IDAHO CENTENNIAL TRAIL JOURNAL ENTRIES: Whitewater Ranch - August 24 - 28 >>> IDAHO CENTENNIAL TRAIL PHOTO ALBUM <<<
OVERVIEW: IDAHO CENTENNIAL TRAIL
Idaho was designated a state in 1890. Through the visionary work of a dedicated bunch of folks at the Idaho Trails Council, 100 years later, in Idaho's Centennial Year, the Idaho State Centennial Trail was officially designated. The existing trail corridor was based in part on the hike of Idahoans Roger Williams and Syd Tate who hiked the length of Idaho in 1986.a few years after they hiked the width of Idaho from Oregon to Montana!
I first became aware of the ICT in 1998, with the publication of Stephen Stuebner's Idaho Centennial Trail Guidebook. Despite that the information presented within its pages was quite limited in its scope, it was enough to plant a seed in my mind and I knew that at some point I would make an attempt at hiking the Idaho Centennial Trail. I have had the ICT tentatively planned and mapped since 2001, but until this year I have not made the commitment to dedicate time and energy to the trail.
Since that time, Leo Hennessy and the Idaho Parks and Rec Department has made a consistent effort to do what they can to improve the trail, educate, and inform. You can learn much more about the Idaho State Centennial Trail through the Idaho Parks and Recereation Dept as well as their newly posted blog dedicated to the ICT.
THE PLACE:
Idaho . The place I grew up. The place I first recall setting foot to trail. The place that has two of the largest designated Wilderness Area in the lower 48. A diverse place of mountains, rivers, and deserts.
Idaho holds a special place in my head and heart. Regretfully, growing up within its borders I never took the time to really get to know the place and its diverse landscapes. Looking at a map now, it is easy to recognize and admire the state for its diversity, its remoteness, and its wildness. I find that such landscapes typically result in inhabitants (human or otherwise) that embody those same characteristics....and which are getting more difficult to find these days.
Based on the hiking that I have done finding a place that offers the diversity of Idaho in a sub-1,000 mile distance is difficult. While the PCT and CDT offer distinct regions of landscape, it takes those trails well over 2,000 miles to find the diversity that Idaho has in half the distance.
While the Idaho Centennial Trail only travels through (3) designated wilderness areas, The Frank Church and Selway-Bitteroot are the second and third largest wilderness areas in the Lower 48 encompassing over 3,700,000 combined acres. Yeah.big country, basically the size of Connecticut!
With 300+ miles between road crossings and potential town re-supply access, the route is certainly remote. Backcountry airstrips for the delivery of food and supplies are crucial in helping a backcountry traveler re-supply.
Big country typically results in big animals and Idaho is no exception. Just about every land-based animal that remind us humans where we are on the food chain can be found in Idaho.Griz, Wolf, and Cougar all call portions of Idaho home. Here is to hoping they are gracious hosts!
THE PLAN:
One of my goals in attempting the ICT is to provide future hikers with additional resources to hike the trail. I have spent considerable time putting together a data book as well as utilizing mapping software to locate and map the entire non-motorized ICT corridor. I have also determined practical re-supply locations and a few alternate routes to avoid some of the road walks that are the official ICT. My intent is to fact check the compiled information during the course of my hike, update it upon my return, and then make the information available for free to future hikers and ICT trail users.
So the plan is as simple as any long distance hike.start walking! Not much more to it than that now that the research, planning and trip prep is complete. A new variable to add to my own long distance hiking equation is the addition of Wred Dawg, known from here on out as WD. WD is my Red Heeler and he'll be joining me on this jaunt. His first long hike, and one that he is hopefully prepared for.
WD and I will begin from the Canadian Border and work our way south to Nevada in ~50 days. ~20 mpd is conservative for me based on previously long distance hikes, but not knowing exactly what WD is capable of, existing trail conditions, and possible detours, I feel like it is a good number to plan around.
If all goes according to plan, we'll finish up in mid-September.
CONCERNS:
Obviously such an undertaking has a few potential hurdles to be dealt with. Eliminating the extreme circumstance (alien abduction, Sasquatch encounter, etc) , looming concerns include: trail conditions, fire, animal encounters, and the decisions I choose to make in the coming months.
Trail conditions are certainly a concern as remote trails are subject to poor maintenance, little use, fire, flood, and other forms of tread degradation. What will I find out there? Not sure. Typically what is on the ground is better than what I anticipate, but the potential for REALLY slow going is likely. As comforting as a line on a map is, I would be foolish to accept it as truth!
Fire is a big deal. When a fire starts in a large tract of Wilderness, it is (thankfully) allowed to burn itself out, and often large fires in such areas do so once the temps drop and the snow flies. That means likely containment sometime in OCT for any fire in the wilderness areas of central Idaho . Good for the forest, bad for a potential hiker. So.while it is out of my control, I'll have to be conscious of what is going on in the backcountry during my hike as retreat and rescue can prove difficult when you are in the middle of the woods.
Animal encounters are not normally on my list, but having a potential snack-treat along with me (my dawg) is a new consideration. My concern is largely based on if WD becomes gimpy at some point and appears weak to various forest dwellers.wolves, cougars, bears, etc. I have no experience with these animals with relation to having a dawg around, so I have no idea as to what their reaction might be. I'll certainly employ stealth camping techniques to limit my potential exposure to such beasties, but yeah, if they wanna eat me or my dawg, I doubt there will be much either us can do about it..so, let's hope they are all content finding a meal elsewhere. (mmmm.look at that nice, FAT, cow!)
Lastly, me. While I consider myself a conservative backcountry decision maker, the best chance of success hinges largely on the decisions I will make while on the trail. This does not normally concern me because I am willing to bear the brunt of my decisions independently, but with a companion along that is dedicated and loyal enough to abdicate to my lead, I feel a greater degree of responsibility this go 'round. I have a tendency to focus on my own goals when in the woods, so being consistently conscious of WD's wants and needs will be a challenge for me, but certainly a healthy exercise.
THE GEAR:
As things weigh out right now, I am looking at a base load of ~8.5 lbs. For you armchair readers, that is ~8.5 lbs of equipment excluding food and water and including all the gear I deem necessary for comfort, safety, and efficient travel. Depending on how WD does in the first 1.5 weeks, I will then decide if I make the switch to a larger pack in case I need to carry his food for him. If so, I'll still be sub 10 lbs for the trip, but unfortunately laden with doggie kibble.
Basically my gear has carried over from previous trips, but I have a better system worked out for stove-less meals and during the course of the hike I will continue to test out (2) new packs which I intend to offer in 2009.
I am also really excited about the custom pyramid shelter from Ron Bell at Mountain Laurel Designs that I will be using. Normally I'd be content with my tarp, but the pyramid is going to be more functional with WD along, is easier to pitch, and the *slight* weight penalty is easily justified in the 'live-ability' of the shelter.
As for WD, I sewed up a bunch of gear for him.a dog pack, booties (sewn from Spectra!), and even a synthetic fill insulated jacket in an attempt to keep him off my sleeping bag.
