Not Easy but What a Ride

Story and Photos by Pam Streeby Astley

The Backcountry Discovery Routes began with the establishment of a nonprofit group devoted to creating motorcycle adventure riding on public roads, including Forest Service roads and other unpaved byways. The first such route the group mapped out in 2010 went south to north through Washington. Next came the Idaho Backcountry Discovery Route (IBDR) in 2012. Most of the Northwest now has such routes and a few have also been mapped in eastern states. In September 2020, the author, her husband, and a friend drove the IBDR in 4WD vehicles rather than on motorcycles. Below is a diary of that journey.

Day One

The official start is in Jarbidge, Nevada, but my husband Rick and I have taken that dusty and winding trip along Salmon Falls Creek many times and we wanted to avoid the Mormon crickets, which make the road look like it’s moving. Your vehicle gives off a constant crunching sound as it drives over them. The route is pretty but the last time we went it was full of ATVs.  Instead we began our trip at Glenns Ferry before the sun came up, and I was so full of anticipation, I had hardly slept the previous night.

Our friend Daniel took the trip with us in his big SUV. On our way to Anderson Ranch Reservoir, the pavement turned to dirt. When the sun came up, we stopped to air down the 4WD and make the ride a little smoother. We double-checked all our lists—it takes a lot of thought and planning for such an adventure. Before long, we were climbing through the trees. At every body of water we encountered, whether river or pond, we stopped so our dog Bella could get wet. When we reached about 4,800 feet in elevation, it was green and somewhat cooler than below. We topped a hill, looked down on the dam, crossed it on an attractive road, and followed the reservoir shore northward.

The beautiful Trinity Mountains were visible in the distance and along the reservoir people fished, boated, swam, and collected berries. The camping spots were super-crowded, side-by-side, not my favorite way to camp. Hawks, cranes, and lots of other birds watched the water, hoping to catch a glimpse of dinner. Who knew that in a couple hours we would go from this carefree scene to, “How did we get ourselves into this predicament?”

We weren’t sure where to set up camp for the evening but were looking forward to dinner and a fire. It seemed like the right decision to take a road less traveled around a road closure sign. Rick and I went first in our two-door 4WD and the road’s twists were no problem for its short wheel base. We figured Daniel’s luxury ride would be really beefy but wh en he slowly rounded a corner on the one-way road, the big SUV’s back passenger wheel hung in the air. It seemed inadvisable to roll the truck and ruin our adventure on the first day. Rick and Daniel used most of our recovery gear to dig, pile rocks, trim trees, and lay down tracks so the SUV could back up and get out of there. Slow, thoughtful maneuvers finally got us out of danger. By then, four hours had passed and it was dusk. The campgrounds along the busy dirt road to Pine were crowded and we were fortunate to find a spot. As we set up our tent and started the fire, we kept saying how lucky we felt. We had snacks for dinner and climbed into our sleeping bags.

Day Two

As I made breakfast for the three of us, I reflected that we had dodged a bullet yesterday. The weather was perfect today and I hoped we’d make it to Deadwood Reservoir, where my dad’s ashes are. When I was a kid, he used to take us up there to collect firewood—lots of good memories of our family there. We did reach the reservoir on the beautiful winding roads but it was very smoky and all the campsites were taken, which disappointed me. We played in the lake a while and let Bella swim, then jumped back into our vehicle to find somewhere for the night. As it turned out, we found the best camping spot along the river, Buck Mountain Campground. We had the whole place to ourselves. I washed laundry in the river and hung it to dry. We had a big fire and I made steak, mashed potatoes, and corn for dinner. We sat around the campfire shooting the breeze, enjoying our freedom.