Local Hiking Trifecta
Abby looks out over the Boise River from Eagle Island
The weather in early October was beautiful this year. The temperatures were mild, usually in the seventies. There were clear skies and no wind. I only had a week before leaving for GMT weekend in California and I definitely wanted to take advantage of the good weather and do some hiking. I would be doing a lot of driving on my trip so I didn't want to drive a long way to do hikes. But I did want to do something different than the usual walk in the park that I do with Abby almost every day.
The Boise Greenbelt was an obvious candidate. I've hiked parts of it but by no means all of it. I've walked from Glenwood west about two miles to the pedestrian bridge, then along the south side of the river all the way to Eagle Road. I had not hiked all the way on the north side. On Google maps it looked there was a trail that went several miles to the east from Eagle Road. I set out one morning with Abby to check it out.
Steve and Abby traverse the south face of Shafer Butte
At Eagle Road, there are actually two branches of the Boise River which pass on each side of a large island, named...wait for it...Eagle Island. There is parking along the side of the road just before the north branch of the river. There are usually some cars there, meaning people do come there to walk the path. I grabbed a spot and walked up to the river with Abby. I figured that we would cross the bridge and start walking along the north side but it turned out that there was no sidewalk on the bridge. With traffic at fifty miles per hour or more and just a narrow shoulder, that didn't look too safe. Instead I opted to take the path on the south side of the river. I didn't expect much. I had looked and Google didn't show the path going very far. It did start out quite nicely. It was wooded and in the shade, but very close to the river, which was pretty. There were even a few spots where we came out on the bank directly overlooking the water. Abby was all set to dive in but I kept her on leash and she had to be content with just looking.
Abby managed to find a mud bog
I was pleasantly surprised by the hike. There was a lot of new construction and the trail had been extended almost to the end of Eagle Island. The hike there and then back to the car was three and a half miles and took us about an hour and fifteen minutes. Enough of a walk to justify the five to ten minute drive to get there.
The next morning I was up early for some reason. Sandy hadn't done her usual very early walk with Abby so we were all going to go out for a walk together. I suggested that the three of us do the hike along the Greenbelt that Abby and I had done the day before. Sandy was up for it and it turned out that she liked the trail as well. We filed it away as a good option when we want to do something that's a little different. It's long enough to be interesting but doesn't require half of the day. It doesn't take long to get there either, at least if the traffic isn't bad, which isn't always the case in Boise these days.
The next day we did a hike that we had been planning to do for a while. After two days in a row hiking along the Greenbelt, it was time to do something a little more ambitious anyway. At Bogus Basin there is an around-the-mountain loop that Abby and I had done early last summer. I thought it was a nice hike, although Abby did manage to find some mud to roll in and ended up totally covered in dirt. Sandy had never done the hike so we had been planning for all of us to do it some time this season. It starts from the upper lodge, follows Brewster's Byway across the south face of the mountain to the saddle between Shafer Butte and Deer Point. There it connects with the Elk Meadows Trail, which traverses around the east side to the access road on the north side opposite Mores Mountain. That can be followed back to the parking lot at the upper lodge. The loop is about four miles. It's fairly level and quite scenic, and parts of the route feel surprisingly remote considering that it is at a developed ski area.
That is one dirty dog
Since it was a weekday in the fall the parking lot at the upper lodge was virtually empty. It was another beautiful day and it looked like we had the mountain to ourselves. Abby was excited because unlike the Greenbelt, here she could roam free off leash. Not long after we started on Brewster's Byway we did pass a lady hiking the other direction. She had two dogs with her and they weren't on leash. That's not a big deal, I let Abby off leash at Bogus myself. But one of the dogs was big and definitely looked mean. I called Abby over and held her collar. She doesn't usually start anything but if another dog goes at her, she will give it right back. I was expecting the lady to at least grab her big dog but she didn't seem concerned. She didn't even keep it close to her as we passed each other on the narrow trail. I was pretty nervous when the dog looked like it was coming over to Abby but eventually it just went on by. I was glad when I could let Abby go again and move on. That was the only other hiker, and only other dogs, that we saw for the rest of hike.
Sandy and Abby on the Elk Meadows Trail
That didn't mean that we had the trail to ourselves though. After we reached the saddle and crossed over to the Elk Meadows Trail, we came across a Forest Service crew. They were clearing downed wood off the trail and cutting down dead branches that hung overhead. It's an important job that needs to be done and fall is a good time to do it when there are few people around. The chain saws were still noisy and annoying though. The guys on the crew were polite and did stop when we got close and waited for us to go by.
Farther along there was another guy working by himself just off the trail. He had his back turned so he didn't see us. When we got close I stopped and yelled and waved but he was oblivious. After a minute or so he moved a little farther away so we just moved quickly along the trail and passed him. I don't think he ever saw or heard us but we made it by without incident. He didn't cut down any trees that fell on us.
The Dirty Dog surveys her domain
Eventually we came to the meadows that the trail is named for. We had a great view off to the east of Steele Mountain, the Trinities, Smoky Dome and in the far distance, the southern end of the Sawtooth Mountains. This was where Abby had found the mud bog on our trip last summer so I was glad that it was fall and everything had dried up. I was also wrong because after wandering off through the meadow Abby came back covered in mud. Somehow she had managed to find some and rolled in it until she was covered in muck. She sat down on the trail and seemed to be very proud of herself. Fortunately I have a doggie cover in the back seat of my car. She was definitely going to get a bath when we got home before she went in the house.
Three quarter of the way around the mountain, on the north side of Shafer Butte, we encountered some construction workers. They were working a ways up the hill doing some concrete work. The wash water they used on the cement truck was running down to the road and Abby was all set to roll around in it. Mud was one thing but we did not want her getting covered in cement. Sandy and I both yelled at her and she stopped long enough for me to grab her and usher her past the spot. A bit further we were passed by another truck pulling a construction trailer. It barely fit on the road and we had to press ourselves against the hillside as it went past. We all got a good covering of dust in the process.
Sharing lunch at West Side Drive In
From there on the rest of the walk was uneventful. When we got back to the lodge we were expecting the bathrooms to be closed but there were two people working there and the door was open. I asked if it was ok to use the bathroom. The guy grumbled but said ok so Sandy scooted in before he could change his mind, while I gave Abby a drink of water at the car.
The loop around the mountain is really nice and the weather was perfect. For about half of the way we had the trail to ourselves and it was great. But all of the work that was going on was a major detraction. Not exactly a wilderness atmosphere. And when Abby found mud again even this late in the season, I decided that I have to write that trail off for her. I might do it by myself again some time in the future but Abby is definitely not coming along.
All of our adventures had caused us to work up an appetite. We stopped at West Side Drive In on the way home. They have some tables and benches a little ways from the drive in that are perfect when you have a dog along. Sandy ordered a burger and I got a grilled cheese sandwich, and we got two big orders of french fries. It was plenty of food for the three of us to share.
Abby got her bath in the back yard as soon as we got home. It had been a beautiful day and in spite of everything we all had a lot of fun.
