Hi everyone, here is a Blaine County Recreation District trail report for Friday, August 11, 2023:
Sheep
Today, the Lake Creek band is trailing south through Ketchum. They are heading down the sheep driveway/paved Wood River Trail to East Fork Road, and then east toward Triumph. Dogs guarding this flock have reportedly acted too aggressively toward recreationists.
A flock is high on Red Warrior Creek and grazing toward Warfield Creek.
A band in the Cove Creek region is on Finley Creek. The dogs associated with this band are reported to have acted overly aggressively toward passing hikers and a cyclist.
In the Deer Creek area, a band is grazing from Buttercup Mountain toward Curran Creek.
Out Trail Creek, a band is being trucked to Wilson Creek. This band typically grazes in the Wilson Creek area before moving to Corral Creek.
Sheep guard dogs and sheep herders protect sheep from predators. The guard dogs sometimes act very aggressively in defense of their flocks, especially, it seems, toward humans with pets. For info on recommended best practices when interacting with bands of sheep visit the Trail Alerts section of the BCRD Summer TraiLink site. Help improve our sheep band location reporting. Send your first-hand reports of encounters with sheep to me.
Sawtooth National Recreation Area
Tomorrow, Saturday, August 12th the Sawtooth Society is leading volunteers to complete trail maintenance on Alpine Creek Trail near Alturas Lake. The day begins with a scenic 1.5 creek-side hike to the work site where workers will clear trees with crosscut saws and cut brush away from the trail. All ages and skill levels welcome. Email Scotcho at stewardship@sawtoothsociety.org to sign up. Coffee and snacks provided!
The SNRA issued an updated trail report. Here is a link to it:
SNRA Trail Report August 8, 2023
The SNRA included this info with their report: Most motorized trails on the SNRA have been cleared this year, thanks to Idaho Parks and Recreation’s motorized crew. Our trails and wilderness crews and partners are continuing to maintain trails throughout the area.
Other info
Yesterday, the Oregon-Fox Connector Trail and the Oregon Gulch Trail were re-cut-out of downed trees.
The Ketchum Ranger District Trail Crew is wrapping up a six-day hitch in the Little Wood region of the forest. They are performing maintenance on trails in the vicinity of Johnstone Pass.
The narrow and rough East Fork Wood River Road (FS Road 118) is passable past Federal Gulch Campground to its end at the trailhead for the trail to Johnstone Pass. Previously, the road was blocked by avalanche debris.
People should be aware that the trails in Greenhorn are open to motorcyclists. Recently, a motorcyclist who volunteered to cut out the trails was confronted by a couple who insisted he was there illegally. New signs will be placed at trailheads and access points to clarify trail usage. In the meantime, please refrain from telling people what you don’t know.
The Sun Valley Resort is performing forest health work in the Cold Springs region of Bald Mountain. As a result, the Cold Springs Trail is closed. Other trails and service-roads on other parts of the mountain may also be closed, or have restricted access, due to forest health or construction projects. Visit the resort’s Summer Trails Report for info about what is open and what is closed on the mountain. Here is a link: Sun Valley Summer Trails Report
Rebecca’s Private Idaho, an awesome gravel cycling event welcoming riders from around the world returns to Sun Valley Aug. 31 – Sept. 3. For info on volunteer opportunities visit the RPI volunteer web page at: rebeccasprivateidaho.com/volunteer
Thank you for your interest in receiving these email updates. Let me know if I should remove you from the list at any time. If you know of others who might benefit from such communications, please send them my way. Have them email me asking to be added to the list.
Best, Chris
Chris Leman
Wood River Valley Trail Coordinator
Blaine County Recreation District
cleman@bcrd.org