Bull Trout Lake, Stanley Basin
Latitude: 44.2988 Longitude: -115.2532
Elevation: 6955 ft (2120 m)
Squaw Butte and High Desert chapters of Backcountry Horseman of Idaho will be spending the 4th of July weekend in the Stanley basin camping at the trail head near the Bull Trout Lake camp ground. Directions from Emmett are posted on the SBBCH website or at http://www.sbbchidaho.org/Directions_toBull_Trout_Lake.pdf. Pictures from previous trips are at http://picasaweb.google.com/sbbchidaho2007/BullTroutLake#
The chapters will be camping in the meadow near the trail heads on the south side of the access road. Horse water is near, and it is a short walk to the FS bathroom and a fresh water hand pump. This is a no fee area of the campground. Members will start arriving either Thursday night or Friday morning. Friday is get your camp set up and fun ride or fishing day. There are a number of trails that are available from Bull Trout Lake. On Saturday for those members interested a work party will be formed to work on removing down fall from the Gates Creek Trail [148]. For members not interested in the work party, a ride on the Pass Creek trail [148] towards the Cats lakes by Red Mountain or Dead Man Creek [147] is an option.
Map of Bull Trout Lake trails: http://sbbchidaho.org/pdf/bull_trout_lake_trails.jpg
Meals:Breakfasts on Friday, Saturday and Sunday will be communal with members providing fixing like eggs, juice, melon etc. Dinners will be pot luck on Friday and Saturday night. Members should plan on providing one dish for one of the two dinners. Lunches are up to the members to provide for themselves.
Stock: There are good locations for setting up portable corrals as well as high lines. There is good access to water for you stock on the north side of the meadow. The trails in this area have some small bridge crossing. It is a good place to do bridge 101 if your stock has little experience with bridges.
On Sunday for members interested and assuming the trails are open for use (snow above 8,000 feet) an optional ride out of the Iron Creek Trail head to Sawtooth Lake is possible before making the drive home. http://sbbchidaho.org/pdf/Iron Creek Area.pdf The trail to Sawtooth Lake is full of spectacular mountain scenery and is one of the most popular in the SRA. Bring your camera.
What a great trip this turned out to be. While the weather sometimes left something to be desired, as it rained, hailed and thundered at times, members were prepared with the correct clothing and shelters so it did not dampin the fun at all. Doing a combined event with the Twin Falls chapter added to the fun and the great food. Wild Flowers this year are amazing. To see what you missed there are lots of great pictures on the chapter web site.
From the Chicks (Lorraine and Charles)
the new members from Horseshoe Bend
It was a 4th of July to remember and for our first outing with the Squaw Butte Back Country Horsemen of Idaho it was great. We met new friends and exchanged several new ideas.
It is just under 80 miles from our house to the Bull Trout campground. Upon arrival we spent the first afternoon setting up camp while others went on the first ride of the weekend. The next day after a great breakfast we headed for the Kirkham Ridge trail for a ride and some needed trail maintenance. We went about three hours up the trail stopped for lunch and then turned around and came back. At camp we pitched some horseshoes and then had another great meal. For dessert we had some Willow Pie. Sunday morning we had another great breakfast (in the rain) and everyone but us packed up for the trip back to civilization. That afternoon we took an enjoyable ride up the Bench Creek Trail. We spent a quiet evening in camp then packed up and came out Monday morning. The weather was very diverse for this outing, lots of rain and sunshine with some hail thrown in to keep us jumping. All in all it was an enjoyable weekend and we hope to do it again soon. I believe that the 12 rigs (with diverse camping styles) 20 people and 11 dogs all had a good time.
Willow Pie
One or more large willow about 4 feet long with one end having a diameter of 1½ to 2 inches; Pie filling or fruit of choice; Whipped Cream; And a package of pre-made biscuits
Form the biscuit over the large end of the willow stick and slowly cook over the fire. When golden brown and cooked through remove shell from stick fill with your favorite filling then add whipped cream on top and enjoy the flavorful treat that was cooked over a campfire.