Hi everyone, here is a Blaine County Recreation District trail update for Friday, August 25, 2023:
Sheep
– Sheep are in the vicinity of East Fork of Baker Creek Road and Easley Hot Springs Trail (also known as Curly’s Trail).
– Sheep are grazing the south-facing open hillsides above the low end of Corral Creek.
– A band of sheep is out East Fork Road. They may be above Triumph in Courier or Milligan gulches, or they may be in the vicinity or Bear Gulch Trail.
– Warm Springs band is in the forest between Warfield and Rough Canyon.
– A flock is in the Cove Creek region and up Big Witch Creek.
– Deer Creek Band is moving east along Deer Creek Road from Snowslide Gulch (near Deer Creek Trail TH) to Panther Gulch where they ship out this weekend.
Sheep guard dogs take their work seriously. Try to avoid areas with sheep if you are traveling with pets. For recommended best practices for interacting with bands of sheep and guard dogs visit the Trail Alerts section of the BCRD Summer TraiLink site.
Please help improve this sheep location info by making first-hand reports of encounters with sheep to me.
Mud
The Parker Gulch Road is impassable at a point about 1/4 mile from its top. The road is covered in deep mud at a point just below the Parker Gulch Trail parking.
Crews
The Ketchum Ranger District Trail Crew and staff with the Wood River Trails Coalition were at work this week on Fox Creek Trail. They were rebuilding two retaining walls at turns in the more northwest area of the loop.
This week, BCRD trails department staff cut-out downed trees from the Harriman Trail, cleared encroaching plants from trails in Slaughterhouse and Croy canyons, and performed maintenance on portions of Pearl’s and The Grinder trails at Galena Lodge.
Vols
The Tin Cup Trailhead at Pettit Lake has new horse corrals. Members from Backcountry Horsemen of Idaho, US Forest Service, and Sawtooth Society collaborated to install four 30’x30’ horse corrals there. The project was primarily funded by Idaho Goat License Plate Fund and by donations from the horsemen. The project involved 28 volunteers and staff working 382 hours over the course of 3 weekends.
Volunteers continue to re-cut-out trails. This week, reports of such help came in from local motorcyclists and mountain bikers. Trails cut-out again since our last rain/wind events:
Red Warrior-Warfield Connector
portion of Osberg Ridgeline
Volunteers (led by Carith and Miles with the Wood River Trails Coalition) recently performed maintenance on the “My Dog” section of the BLM’s Two Dog Trail; the work was performed on Two Dog between the Croy TH and the nearby saddle/intersection of trails. Recent downpours had left the trail damaged from erosion. The volunteers improved the drainage of the trail and made repairs to damaged sections.
Report conditions
Wind and rain have brought more trees down on trails. A recent report from a trail user indicates that trees are again down on the recently re-cleared Oregon-Fox Connector Trail. Reports of downed trees or other trail conditions can be made to me, or use the WRTC group’s reporting form at: https://woodrivertrailscoalition.org/trail-form
Flats
Norton Creek Road, which runs from Baker Creek Road to the Norton Creek TH, is open, but the road maintenance work that was recently performed on the roadway has left behind sharp rocks. Some people driving the road are getting flats.
Seal-coating
From September 11 – 15, the BCRD will be seal-coating a portion of the Wood River Trail from Gannett Road in Bellevue to Fox Acres Road in Hailey.
Please let me know if you would like to be removed from this email list at any time. If you know of others who may want to get these weekly updates in their inbox, have them drop me a line asking to be added.
Best, Chris
Chris Leman
Wood River Valley Trail Coordinator
Blaine County Recreation District
1050 Fox Acres Rd. Hailey, Idaho, 83333
cleman@bcrd.org
(208) 578-2273