*** Mike and Monica's 2006 ATV Adventure ***

We've always thought it would be a blast to take the 4 wheelers on a long camping trip, but we could never get the fuel/food issue worked out since we knew we wanted to avoid any kind of populated area. So that is how we came up with the camp trailer! Now we were set. Mike spent a week plotting our course and mapping it to our GPS. We wanted the most remote trails we could find with limited people and to hit only small towns for fuel/food when necessary. We packed 20 gal extra fuel and an electric cooler which worked off a little marine battery that ran off the 4 wheeler. Starting in Darby, we traveled in a counterclockwise direction and ended up in 3 Wilderness Areas, and 6 different national forests.

For those who don't know, the Frank Church/Selway Wilderness area is the largest in the lower 48 states. Before it became a wilderness in 1980, there were private mines in some of the remote areas within the forest. Those people had to be allowed access to their property so 2 corridors were established thru the Wilderness. These are dirt/gravel roads. Alot of our trip was through these corridors which took us into the Wilderness. The other part was through national forest trails. We traveled for 8 days and finished with 799.3 miles !!! Of those 800 miles we traveled less than 30 miles on paved road. We were able to make it with only 3 stops for fuel. Depending on the roughness of the trails, we traveled an average of 100 miles a day, but some days only 50-60 and once with a great trail we got 153 miles in a day! Our wildlife spottings consisted of moose, deer, turkeys, rabbits, elk, bighorn sheep, and grouse! All that was missing was a bear and a cougar! We wished we could stretch it out another 2-3 days, but work was calling! But there's always next year!!

 

Start 'em up !!!

 

Filling up water bottles with the purifier. It's a tedious job!

 

This sign is on the west side of the corridor. It is a great reminder to people that this is not a road for the faint of heart! It is 113 miles to the nearest service, with shovel and axe recommended. We loved it - the more remote, the happier we are!!!!

 

Making supper. I've got the sink, 2 prep shelves and my Dutch oven. I'm set!! Gotta keep the WaterBoy well fed!!

And this would be the WaterBoy, hauling from the creek. And, yes, we boiled our water before we used it. Sure didn't want to deal with the "trots"!!!

 

Pilot Knob

 

Gospel Hump Wilderness

 

Early morning moose !!

 

Here's the mighty Salmon River - the longest untouched/undammed river in the lower 48 states. It flows through some of the roughest, narrowest canyons. We are going to drop down into the canyon, cross a lone bridge, and climb back up out. We are on the west side of Idaho and the Wilderness. Later in the week we will cross the Salmon again further on the east/central side of the state.

Here's another view of the country the river goes through. Most of that country has never had a human footprint put on it.

We're down on the river. Look to the right and you can see the trail we came on!!

Here is the road we've taken up out of the canyon on the other side. We hit the river at 3pm and it was over 100 degrees. Mike's ATV started vapor locking, pulling the trailer; so he just removed the sides around the motor so more air could get to it. Worked great. ( The only mechanical problem on the whole trip) This was a heck of a switchback road but at least it was cooler the higher we climbed.

 

Wahoo, there's no place this trailer won't go!! Headed up to SeaFoam Lakes at 8000 feet. This was a knarly fun trail. 4x4, low and these things just crawled up the mountain. Unfortunately the picture doesn't do justice to the steepness!! Mike's spinning a lot of gravel out the back!

SeaFoam Lake - the reason we love the remote forest so much. The water is so pure you can see right to the bottom. Mike loves fly-fishing these high alpine lakes.

The WaterBoy is a great provider!!! Breakfast with hashbrowns. These are brook trout and although small, you can't beat the taste. They basically just melt in your mouth. We ate all 8 at one sitting!!

Cooking the fish, and although you can't tell, I have a can of OFF on the counter and my hood pulled over my head. The mosquitos were vicious- I guess there's not much to eat at 8000 feet!!

The Sawtooth Mountains in the background

 

The story behind this trail is that it SCARED THE SHIT OUT OF MONICA!!! We were in the thick of the wilderness (otherwise I would have just turned around and gone back!!!) It was 9000 feet and a sheer drop off all the way to the bottom. It was one vehicle wide. At this spot, we were on the saddle, so I was double damned with a sheer drop off on BOTH sides. Most of you may not know, but I am terrified of heights. And yet, my husband insists on taking me to the highest parts of the world, either on a sled or an ATV! He loves taking me way out of my comfort zone; and like an idiot, I keep following him!!

Pinyon Peak Lookout - the 2nd highest lookout in Idaho at 10,000 ft. It is built right on the edge of those rocks. I guarantee that I wouldn't be working that job !!!

More of the "Frank"

A Mule Deer buck trying to stay cool and keep the flies off.

Bighorn Sheep we saw on the River. Sorry guys, he's not a legal ram yet!!

Looking up the Middle Fork of the Salmon River. This is the most remote of all 3 forks of the river. A forest fire had started the day before and had already filled the canyons with smoke.

The last view of the country we traveled as we made the last descent towards civilization. If you look at the closest mountain you can barely make out horizontal white lines - that was the "road" we just came from!

Two dirty, but not that weary travelers!!!

The Fabcraft ATV Camp Trailer

**** Don't leave home without it ****