Trip Report
We crossed Santiam Pass, paused at Sisters than ate lunch at Brothers. Our first night was at the Tapadera Lodge in Ontario. We then entered Idaho by way of the South Fork of the Payette River, through Stanley Basin and onto Challis for two nights.
Our third day took us through Grandview Canyon to Thousand Springs Valley and onto Mackay. We ate lunch by the Mackay Reservoir and then stopped at the Fault scarp on Double Springs Pass Road. Movement was Oct. 1983 and quake exceeded 7 on Richter Scale. Double Springs Pass is a pile of glacial material in a former northwest flowing valley of the Big Lost River on its way to the Pahsimeroi Valley and on to the Salmon River. We continued down the Pahsimeroi Valley and back to Challis. Most of as went to the Challis Hot Springs for a dip. The water is pleasantly warm and the pool has a gravel bottom.
Our fourth day we visited the old mining camps of Custer and Bonanza and the dredge along the Yankee Fork of the Salmon, then stopped at Redfish Lake and the Galena Summit overlook over the Sawtooth Range and the upper Salmon River. We arrived in Ketchum early enough to walk around.
The next morning we went by bus to Warm Springs Creek suburb, then to Elkhorn Village going around Dollar Mountain and then to Sun Valley Lodge, and had time to walk around the many shops and lodges. We heard that an ice show starring world champions was to take place that night and that if positioned right we could watch them practice, so most of us ate lunch at the lodge which overlooks the ice rink. The star was the world and Olympic champion Russian Pechenco. Most took the bus back to the Christiana Lodge but others walked. We had time to continue exploring Ketchum, which is a neat village with a very nice library.
On our next to last day we took off for Hailey, a former mining town, then to Fairfield and past Mountain Home and Nampa to Homedale and down Succor Creek Gorge. We ate lunch at the state park there then continued to Leslie Gulch with its beautiful sculptured cliffs. We found the Owyhee Reservoir empty, but were fortunate to see Mountain sheep. We arrived a little late in Jordan Valley to the Sahara Lodge but the Basque Restaurant was waiting for us and we had a good meal.
Our last day was bright as usual and we headed west past Burns to eat lunch again at Brothers and then home via Bend, Century Drive and Willamette Pass.
The weather was favorable, the fall colors nice and all seemed to have a great time. Alan Foss was our driver. Participants were: Margaret Baldwin, Mary & Richard Bentsen, Ingrid Carmichael, Clair Cooley, Jane & John Corliss, Alan Griggs, Bette Hack, Vera Heidenrich, Evelyn Hile, Jane Hilt, Micki Hutchison, Ray Jensen, Martha & Roland Johnsrud, Rosella Jones, Virginia Kapsa, Dee Kelley, Helen Knowlton, Bea LeFevre, Doddie Leppmann, Mary McLaughlin, John & Lenore McManigal, Cleora Mersdorf, Jan Pattison, Hazel Peck, Sally Saddler, Lois Schreiner, Louise Thurber, and Bill Eaton and Ewart Baldwin (co-leaders).
