Once again I am sitting out in the woods next to a river writing in my
journal. I have been busy and this
camping trip did not get much planning which probably indicates how much I
needed to get away. The day before we
left we were cleaning our deck and patio plus the house for a neighborhood
gathering that evening. After everyone
left we talked about the weather and which direction we should head—that’s
it. The next morning I started pulling
out the camping equipment but had to take a break for a doctor’s
appointment. I also took time to pick
and freeze blackberries so I wouldn’t lose them. We managed to leave the house mid-afternoon.
For those who know Idaho, we drove from Boise to McCall then ultimately
ended up about 40+ miles up Warren Wagon Road in the Chinook Campground. Amazingly we were the only people here so we
got the best spot overlooking the Secesh River.
It was so peaceful. Just about
the only sound we heard was the river.
As the sun was setting I was surprised and delighted to hear the
whooping of sandhill cranes.
We heard the cranes again as the sun rose and we lay in our sleeping
bags. It was a bit chilly when we got up
but hot coffee and French toast alleviated that. Soon the sun was warming our campsite. We relaxed—I read and Bob napped in his
hammock. Soon a truck with a trailer
pulled in—we had neighbors. They left
for a while then came back and we heard the sound of a chain saw. It woke Bob up from his nap. It seems that many people come in with chain
saws these days—with no thought or consideration for their neighbors. It’s now evening and a camper drove in with a
trailer containing an ATV. We’re waiting
to see how noisy they’ll be. It’s quiet
right now.
About mid-afternoon we decided we needed some exercise so we headed out
on the trail to Loon Lake along the Secesh River. We hiked here 18 years ago when we took a
weekend backpack trip with our girls and camped at Loon Lake. It’s about a 10-mile round trip and we had no
intention of going that far today. We
simply strolled along the trail, stopping in the shade for a water break,
taking photos, inspecting the flowers, and taking in the scenery.
There was a huge fire in this area about 15 years ago and on the first
part of our hike we were surrounded by dead, blackened trees and lots of
colorful purple fireweed. As we moved
along the river narrowed as we came into a canyon. The river ran more quickly over the rocks and
there were stands of green trees and a wider variety of vegetation. At one point we startled a young deer on the
path. I tried to get my camera out but
the deer was frightened and ran away. We
passed just five people—two on foot and three on mountain bikes, all returning
from Loon Lake, I think. We walked for a
couple hours then decided it was time to turn back. It’s always interesting to see what you
missed going the opposite direction. On
the other side of the river we saw what looked like a terrace of bright yellow
flowers apparently thriving in a damp location.
We noticed fascinating rock formations carved out by the fast-moving
river. Once back at our camp we looked
at the topo map while sipping cold soft drinks.
We were surprised to learn that we had hiked about 5 miles total. Perhaps that’s enough exercise to rationalize
eating a couple of s’mores tonight.
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