness areas in Idaho—the famous Frank Church and the Selway Bitterroot. Were it not for this break between wilderness areas, we would not be here enjoying the spectacular vistas. A necklace draped across the shoulder of the state, the primitive road follows parts of an old Nez Perce Indian trail from the Montana-Idaho border near Darby to just shy of where the Snake River marks the border between Idaho and Oregon. Though the journey is only a little over 100 miles, we set aside four days to explore the magnificent countryside and to soak up the sublime solitude of cleaving mountain ranges with names evocative of their history and geography: The Bitterroots, Indian Range, Moose Range, The Crags, Clearwater Mountains and the Salmon River Mountains. The Magruder lies just south of its more well-known cousin, the Lolo Trail, another Nez Perce path made famous by Lewis & Clark.
The day before, just after we put our tents up at the Magruder Crossing campsite beside the upper Selway River, it rained and soaked everything. We observed happy hour huddled in the car while the sky squeezed itself dry. The rain petered out just as we drained the last drop of wine and emerged to prepare our evening meal. The night sky was a black hole freckled by insistent bright stars till it clouded over once again in the wee hours of the morning. We managed to eat breakfast, break camp, and load the cars before the sky wept again. The wipers waved furiously as we pulled out of the campsite. We crossed the river on an historic truss bridge erected by the CCC and began a journey into the foggy sky. A horrendous wind storm had knocked trees over like matchsticks the day before. Our luck was such that a grader was clearing the road just as we reached the site of this little micro burst. We popped out of the clouds temporarily at Kim Creek Saddle and got out to admire a shy view of the surrounding mountains, cloaked here and there with dense fog in some places and wispy tendrils of moisture in other places.Two and half miles later, it was drizzling again. We stopped to ponder a road sign marking the death of Lloyd Magruder, for whom the road is named. Magruder’s murder is a classic old west tale of gold and greed and grand anarchy. Magruder was a Lewiston merchant during the 1860s gold rush years. He was a respected family man with a promising political future in the young Idaho Territory. He had packed supplies across these rugged mountains to the most recent hotbed of gold mining in Bannack, located in what is now western Montana. He was on his way home with a pack string empty of everything but the gold earned in payment for his merchandise when he and his companion were murdered under cover of darkness by robbers who then burned the evidence. The site of the crime is seven rugged miles north of the sign where we paused to take in the miles of unending forest. For more about Magruder, I recommend This Bloody Deed; The Magruder Incident, by Ladd Hamilton.Two more miles up and we reached Observation Peak at elevation 7,585 feet. All we observed was the sign telling us where we were. The fog here was menacing. But the bear grass was positively enchanting.Fifteen or so minutes later we pulled up at the trailhead to Salmon Mountain Lookout, a hike which the ranger at Hell’s Half Acre had highly recommended. What we saw through the fog beyond the sign looked as daunting as the stairway to the Empire State building. The temperature was 39〫Farenheit. Figuring it not worth a mile and a half hike in the cold and damp for another nonexistent view, we crawled back into our cars and were about to continue down the road when, like a stage curtain, the fog lifted above our heads and revealed fathomless blue above. Bruce turned off the ignition, got out of his car and walked back to my car with a quizzical expression.
“Ahhhh….” “Yeah….” “Well….”
As we stammered, the clouds continued to recede. We really had wanted to see that lookout. By the time our day packs were organized and our boots laced, the clouds had kindly disappeared. We enjoyed clear blue skies for the rest of the day. Five Days describes what we found at the top of the mountain.
View from looking north-east
From this point on, the road got gnarly. Earlier, some people in fancy trucks bragged that they’d popped three tires on this stretch. Of course, we surmised they had also stayed at the lovely Magruder Crossing campsite which we found disturbingly trashed, so the validity of their report lacked oomph. However, the thought of driving 50 miles on a doughnut tire nagged. We creeped and crawled up and down a series of long grades. We passed Horse Heaven Saddle without ever seeing the cabin that is located just off the road. Our eyes were glued to the rocks and ruts just in front of our respective cars. Likewise, we passed over Sabe Saddle barely recognizing what it was. At Dry Saddle, elevation 7,863, we sighed with relief; the worst of the road was behind us. Then a couple of young men in a big red pickup with tires as tall as me passed us. Quite loquacious, they were, saying they were headed to Poet Creek campground for the night. We questioned our generosity in letting them pass us and wondered if we’d get shut out of the campground with a mere four campsites. Alternative campsites are scarce on this side of the grade. Imagine our surprise a few hours later when we pulled into a completely empty Poet campground. Who knows where the red pickup went?
We loved this campsite so much that we stayed for two days, exploring another lookout and enjoying the burbling of Bargamin Creek as it tumbles down to the Salmon River to the south. I slept sans rain fly so that I could enjoy the Milky Way in its full glory from the heart of Idaho’s remote back country.
Greeting civilization; I was so tired & rummy that, for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out the self-timer.
juliagusmaotorres said:
very cool !!!
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rangewriter said:
Thanks so much for traveling to my blog and leaving a comment!
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sybil said:
I am breathless and I got to read your adventure whilst sitting in a chair. Love the images. Love the adventure of it all — especially sleeping with the fly open to watch the Milky Way. (No mosquitoes ???) The Bear Grass is amazing. Thanks for sharing your trip with me.
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rangewriter said:
Sybil, I did sleep in the tent, but left the rain fly off, so I could see through the netting at the top of the tent. It was a really great trip and cemented a new friendship in good style.
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suej said:
Fabulous trip you had – sounds like a great adventure with your friends 🙂
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rangewriter said:
Thanks, Sue. It really was excellent. I hope we will share more adventures together in the future.
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highland hind said:
Sounds as though it would be a great road to walk so you could enjoy it all without the distraction of driving. It’s not on my wish list!
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rangewriter said:
Well, given the food and gear required to hike 110 miles, I don,t see myself hiking that stretch. If I were to hike for 5 or 6 days I can think of many more delicious hiking trails which would not have me swallowing the dust created by cars,ATVs, and motorcycles. We drove slowly enough and stopped frequently to gaze in wonder at the sights so driving was not all that strenuous. I’ve actually driven worse roads all by myself. It was a treat to have company and a spare car, should we encounter problems.
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highland hind said:
Er that should be NOW, not not. If you know what I mean…. sorry. Great pictures too!
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rangewriter said:
Oh Highland, as I said below, there are more pristine and lovely wilderness hikes in Idaho that I would highly recommend over this route. It makes no sense to share the road with vehicles in such a dusty environment. 🙂 Come on over, I’ll lay out some stellar mountain hikes for you in the Idaho Sawtooths. 😉
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udenison@gmail.com said:
Loved that post! cheers, Ursula
Sent from my iPad
>
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rangewriter said:
Thanks, dear friend.
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Glenda said:
What amazing vistas! Are the white flower bear grass? They are gorgeous!
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rangewriter said:
Yes, Glenda, they are. The only other place I’ve seen bear grass to speak of was in Glacier National Park. I was astounded to see so much of it in Idaho.
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btg5885 said:
Linda, I feel like I have been on a hike and am hungry for the burgers. BTG
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rangewriter said:
Cool! Maybe some marshmallows over the fire, too?
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btg5885 said:
Smores would be nice. Yum!
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Otto von Münchow said:
What a fantastic trip you had. Fun to follow along. And the photos are beautiful and brings the trip right in to every reading the post. Thanks for taking us along, Linda.
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rangewriter said:
Oh thanks, Otto. I really tried to keep it down to 10…but I just couldn’t! 😮
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Otto von Münchow said:
It’s not always easy to edit down a range of good photos. I know…
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Kana Tyler said:
We DO live in beautiful country! 🙂
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deansgreatwahoo said:
In 1981 I had a new to me little 1977 green Subaru sedan and a new set of detailed maps. On the central Idaho map was a dotted road through nowhere, just north of the No Return portion of the Salmon River. The road was marked, “Very Poor Road.” As soon as he could get to Boise from San Francisco my buddy and I were driving that road, waiting with baited breath for what was to come around the next bend. Finally we broke down and looked at one another and said, “When does the very poor road start?” Who ever marked that road VERY poor must not have been raised in Idaho! We ended up throwing a decaying deer carcass off the cliff to get rid of the flies at one camping spot and delighted in an extreme electrical downpour at Poet’s Camp. Great drive and great reporting on it, Rangewriter! Thanks for the memories. Dean
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moondustwriter said:
Thanks for taking us with you. What a wonderful trip.
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rangewriter said:
Always my pleasure, Moondust.
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souldipper said:
Oh, Linda, this Cdn hiker is drooling. What a great trip and I’m so glad the clouds had some decency to lift their thick cover. Really enjoyed this!
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rangewriter said:
Glad you enjoyed it. There was lots of driving in between the hiking. Since I was bringing up the rear of the two cars, I swallowed my share of dust. But the company was worth the inconvenience.
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souldipper said:
I knew I ought to have been there! My Pathfinder’s tires are “guy size” and we could have shared the dust.
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bronxboy55 said:
I love the “view from looking north-east,” and this: “…a classic old west tale of gold and greed and grand anarchy…”
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rangewriter said:
It always makes my heart skip a beat to discover that a line a wrote resonated with you, Charles. Thanks!
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greenlibertarian said:
Randomness. I saw someone on a Spokane bus today with a sweatshirt that said “Magruder Corridor”. Had no idea what that was so of course I googled it on my ever-present “Smartphone, a fairly recent addiction. Oh, wow, very cool road right thru MAJOR two wilderness areas! THAT is unusual. Now I’ve spent much more time backpacking and canoeing in wilderness areas, but I like an occasional drive near/through such. And, hey I ain’t getting any younger, and the bunions.. I bagged all the peaks in so. Cal. back in the day, climbing one at night and the same in heavy snow (should have had crampons). 10 days canoeing in BWCA/Quetico, and have done 8 days out on Pacific Coast Trail, no cache. Where was I? Oh, yeah, I wondered if this road was passable with a Subaru Outback or Forester which I plan to buy an early 2000’s model sometime after my daughter gets married in a couple of weeks.(to be Lawyer-Dr. couple, still in school) Would love to take this road before the killers (hunters) get there in the fall. Obviously a beautiful trek. Share your fear of breakdown/running on a donut tire out in the demonstrable middle of nowhere. Looks like you folks had one if not two late model Subarus.. So it seems doable, a dream trip for me. Glad the rednecks in the big pickup weren’t a Poet Campground to maybe trash the place. Miss the full awesomeness of (viewing) the Milky Way. Peace be with you.
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rangewriter said:
Call it randomness or call it synchronicity. By whatever name, I love it when things like that line up. Yes, my friends had a 2014 (or so) Outback. I drove my 2011 Kia. Both cars did really well. Most of the road is really fine. There are a few places where it is steep, rutted, and very rocky, but if you just go slow and pick your path it is very doable. I hope you will have the opportunity to enjoy this long spine between the wilderness areas. There’s lots of hiking to be had from this road. It could be part of a fun loop trip coming back over Lolo Pass, or even up into Montana, Canada, and then back to Spokane. Have fun and take care of those danged bunions. Thanks for dropping by and leaving your calling card.
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greenlibertarian said:
Thanks forkindly replying to my screed, rangewriter. Kia? Like a regular car-type Kia, or a Kia SUV? It’s the clearance (Clarence) issue I’m worried about. Nothing worse than hearing the business parts of your vehicle grinding against rocks. I’m not a Kia autobot of any sort. If a Kia car can make that journey, then I’m even more comfortable with the idea that an Outback could make it it easy. Did my fair share of trekking on marginal roads long ago in a Pinto and a Capri and figure I’ve used up all my luck doing that way back when.
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rangewriter said:
GreenL, forgive my incomplete description. I have a Kia Sorento, which is classified as an SUV. It’s a bit larger than what I wanted, but the year I purchased, it was actually doing better gas mileage wise. This model was totally redesigned and oddly, though it is rated a 2011, I actually bought it in 2009. Go figure. Marketing magic. It’s clearance is about the same as my old Outback. The size has its drawbacks and its plusses. I can no longer get a hard shell kayak on top of my car single-handedly, but I no longer kayak, so that’s not such a problem. The advantage is, who boy is it nice for car camping…for when I don’t want to bother with a tent or its raining like crazy.
I remember the days when I used to coax my little red Laser up hairy dirt roads and the macho men with big tires would flip somersaults when they saw me come down a road they thought they needed those tires for. 😉
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Sandra said:
Thank you for your post. My son wants to do this road by my Crosstrek. We are packed for two days through the area, but can take more time if needed. Just wanted to be sure we didn’t need 4 wheel drive as I just sold the Suburban.
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rangewriter said:
Hi Sandra! The Crosstrek is AWD, right? And does it have higher clearance than a sedan? The Subaru Outback and the Kia both have high clearance. I think the Subaru clearance is greater than some Jeep models. Most of the road is really fine. There are some very steep, rocky, and eroded areas that will require careful maneuvering. Have a great trip! I hope it won’t be too smokey.
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