Unique rugged adventure? Unique, definitely. Rugged, absolutely. Austere Beauty, I can not think of a better description (for that one faithful viewer that needs the dictionary for this one, go look it up, I will wait).

We spent about 3 months in North Central Idaho. This is far away from the hustle and bustle of Idaho Falls, Twin Falls or Boise. Our base camp was at approximately 5,400 feet and were surrounded by real mountains.

Rugged Adventure Hike

The first order of business was to hike the one local trail that led directly up the mountain closest to the campground. This was definitely a unique rugged adventure. With several switchbacks and some game trail portions, we reached a nice false summit at about 8,000 feet that overlooked the campground. It was a rough hike, got a great picture of the campground and Sierra on the false summit.

Unique Rugged Adventure, Aesthetics and People!

Idaho is truly a unique place. The countryside is rugged, fair enough, but there are lots of rugged places in the US. It is the people who truly make this a unique experience. We met actual cowboys, men who rode horse 80 miles across 11,000 foot high mountain ranges herding cattle back to pastures. These men, wore cowboy hats, boots with spurs and chap, unironically. The men were grizzled, with a hint of feral in their every movement, but gentle and kind. Small family owned businesses, over a century old were abundant, like the butcher in Clayton Idaho.

We managed to be in Idaho during the northern lights exposure. Luckily, we were far enough north that we managed to get some great pictures! We took these photos in a beautiful little side valley some friends lived in. It felt a lot like those internet memes “Would you live here without a cell phone for a month for 1 Million Dollars?” It does not get to be a more unique rugged adventure than this!

Time for something entirely different!

Then we decided to do something outside of our comfort zone and absolutely loved it! Traditionally we are a hiking family. We generally travel with our feet firmly planted on the ground. Idaho was what I would call “Advanced Hiking” with easy trails going straight up a mountain for about 3,000 feet of elevation change. We still wanted to see the peaks and valleys and hidden beauty, so we scored a Polaris Razor and went for a trail ride with some friends.

Wildlife abounded in Idaho and the views were unique. We saw houses and abandoned sawmills and coal mines from the 1800’s. There were deer, elk, wild horses, domesticated cattle that were certain it was their property and we should go around.

The rugged terrain is unforgiving. Plants, algae, rocks (LOTS OF ROCKS), cliffs and bubbling breaks are around every corner. Pine trees abound at lower elevations and then it is wildflower region up top. We topped out (at the highest, picture of us by the Razor below) at just shy of 12,500 feet. Cigar lighter would not function, I am guessing lack of oxygen! The snow cap had melted only days before (this was early June!).

The austere beauty was eclipsed only by the fact that it was clear that no one was within 50 miles. This rugged environment, by its very nature, weeds out a lot of tourist traffic. In fact, it is only with the help of a couple charities and local businesses that the trails exist at all. I volunteered to assist, and we cut some fallen trees and shoveled some dirt along the way!

Our side by side trip concluded at a beautiful mountain lake. This was the back side of a small local state park accessible only by ATV or a 12 mile dirt road. I did learn that it pays to be lead dog in the pack!

Unique views just driving to town

Just getting into town was an adventure! The road trip was along the Salmon River, and the “big” town we went to was…you guessed it…Salmon! Great town, a little more tourist oriented than the great outdoors. Even oriented to the tourists, it was still more outdoorsy than most towns! Parks were more rugged and most restaurants featured outdoor seating.

Of note, I have been searching for a beer to remind me (definitely not come close to rival, I have managed my expectations) of the beer in Germany. We were eating at Highlander Beer, for pizza, as recommended by a local we encountered. I tried something, with hope in my heart, called The Dunkel McLeod. Amazing. Took me straight back to Frankfurt. I mentioned the amazing beer to the server, and she told me the brewmaster used German Hops! They sent me a Pils he was working on and it was great too. He was traveling to Germany to get the hops for the Pilsner. He won Blue Ribbon for the Dunkel (worldwide) and 2nd for the Pilsner (because of the lack of German hops). We also tried out a few breakfast locations and were not disappointed (but the beer blew me away!)

Mining Ghost Town

Mining Ghost Towns are literally everywhere in this part of Idaho. This one is part of a State Park, Land of the Yankee Fork State Park. Bayhorse is the name of the portion with the Ghost Town. It is accessible from the main road, but most roads inside the park are unimproved and I would not suggest going unless you had a truck, you will need the clearance. There is a crumbling small town, signage and the mill itself. For those more adventurous, there is a long (straight up) hike to the mine shaft itself.

Relaxing in the austere beauty

We did manage to make time to relax and take in the environment. Mule deer and elk regularly wandered through the campground and surrounding hillsides. An occasionally afternoon whisky and cigar, or beer and cigar were definitely in order. Even the “bad” weather provided examples of stark beauty.

We loved the stark nature and austere beauty of Idaho, but so much more to see! This unique rugged adventure closes and another begins! Heading south for a bit! Keep up with us by subscribing on our front page here, check out our archives here and join the adventure!