Imagine Crossing This Country on Horseback
The cowgirl trailer and I are back from our weekend trip to southern Idaho for the Idaho horse fair.Had a real good time, and making the drive was part of the adventure.
I took this photo from a lookout area about halfway down the White Bird Grade.
There is a roadside sign that tells the story of traveling across this part of Idaho. The whole central part of the state is a vast wilderness--the biggest in the lower 48--and there were no roads through here at all until the end of the 1920s.
Before that, anyone who wanted to go from north Idaho to south Idaho or vice versa had to do it on a pack-train trail. Hell's Canyon is on the other side of those mountains you see on the right side of the picture--they're known as the Seven Devils (for a good reason).
Even now, as a paved two-lane highway (finally completed in 1975), the route is not for wimps. Especially with a trailer in tow.
If you remember my posts from last September about Mikey's trip to rescue the blind horse, this is part of the trek she made. Probably a good thing she didn't know about this before she left home!
posted by Juli Thorson @ 7:27 PM
6 comments
6 Comments:
Glad you had a good time.
One of my many trail riding dreams is to ride that Hell's Canyon Country and the Bob Marshall.
Readers note the LACK OF GUARDRAILS!!! That's like a 15 mile hill, with no rails at all!!!
I was praying the whole way down, that my brakes would not go out or any other kind of catastrophe.
No, I cannot imagine trying to go thru there with say... a wagon. No. I don't know how they ever did... gorgeous country, but scary!!! lol
Mikey--
Did you not note the RUNAWAY TRUCK RAMPS when you were going down that grade? Those are your no-brakes insurance policy...supposedly.
For the uninitiated:
A runaway truck ramp is a turnoff area, carved into the side of a mountain and covered with a thick layer of gravel. The idea is that if your truck brakes fail, you turn off onto this ramp thing, and hope like hell that the gravel will stop you before you reach the end.
Let's just say that when you get to a place that has runaway truck ramps, you are pretty well assured that some of your knuckles will turn white before you get to the bottom.
Cuz you are in one STEEP place on this earth.
The area that Juli stopped in is also just above the Whitebird Battlefield of the Nez Perce War Trail. Chief Whitebird and his family of Nez Perce lived in this valley, caught stergeon and salmon from the Salmon river at the bottom of the grade the Appaloosa Chief Joseph Trail Ride has come thru this valley 4 times on it's way across the trail. This year the Chief Joseph Trail Ride goes from Darby, Montana over the mountains to the Big Hole Battlefield.
As Juli and I are both on the Appaloosa Museum board I thought I would put in this plug for the ride and the history of the area.
Mickey, be glad you came up AFTER they completed the new straight road with runaway truck ramps. The old road snaked it's way dowm the hill with 90 degree corners and no guard rails, plus it is open range, so many times you would find the road blocked by sheep, cattle or horses.
Lynette,
I took the picture with this post at the location of the White Bird Battlefield monument/overlook. I also took some photos of the battlefield vista itself, plus the commemorative signage, and sent them to the ApHC for Steve Taylor's blog use at some point.
And, I'll probably post them here as well.
The White Bird Battlefield is one of those haunting places where history reaches right out and grabs you.
Just a note - in the winter runaway truck ramps can freeze almost solid if not closed or maintained - turning them into a death ramp.
I still hear stories about such an accident on the Lewiston grade.
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