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The Ride: Boise Front and the Boise Back
This 'Adventure Motorcycle Ride' is in the area of what is called the Boise Front and the Boise Back.
The Boise Front consists of the foothills and the mountains that are on the edge of Boise. Rocky Canyon Road starts in the City limits of Boise and is one of several routes to the Boise Ridge. The Boise Ridge has four main peaks; at the south end is Lucky Peak at 5904 feet, Boise Peak at 6490 feet, Doe Point at 7057 feet and Shafer Butte is on the north end at 7572. Doe Point and Shafer Butte are part of the Bogus Basin ski area.
The Vertical Profile chart shows an elevation difference of 2731 to 6900 feet. The low spot around mile 25 is when we were on Grimes Creek. Miles 45 to 50 were in the Bogus Basin area.
The route we took is in photo below. The start of this trip is at Shaw Mountain road and Tablerock Road. Shaw Mountain road is also called Rocky Canyon road. The route out of Boise is multiple use and you will have hikers, cyclists, runners, equestrian and whatever else you can imagine for traffic. When you reach Aldape Summit you will turn right on the Boise Ridge road FS374.
We had experienced rain Friday night that was severe in the valley, over 1 inch in about 30 minutes, but the Ridge was in good shape so the intense part of the storm missed the Boise Front. In august of 1959 the Boise front suffered a devastating fire that changed the management of the area. A YouTube video The Pot Boiled Over gives a perspective of how fragile the foothills are.
We stopped on the Ridge Road to look over the valley and the moisture from the rain the night before, was forming clouds right in front of us.
The picture above is looking back toward Aldape summit, as you can see the clouds were appearing magically out of the moist air.
The Kawasaki KLX 250 was my bike of choice again today. The bike is set up very well for this type of travel. I am running the Imnaha Panniers with the Tail Plate and 3" Riser
We stayed on the Ridge for a few more miles and then we took NF263 aka Eagleson. At one time this was a road but it is now designated as an ATV Trail. I have been riding this trail since 1987 and despite the use it is in good condition. Idaho Department of Parks and and the Forest Service do periodic maintenance which is mainly funded by use fees.
This section is 4.8 miles; Eagleson Summit is 6086 feet and Crooked Summit at the other end is 4524 feet. At the top we had some remnants of snow drifts with tracks though them so it was a safe bet the trail was open with the elevation drop and a lot of southern exposure.
If you are old enough to remember what an “E Ride Ticket” at Disneyland is that is a fair description of this trail. There are down trees with reroutes, big ruts (2 foot in depth) lots of off camber and plenty of rocks. This is where you better have the SIPDE (Scan, Identify, Predict, Decide and Execute) technique of riding down pat or it will make for a long day. You now are coming upon things quickly and you are scanning 20 to 100 feet ahead to get the best line. To me that is what makes riding the bike interesting. Making a choice and following through with your decision if it was not the right decision, make a new plan and continue. It is sort of the reverse of bowling and trying to pick up a 7-10 split. If you get it wrong in this case there is nothing left standing!
This is shot looking back up Eagleson at Crooked Summit. This is a great place for a break and chat with some other rider. To the south is the Robie Creek area and to the North is Daggett Creek then Clear Creek Summit. Maybe later this year we will get the opportunity to run Daggett Creek. It is a very technical single track that involves a lot of water and rocks. I spent a year in there one day!
We saw quite a few ATV’s go by and several dirt bikes come down Eagleson. There was also a hunter on a 2WD Rokon Motorcycle. A lone rider, Rocky, on a KLX 200 (only in Idaho) stopped and chatted with us for a while and before long we had a common friend and it turned out he and Uno (term for a my riding buddy that is in a constant state of wheely) both worked for the same company.
We put the gear back on headed toward Clear Creek. The name Clear Creek is like the name Elk Creek and all the other common names that are given to local areas. This became a point of confusion when we were planning a ride to “Clear Creek” for lunch the next week. Oh that Clear Creek, yeh the one that the Bar is painted half Vandal and half Bronco. Oh yea thaaaat clear Creek. Just make sure you are not up Clear Creek without a paddle!
This section is 7.7 miles long and is a maintained road. The maintenance had just taken place so trying to find a track through a corner was just a dream. As you drop down into Daggett Creek you get some great vistas of the snow covered ridges off to the east. From Daggett Creek up to Clear Creek Summit is fun and quick. When we arrived at the Grimes Creek intersection there were 4 seasoned riders on dirt bikes and one of them waved for us to stop. The first words out his mouth were “We are incredibly lost, is that is the Clear Creek Road?” I responded by saying “ Well you are lost JB.” I used to ride a lot of single track with JB and he was always full of wisdom. His most important wisdom was on tire disposal. His method was to take his worn out tires grocery shopping, after he loaded his groceries into his pickup he put the used tires in the shopping cart and donated them to the local market!
We hit our buttons and headed out before the dirt bikes so we could make it the .9 of a mile to Pine Creek without getting roosted by old friends!
The next section is an improved FS Road that is 11.1 miles long and starts at approximately 3600 feet and intersects the Boise Ridge Road at 6000 feet. You start out in the bottom along Pine Creek and start climbing to eventually traversing the contours of a typical Forest Service Road. The are great vistas of the Boise Basin. About 2/3 of the way up you will see a road off to your left that has a locked gate, this is Shafer Butte Road that the Bogus Basin Ski Resort uses for access and it eventually intersect the Boise Ridge Road on the other side of the mountain but that also is a locked gate.
Uno was checking the backside view. This area is not visited by many people but it is worth a little more effort to venture over the mountain
We arrived at the Boise Ridge Road without having any snow drifts to blaze through.
We did not realize at this time that the reason the road looked like there had not been much use was due it being blocked by snow up ahead. We had to go over some small trees and then we could see a large tree in the road up ahead, when we arrived at the tree the end was cut off so an ATV could just get by. This was looking like we might make it through to the Front Side and the Ski Resort.
This sight did not look good. It appeared it was time to turn around and backtrack or head for Horseshoe Bend. Then all of a sudden a chain saw came out of one of the boxes on the ATV’s, Paul Bunyan had arrived. Nothing like the sound and smell of a chainsaw when the road is blocked!
It looked like Paul Bunyan was going to cut just enough for the ATV’s to get by on top of the snow. We kept busy throwing limbs over the side and one of the other ATV’s pulled up and they started winching the 8-10 feet chucks of the log out the way and then we rolled them over the bank. The excitement built as it looked like Paul was going to cut all of the tree out of the way. Before I looked at the pictures I was saying the tree was 80 feet long and the snow drift was 6 feet deep. How we can exaggerate at times!
The road is clear, now what. You know there could be some bragging rights about being the first one of the year to make the loop! Nope Paul Bunyan cut it out and he deserved to be the first one through. We wave to the ATV’s as they headed out towards the Ski Resort.
We fired up the bikes and followed them, in about a 1/4 mile the ATV’s stopped to talk and we waved as we went by. OK now what about those bragging rights!. We had a few more drifts but we could just get by them and then we were at the Shafer Butte intersection.
There is still some snow at the higher elevations but it will be gone soon.
I never see the Bogus Basin Ski Resort when it is operational. I went skiing once in 1969 for our Senior Sneak Day and ended up with a broken ankle. Deidre managed to run me over with skis and I remind her about it every time I see her. So in my opinion skiing is dangerous and not for me.
The Boise Ridge Road was enjoyable as we traveled across the Boise Front to Rocky Canyon and back into Boise. The Distance from where we intersected the Boise Ridge road at FS 366 and Rocky Canyon Road is 22.4 miles.
My GPS had a little hiccup for the top speed i wish the KLX250 would hit 90 MPH.
You can see that I lost satellite contact and went from 7 MPH to 93 MPH in a little over 300 feet!
One of the benefits of using a GPS is accruing data from the trip and then using it for future planning.
As I was coming in to Boise I remembered that the ICMS Motorcycle Awareness ride was today and followed by a picnic in Municipal Park. I cut over a few blocks to walnut and the BBQ was still going on. A donation to the Christian Motorcycle Association who was hosting the BBQ for their annual Run for the SON Fundraiser landed me a pulled pork sandwich, chips and a diet Coke. What a way to end the day!
Just under 6 hours to ride the Boise Front and Back!
Here is the GPX file that you can download has been modified so you don't have all the travel across Boise.
Happy Trails until we meet again.
Tim Bernard is an avid adventure motorcycle enthusiast and the Owner & Founder Of Happy Trails in Boise, Id.
The route we took is in photo below. The start of this trip is at Shaw Mountain road and Tablerock Road. Shaw Mountain road is also called Rocky Canyon road. The route out of Boise is multiple use and you will have hikers, cyclists, runners, equestrian and whatever else you can imagine for traffic. When you reach Aldape Summit you will turn right on the Boise Ridge road FS374.
We had experienced rain Friday night that was severe in the valley, over 1 inch in about 30 minutes, but the Ridge was in good shape so the intense part of the storm missed the Boise Front. In august of 1959 the Boise front suffered a devastating fire that changed the management of the area. A YouTube video The Pot Boiled Over gives a perspective of how fragile the foothills are.
We stopped on the Ridge Road to look over the valley and the moisture from the rain the night before, was forming clouds right in front of us.
The picture above is looking back toward Aldape summit, as you can see the clouds were appearing magically out of the moist air.
The Kawasaki KLX 250 was my bike of choice again today. The bike is set up very well for this type of travel. I am running the Imnaha Panniers with the Tail Plate and 3" Riser
We stayed on the Ridge for a few more miles and then we took NF263 aka Eagleson. At one time this was a road but it is now designated as an ATV Trail. I have been riding this trail since 1987 and despite the use it is in good condition. Idaho Department of Parks and and the Forest Service do periodic maintenance which is mainly funded by use fees.
This section is 4.8 miles; Eagleson Summit is 6086 feet and Crooked Summit at the other end is 4524 feet. At the top we had some remnants of snow drifts with tracks though them so it was a safe bet the trail was open with the elevation drop and a lot of southern exposure.
If you are old enough to remember what an “E Ride Ticket” at Disneyland is that is a fair description of this trail. There are down trees with reroutes, big ruts (2 foot in depth) lots of off camber and plenty of rocks. This is where you better have the SIPDE (Scan, Identify, Predict, Decide and Execute) technique of riding down pat or it will make for a long day. You now are coming upon things quickly and you are scanning 20 to 100 feet ahead to get the best line. To me that is what makes riding the bike interesting. Making a choice and following through with your decision if it was not the right decision, make a new plan and continue. It is sort of the reverse of bowling and trying to pick up a 7-10 split. If you get it wrong in this case there is nothing left standing!
This is shot looking back up Eagleson at Crooked Summit. This is a great place for a break and chat with some other rider. To the south is the Robie Creek area and to the North is Daggett Creek then Clear Creek Summit. Maybe later this year we will get the opportunity to run Daggett Creek. It is a very technical single track that involves a lot of water and rocks. I spent a year in there one day!
We saw quite a few ATV’s go by and several dirt bikes come down Eagleson. There was also a hunter on a 2WD Rokon Motorcycle. A lone rider, Rocky, on a KLX 200 (only in Idaho) stopped and chatted with us for a while and before long we had a common friend and it turned out he and Uno (term for a my riding buddy that is in a constant state of wheely) both worked for the same company.
We put the gear back on headed toward Clear Creek. The name Clear Creek is like the name Elk Creek and all the other common names that are given to local areas. This became a point of confusion when we were planning a ride to “Clear Creek” for lunch the next week. Oh that Clear Creek, yeh the one that the Bar is painted half Vandal and half Bronco. Oh yea thaaaat clear Creek. Just make sure you are not up Clear Creek without a paddle!
This section is 7.7 miles long and is a maintained road. The maintenance had just taken place so trying to find a track through a corner was just a dream. As you drop down into Daggett Creek you get some great vistas of the snow covered ridges off to the east. From Daggett Creek up to Clear Creek Summit is fun and quick. When we arrived at the Grimes Creek intersection there were 4 seasoned riders on dirt bikes and one of them waved for us to stop. The first words out his mouth were “We are incredibly lost, is that is the Clear Creek Road?” I responded by saying “ Well you are lost JB.” I used to ride a lot of single track with JB and he was always full of wisdom. His most important wisdom was on tire disposal. His method was to take his worn out tires grocery shopping, after he loaded his groceries into his pickup he put the used tires in the shopping cart and donated them to the local market!
We hit our buttons and headed out before the dirt bikes so we could make it the .9 of a mile to Pine Creek without getting roosted by old friends!
The next section is an improved FS Road that is 11.1 miles long and starts at approximately 3600 feet and intersects the Boise Ridge Road at 6000 feet. You start out in the bottom along Pine Creek and start climbing to eventually traversing the contours of a typical Forest Service Road. The are great vistas of the Boise Basin. About 2/3 of the way up you will see a road off to your left that has a locked gate, this is Shafer Butte Road that the Bogus Basin Ski Resort uses for access and it eventually intersect the Boise Ridge Road on the other side of the mountain but that also is a locked gate.
Uno was checking the backside view. This area is not visited by many people but it is worth a little more effort to venture over the mountain
We arrived at the Boise Ridge Road without having any snow drifts to blaze through.
We did not realize at this time that the reason the road looked like there had not been much use was due it being blocked by snow up ahead. We had to go over some small trees and then we could see a large tree in the road up ahead, when we arrived at the tree the end was cut off so an ATV could just get by. This was looking like we might make it through to the Front Side and the Ski Resort.
This sight did not look good. It appeared it was time to turn around and backtrack or head for Horseshoe Bend. Then all of a sudden a chain saw came out of one of the boxes on the ATV’s, Paul Bunyan had arrived. Nothing like the sound and smell of a chainsaw when the road is blocked!
It looked like Paul Bunyan was going to cut just enough for the ATV’s to get by on top of the snow. We kept busy throwing limbs over the side and one of the other ATV’s pulled up and they started winching the 8-10 feet chucks of the log out the way and then we rolled them over the bank. The excitement built as it looked like Paul was going to cut all of the tree out of the way. Before I looked at the pictures I was saying the tree was 80 feet long and the snow drift was 6 feet deep. How we can exaggerate at times!
The road is clear, now what. You know there could be some bragging rights about being the first one of the year to make the loop! Nope Paul Bunyan cut it out and he deserved to be the first one through. We wave to the ATV’s as they headed out towards the Ski Resort.
We fired up the bikes and followed them, in about a 1/4 mile the ATV’s stopped to talk and we waved as we went by. OK now what about those bragging rights!. We had a few more drifts but we could just get by them and then we were at the Shafer Butte intersection.
There is still some snow at the higher elevations but it will be gone soon.
I never see the Bogus Basin Ski Resort when it is operational. I went skiing once in 1969 for our Senior Sneak Day and ended up with a broken ankle. Deidre managed to run me over with skis and I remind her about it every time I see her. So in my opinion skiing is dangerous and not for me.
The Boise Ridge Road was enjoyable as we traveled across the Boise Front to Rocky Canyon and back into Boise. The Distance from where we intersected the Boise Ridge road at FS 366 and Rocky Canyon Road is 22.4 miles.
My GPS had a little hiccup for the top speed i wish the KLX250 would hit 90 MPH.
You can see that I lost satellite contact and went from 7 MPH to 93 MPH in a little over 300 feet!
One of the benefits of using a GPS is accruing data from the trip and then using it for future planning.
As I was coming in to Boise I remembered that the ICMS Motorcycle Awareness ride was today and followed by a picnic in Municipal Park. I cut over a few blocks to walnut and the BBQ was still going on. A donation to the Christian Motorcycle Association who was hosting the BBQ for their annual Run for the SON Fundraiser landed me a pulled pork sandwich, chips and a diet Coke. What a way to end the day!
Just under 6 hours to ride the Boise Front and Back!
Here is the GPX file that you can download has been modified so you don't have all the travel across Boise.
Happy Trails until we meet again.
Tim Bernard is an avid adventure motorcycle enthusiast and the Owner & Founder Of Happy Trails in Boise, Id.