email to family Fri Aug 29 2019 6:19 PM Mt Time
With new tires, on Friday Aug 23 I headed straight back to the "Y" South
of Settlers Grove, that I had "scouted" just before my visit to
Settlers Grove and drive to Clark Fork via the norththernmost part of the
ragged stateline ridge. Didn't even look at the map. The road
traversed the northern slope of Eagle Creek, fairly decent road except
after checking my tracklog trace (again problems with missing topo map
tiles) I couldn't match the shape of the trace with that of FR2349.
Oh, I was on the wrong side of the creek! Must be a logging or mining
road not shown on the Forest Service map. zooming out on my phone app
I did have a tile that showed the road leading to Jack Waite Forks,
there joining a road going back up the other side that was on my
forsest service map, so I pushed on. Encountered a nasty washout at a
creek that had been "repaired" into three consecutive very exaggerated
water bars. I had to move a lot of rocks and take my little hand-hoe
and scrape away the top center of the peaks and fill in the troughs,
and take the spare tire and other weight out of the car, to make it
across without scraping off my muffler and CatConverter. Rest of the
drive to the South ICT TH was fairly mundane, passed an interesting
set of dredge mining claims, a dredge sitting in the creek, had to
ford the creek in the car, but made it with a lot of daylight left,
but not enough to do the hike south, so just relaxed. An ATVer
happened by and we talked for a while - he was a student at UnivID
majoring in Natural Resource Management, interested in toxics issues.
Next morning I hiked south to a saddle where I had turned around last
time from Thompson Pass. On the return I took a side trail that was
heading down the east side around a peak with a view into a cirque
with a small lake - now just a flat meadow. A dozen Bikers roared by
and I later would be leaving my footprints in their freshly plowed
trail north as far as Black Peak. back at the car still before noon I
backtracked to the northern trailhead which was a few road switchbacks
north and wasted no time resuming hiking north as to Black Peak.
Approaching Black Peak the trail hung low on its west slope to avoid
tallis slopes. The trees on this slope were burned, possibly a control
burn. A spur trail left the main ICT which I took to its shaley
barren top, to an elaborately constructed flat terrace and expansive
360 views, north to Lk Pend Orielle. returning I still had plenty of
daylight, drove back down the correct road2349 past the Eagle
junction, past Prichard, up FH208 and 412 again to the end of the
paved road at FR151, then up that as far as Taylor Peak, where I spent
the night. Next day on to Taylor Saddle and a surprisingly rough FR430
south to a saddle between Lost and Bloom Peaks. The road continued on
traversing the west slope of Bloom Peak but I decided to first hike up
Bloom Peak and then Lost Peak. The day was very windy, but mostly
sunny and good clear views in all directions. I continued down the
south side of Bloom Peak, seeing the road continue on down into a
large forested gap between Bloom and Black Peak that I had hiked to
yesterday. I decided I didn't need to hike or even drive further into
that gap. I would miss a few screened views through trees, and miss
capturing some mushrooms with character. I did continue hiking down
from Bloom Peak to the road, followed it west to a junction with
another road coming up from the west, presumably from the Eagle
Junction area, although probably also the trail up from Settlers Grove
joined that road not too far down. Back north up to the car, another
truck was parked next to me now. I just continued past by my car to
hike north to Lost Peak. There was a trail again hanging low on the
west slope of the Lost Peak ridge, several prominences on that grassy
ridge, I went cross country over each of them, one had an elaborate
cairn, that must be lost peak. Returning I encountered several bikers
and ATVers coming from the north. I asked then if they had followed
the ridge and confirmed my reading of the maps as to what was trail
and what was road between here and Porcupine Pass. I lingered in the
car having a sandwich when a truck came by seemed to be looking for
parking, I offered my spot and moved on, back to Taylor Saddle and now
the northern branch for FR430 up to the ridge and along the ridge to a
powerline where the road along the ridge ended. I hiked north from
there a short way to EightySeven Peak. Backtracked a bit in the car
to a set of switchbacks paralleling the power lines down to a junction
then north on FR151 to Porcupine Pass. On that road I began noticing a
muffled flapping, sounded like a flat tire. Checking, indeed I did
have a flat left rear tire. Wow!, brand new tire!
Swaped that out and continued up to Porcupine Pass, which had a large
turnout with a large fire ring. The ICT (trl#7 here) was marked
heading north, and a sign with "7" on it pointed south back down the
road I had come up. I drove back down the last switchback leg up to
the pass and found the trail south. I would take that the next
morning. I considered parking right there overnight along the road
which had a broad grassy margin, but decided the more "designated"
camp site at the pass would be more appropriate. Back at the Pass I
began studying my maps, putting away the ones I no longer needed, and
color-penciling-up the final of the Forest Service maps I'd be using,
of the Kaniksu NF, to show the ICT trail and rectangles corresponding
to the extents of my detailed pdf maps of the ICT. Thrid to decide my
strategy for dealing with my flat tire. Back in Missoula I had bought
some slime and a fat hand-pump, presumably I could use that if I got a
2nd flat. Tried to decide whether I would head north to Clrk
Fork/Sandpoint or south back to Pritchard then hwy90 to CdA for flat
repair.
An ATV dad with young boy in back came by, seemed to be looking at the
clearing at the pass to overnight. I tried to smile and thumbs-up to
encourage them to stay, but they looked at their map and eventually
drove on down the Montana side, and I continued my color-penciling.
about 10 minutes later they returned, looked at their map again, and
continued down the Idaho side. Maybe I should have gotten out and
talked to them. Maybe I should have driven back to the roadside spot
by the southbound ICT trailhead. Later, when I got out to pee, I
noticed that I had backed in right in front of a little cove in the
bushes with a perfectly flat, smooth clearing for a tent. Had I
noticed that earlier, I definitely would have moved to the roadside
spot. Most of the rest of the turnout there was coarse gravel and not
level (I had parked in the only level spot.)
Next morning I drove back to the southbound trailhead and hiked south
to a prominance on the ridge with a decent view, though not as far as
87Peak where I turned around yesterday afternoon. Again the gap
between these peaks seemed deep and wooded. (Actually, 87peak had been
wooded with only screened views.) Back at the car I decided would
head down the Montana side from Porcupine Pass, and make a final
decision at the junction where I'd either go back up to the stateline
ridge to Idaho Point, or "bail out" down to the Noxon Reservoir and
then either west to Clark Fork/Sandpoint or maybe east toward
Missoula. At the junction, I turned left, up, without even pausing.
The last two miles of that road up to the state line was very rough,
with very slatey shark rocks, and a very scary steep dropoff into a
cirque below Eighty Peak/Idaho Point. But very spectacular views,
though it was late in the afternoon and so the lighting very
contrasty. I stopped several times for photos. At the ridge top, the
ridge road south to Idaho Point/Eighty Peak was very narrow and
little-used, so I parked at the ridge and walked the rest of the way
to the two peaks. Unfortunately I left my cell phone at the car (I was
in a hurry to beat the setting sun), so the location of photos will
be manually estimated by me. Returning to the car I walked south
along the ridge for some photos. Returning to the car, I noticed my
right rear tire seemed stuck in a depression. Looking closer, sure
enough, I had another flat.
I removed that tire and tried to find the leak, but didn't find it. I
had found and marked a 1/4" slice in my other flat. (The slime
instructions claimed it would work with up to 1/4" slices. I decided
to try to "slime" the new flat, assuming the leak mist be smaller.
Added about a third of a bottle then decided to pup up and see what
happened. Instantly found the leak, a large 1" split. OK never mind
that tire. Put the rest of the slime into the other tire, let it sit
positioned with the leak at the bottom. Pumped it up, big hissing
sound. Oh no! Now what? It was now nearly dark. Waited some more with
the tire leak down. The leak seemed to slow. Good! Mounted the tire
on the car, rolled the car so the leak was straight down, kept the
jack lifting the tire to just touching the ground, pumped the tire so
it was about as hard as the other tires, and went to sleep.
Next morning (Tuesday) lowering the jack, the tire was only slightly
flat. Pumped it up again and promptly decided to make a run for it,
no breakfast, just go. Decided I didn't want to go back down the
treacherous slatey sharp steep road to Montana, instead continue on
the ridge north. Would check my tire every minute, see what happens.
The air held! Getting to the junction where I had a choice of
continuing north along the ridge to Clark Fork (on the road I'd taken
a week ago, which was moderately rough) or to go down off the ridge
west about two miles on moderately rough road, then south for a few
miles of smooth gravel, then paved the rest of the way through
Prichard to I90 at Kingston to CdA and Walmart, I made the obvious
choice. I pumped a bit more air into it somewhere along gravel SH412,
and again at a gas station in Kingston getting gas and mechanical air
before getting in I90, arriving at Walmart without incident, where the
mechanic noted the slime that had sprayed out onto the fender
(probably the high speed centrifuging on I90.) I got two new tires
(since they couldn't repair the slices) for $20, having to pay for new
road hazard insurance.
Spent the rest of that day at the library. Wednesday morning I thought
I could take a shower and do my laundry and make it to the Sandpoint
library when it opened 9am pacific time (an hour earlier than the CdA
library, though it also closed an hour earlier.) The truck stop was a
few exits west just before the Washington border, did that and started
my laundry at a 'mat near downtown Post Falls. But by the time I was
done there it was about 9:30 so decided to stay in CdA to get the
extra hour of library time in the evening, that yielding my previous
email.
Overnighted again on I90 but this morning, after getting more
groceries and ice at Winco's, I headed to Sandpoint, found the library
too early but headed to the Forest Service office and asked about the
trail head situation at Clark Fork. He said they had moved it just a
bit further to the west, accessed via Spring Creek Road from hwy 200
from the shore of Lake Pend Orielle. I'll be heading there now,
hopefully find a place to overnight near there.
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