Ride Pics: Loon Lake, War Eagle Lookout, Ruby Meadows Idaho
 

Five of us went on a long weekend ride around Warren, Idaho. Great trails up there, easy forest service roads, intermediate single track and quad trails, and some expert quality single track. Thought I'd share a few pics...

Loon Lake is the site of a January 1943 B-23 Bomber Crash.
Here's a good read with photos: The B-23 "Dragon Bomber" Crash Site and Wreck

You can ride one of a couple single tracks to Loon Lake from our campsite near Chinook Campground. One trail is fairly easy-intermediate along the hillside, and the other a tad more difficult along the Secesh River with a good intermediate-level hill climb from the river to the lake. Here's the lake.
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Park near the lake and hike about a mile to the crash site.

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Pic of the crash site through the trees. I won't bother with my other pics of the site...the link above has much better ones.

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It was a hot day. On the ride back, we stopped at the bridge and hung out by the creek to cool down.

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After dinner, we took an easy FS road ride up to War Eagle Lookout. Cell phone access there...gotta check in with the better half. She and the kids are on the way up to camp with us for one night and I'll do some fishing with them the next day.

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Stopped for a leg-stretch on the way back. Here's what the FS road looked like (nice and fast).

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And the Secesh River near dusk. I'm really enjoying the steed shod with a fresh rear trials tire. It's probably a little narrow than I would normally have purchased (at 3.5" x 18), but hey, two of them from CL for $35 so who can complain? Not me...no way.

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Continued
 

The rest of the family showed up...late...but safe. Cooked up some dutch oven enchiladas, beans, and dutch oven cobbler for desert. Camp grub always seems to taste better. The next day, I fish with the family while the other four go ride a trail they called "wangdoodle." I really wanted to ride that one with them. None of us had been on it before, and we couldn't find much of a ride report for it anywhere. On the map, it looked like it could be a little challenging.

The day goes on, the rest of the family goes back to town, and the riders haven't got back yet. It's getting kind of late so I take off to find them. Their plan is to ride the trail from camp, looping around to easier trails, then forest service roads. So I ride the opposite direction, on the forest service road back around. I only get about 5 miles up the road and find them parked off the side. They are tired, beaten, and bruised. They are rating the trail as "expert" and one even says "advanced expert." Seven miles in six hours. I'm relieved I didn't ride with them, as I'm the noob to this dirt bike stuff.

Funny thing is that now I find a couple reports from the throttlechix where one reports:
"This trail has some tight switchbacks immediatly then turns into fun single track meandering through the mountains for several miles. The last mile and a half is one long and difficult climb that encompasses a 1,000 feet in elevation change. It is loose and rocky when dry but makes for some challenging fun times when wet!"
Idaho - McCall/ Donnelly/ Cascade - Throttle Chix
this one's a riot: Ride with the Girls in McCall, Idaho - Oct. 2009 - Throttle Chix

The next day, I pack my gear early and take a solo ride back to McCall, single tracking towards Loon Lake and then taking the Ruby Meadows trail back to the main road.

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The area burned a few years ago.

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Fork in the trail where you can go Victor Creek...

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Or take Willowbasket through Ruby Meadows. I take this one.

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This bog crossing was completely submerged a few weeks ago and you couldn't see any of the logs.

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Small meadow stream.

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At the end of the single track, looking back where I just came from. Here the trail is open to quads and becomes much faster.

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Secesh River

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At the main road..now fast-tracking to McCall.

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Nice pictures. It really is great seeing how green the rest of the country is compared to the parched areas around where we get to ride...Thanks

NICE! What a great weekend, in an awesome place to ride. Thanks for the pics and links. Nothing like that in most parts of the country, makes me jealous. :D
Dan

NOW THIS IS JUST AWSOME!!!!!!! HOW BEAUTIFUL THIS IS!!!! GODS COUNTRY!!! I WOULD LOVE TO GET TO RIDE IN THIS AREA!!! GREAT PICS!!! tHANK YOU FOR MAKING MY SUNDAY!!!!!

northern california.

those are some awesome pics you got there! i would love to go there sometime!

Great write up. That looks like a great place to ride. Idaho rocks for that sort of thing!!
Great links tot he girls reports too

Sweet Pictures. It is amazing how different the terrain is in Mid-southern Idaho from the Northern part.
I will have to try and get out to see that wreckage, that looks awesome.

Good to hear you enjoyed them. Makes me think it worthwhile posting them up. :)

I've been all over this state, from the southern deserts to the central mountains, Tetons, hot springs, ghost towns, abandoned mines, northern forests, blah blah blah. Great riding all over. We even have hill-climbing single track minutes away from the big city. If you ever get up this way, look me up. Going to the Cape Horn area for Labor Day :D.