Grimes Pass Roadless Area

The Boise River is More Precious than Gold

A group of concerned citizens and elected officials from the Boise area got together this summer for a float trip down the Middle Fork of the Boise River; a stretch of river upstream of Boise that is threatened by a proposed and open pit cyanide heap leach gold mine near the town of Atlanta, Idaho. The trip was organized by Idaho Families for Clean Water which is a collaborative effort between the Idaho Conservation League, Sierra Club and Trout Unlimited to try to block the mine.

One major concern is the amount of diesel fuel and other hazardous chemicals that would be trucked along this treacherous backcountry road in great quantities to reach the mine site. On our way up to the put in we passed the scene of a recent car accident where a driver had lost control and swerved off the road and nearly landed in the river. One can only expect that such accidents are likely to occur with the frequency of supply trips for the mine over its lifetime.

It was a great group of folks that came for the opportunity to learn more about the mine proposal and the potential effects to the river which supplies a good deal of Boise's drinking supply. It is a beautiful stretch of river that draws many visitors for fishing, hot springing, hiking, camping and hunting.

Here's John from ICL giving a very interactive and informative presentation on the specifics of the proposed mine site and the historic impacts of cyanide mining around the country. He also gave a great summary of some of the strategies that the coalition is utilizing to try to stop the mine.

Pam from TU explained how one of the oldest laws on the books, the Mining Law of 1872, is one major obstacle for blocking this mine and others like it in the West. There has been some movement afoot to reform the law and with the new democratic majority in congress we just might have a chance to overturn this ancient and absurd legislation.

Tetons- Think Rocks

This is likely a fossilized brain of a pre-pre-pre historic human that lived on the bottom of ancient seas that covered the Teton area hundreds of millions of years ago. I was just sitting enjoying the magnificence of a bright sunny day in Death Canyon when I made the discovery. As you can tell from the photo, the back of the brain of this specimen is extremely pronounced which leads me to believe that most of its thoughts were occurring in the subconscious - something that's been happening to me a lot lately.

I was on a trip with some spectacular folks for a nice walk and talk near Phelps Lake. We had a silent meditation hike down from the saddle to enjoy the sounds and sights of the wildness around us. It's something I need to do more often. Nearing the lake I heard some rustling in the bushes, and stopped to observe what curious creature might be experiencing the same reality of the locale. A momma moose and her baby slowly wandered out, mere feet from me, and crossed the trail at a leisurely pace to continue on their mid afternoon sojourn to Phelps Lake. The fragrance of sweet summer pollen was wafting in the radiating heat of plants and sun. After a refresher in the lake and a wonderful exchange of words and stories I headed up canyon to Explore Death (which I'm doing right now by the way).

I found a lovely spot along the creek for a cool dip to awaken and refresh my sweaty and pulsating body. It was so great to get the blood flowing and end up in a frigid mountain stream surrounded by all that I love. The boulder on the right in this photo was my companion and I did see a few butterflies as well.

After catching back up with my comrades near the saddle I had a wonderful conversation about the Hopi Eagle Ceremony and Clan from my friend Daron. He goes along with the Eagle Clan to help harvest eagle eggs from the cliffs to perform the Eagle Ceremony. I must say that I could have walked and listened for quite some time more when we arrived back at the trail head. A beautiful day in the Tetons all around.

the Looooong state

Boston to Steamboat in 2.5 Days held its challenges and pleasures. Most notable were our near death experiences with merging lanes of semi trucks through Chicago and cresting the pass in the Snowy mountain range of Wyoming/Colorado to glimpse a scraggly black bear and enjoy the fading light behind the Zirkel Mtns. Of all the white knuckle winter driving I've done, nothing compared to my level of anxiety driving through Chicago and the bliss I felt coming down into North Park in such beautiful light where my grandparents are buried and my father spent his childhood.

Somewhere in the middle of this everlasting state the Penske began vapor locking and didn't stop the rest of the trip. Apparently ethanol fuel mixture has a lower vaporizing temperature which led to our problem. With a new fuel filter and a short nap on the roadside we continued our Nebraska crawl without a stop at the Cabela's for a walk down memory lane (my father took me there during his business trips).

This was the view at our break down point and I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to see this view without any road, power line, fences or planted crops and with herds of buffalo, antelope and deer roaming in the distance.

Almost home and at the bottom of Rabbit Ears pass the Penske caught fire and started shooting flames out near the wheel. Luckily we had the dregs of our coffee mugs to extinguish the flames and we were on our way for the final 30 minute home stretch.