Travel

Camping & Forest Fires

Sometimes the greatest adventures we can have aren't that far from our own backyards. And, honestly, I'm convinced that this family isn't even capable of doing "normal" or "boring" adventures. It's just not who we are. And that's perfectly okay! Today we're revisiting a camping trip we went on a few years ago.

Idaho is a beautiful state with a lot of natural wonder to explore. The solitude of some of these remote locations means that there are also a lot of areas where you really don't have any contact with the outside world so it's good to pay attention to what's going on around you, too. Part of what makes it so beautiful is also what can make it so unpredictable. Join us for today's adventure in camping, a forest fire, a road better left untraveled, a flash flood and another fire. (I told you - we don't do normal.)

It was a hot August afternoon and we loaded up the van with camping gear, fishing supplies and the kids' bikes and headed for the mountains. It was just a weekend getaway before they went back to school, but it was a much needed escape from the world. We were planning on camping for a couple of days at Baumgartner Campground which can be found near the South Fork of the Boise River in the Sawtooth National Forest. One of the things we're really looking forward to is the in-campground pool. Yes, a campground with a pool. Not just any pool, but a natural hot spring.

We get there, find a beautiful camp site kind of secluded from the other sites, right up against the river and near the outhouses (but not so close that you can smell them). We set up camp, explore a little and get the bikes out for an early evening ride. The pool is at the opposite end of the campground so the kids ride while Dad & I walk. Sure glad we didn't put our suits on before coming down here (trust me - the kids wanted to) because on a Friday evening, there were way too many people and too much beer in that pool to be very family-friendly. It's an actual pool - not a hot tub like a lot of hot springs actually have - and people were crammed in it (LITERALLY) cheek to cheek! Yeah...so it's back to our campsite we go. We ended up skipping rocks and playing in the shallows of the river by our tent site for a bit. Then it was time for the campfire, hot dogs and smores. Talk about peaceful! As we sat there eating and talking and laughing, night falling around us, the Perseid Meter Shower sending some of Mother Nature's finest fireworks for our viewing, everything was absolutely right in the world. I'm so glad we did this.

The next morning, up with the sun, we grab something to eat then head to the pool. Sure enough, everyone that had been in it the night before is still sound asleep (imagine that!) so we have the pool all to ourselves. Even though it's August, the mornings can still be chilly and this one was. Even as chilly as it was, the pool was just about too hot to use. We played and had fun in it for a little bit, but it just got too hot. We went back to camp, changed and hung our wet clothes up to dry. I settled in with a book and Dad & the boys got out the bikes. We were enjoying the sounds and smells of the mountain air and then something changed. Like in an instant changed. The sky turned orange, the smell of smoke was so thick on the air...there was a fire somewhere and it was getting closer. We let the kids keep playing, but we kept a very watchful eye to the South of us. It wasn't long before we decided maybe we'd better pack up "just in case" we needed to get out. We were almost finished packing up when the ash started falling from the sky and it was obvious we needed to get the heck out of there! {Side note: Sadly, the fire that ran us out would end up gaining momentum and do a lot of damage before they were able to get a handle on it. Yes, it did end up hitting the campground. So sad!!}

As we were driving away, we were in agreement that we didn't really want to go home. Home was only a couple of hours away and we could have gone home, but we really wanted some away time. My husband mentioned Tripod Reservoir (he and the boys had been there before, I hadn't) so we decided to give that a try. Now if you were to look at a map from Baumgartner to Tripod, it's not really that far. Until you notice the mountains and the roads. A sane person would have gone back to the highway and around on well-traveled roads even if it was quite a bit longer. A sane person. I'm not pointing fingers, but someone in that van was NOT sane and convinced the other one to drive the "back road" from Featherville through Rocky Bar to Atlanta. They were old mining settlements, and they still hauled logs out sometimes - how bad could the roads be??? Do not EVER ask that question in this family - we have a track record of finding monstrous roads. This was one of those times. If you are ever in a vehicle with someone who wants to drive that road, get out and walk. They're crazy and will probably kill you. Suuuuure...it's only 23 miles on paper, but it's a 2 hour drive on a road that is dirt, filled with huge boulders, on the edge of mountains looking down into bottomless ravines and barely wide enough for our minivan to fit on. If I never, ever, ever see that road again, it'll be too soon!

So here we are in Atlanta, ID (brakes smoking) knowing the only "real" way out was the road to Idaho City. It's about 65 miles of windy, curvy mountain roads. These are paved though and 1000 times better than what we were just on. We head towards highway 21. As we get to the junction we have a choice to make. South takes us to Idaho City where we can go get an ice cream and go home. North takes us to the Banks-Lowman Highway, which will take us to Hwy 55 and Tripod Reservoir. We decided the worst was behind us so we go North. What's the worst that can happen? (Again - never say that!)

Just outside of Garden Valley, the sky busts open and we get caught in what would be the very first Flash Flood I'd driven in. That was fun. Yeah, not really. We stop at the only open gas station for bathrooms, a break from the storm and deli food that had probably seen better days. The storm finally lets up a little and we're off again.

When we get to Smith's Ferry, we turn off to the left and head straight up the mountain on another windy, single-lane, dirt road. Thankfully it was only a couple of miles to the Reservoir. We pull in, grateful for being out of the van and our youngest can't get out of the van quick enough before he starts puking everywhere. Oh, did I mention this was also the trip we found out he gets car sick? Good times, good times...

Okay this was torture getting here. If we'd back-tracked and taken main roads it would have taken probably 3-4 hours. Instead, it literally took us the better part of the day. This is peaceful, deserted and beautiful. We haul all of our stuff out of the van and set up camp for the night. We opt to take the spot in the clearing closest to the fishing dock, just over a footbridge from the outhouses and the parking area. There were a couple of campsites set up around the reservoir in spots, but for the most part, we were alone. This is nice. We set up and tuck in for the night.

Oh - remember the footbridge to the outhouse? No big deal during the day, but at night? Have I ever mentioned how much I hate bats? Yeah...lots & lots & lots of them.

Morning came and we set out to explore (it had been too late when we got here the night before). The ground around our tent was covered with 1000s of butterflies - it was really cool. (Later in the day, the butterflies would leave and be replaced by wasps - that kinda sucked) Lots of giant granite slabs and trees to climb, a few patches of poison ivy, frogs and tadpoles to catch, trails to hike and fishing. Our youngest caught his very first fish that morning with grasshoppers they'd caught right there! It was a good size trout too. I had to help him reel it in, but he didn't give up fighting with it - he did awesome. No sooner had we pulled it off, than our older one caught one nearly as big! They were both so proud of themselves and so happy for each other.

Sometime later we were in the tent having sandwiches and talking about what next (and hiding from the wasps that had started invading) that we didn't notice what was happening outside. Imagine our surprise when we went outside and the sky was bright orange. Again. We all kinda looked at each other and shook our heads in disbelief. Twice in one camping trip??? Apparently so. We really debated on this one and we waited awhile to see what would happen. As it got darker and darker, we kind of knew what was coming so we started packing away things we didn't need just in case. Again.

While all of this was going on, our youngest had been watching these two girls in a boat paddling around the reservoir. He wanted so bad to be out there on that water and we didn't have a boat. What did Dad do? When the girls got close to shore, he went and beckoned them over and asked if they would mind taking him out on their boat for a couple of minutes. They were happy to do it. They put a life vest on him and took him around probably half of the lake. They didn't have to do that, but they were so excited to see how excited he was and I think they enjoyed it as much as he did. We never did ask their names, but are grateful for their kindness to this sweet boy. By the time they got back to shore, the sky was really dark and ash was starting to fall from the sky. It was time to go home.

Yes, everything you have read is true. It was a crazy weekend and we can look back on it now and laugh. It's unreal the events we went through and, had we been somewhere where cell phones or wi-fi worked, it might have been a whole lot less exciting. Lessons to take away: make sure people know where you are, pay attention to your surroundings, don't underestimate Mother Nature, have an escape plan and do NOT take the road from Featherville to Atlanta.

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