Copper Basin, Idaho Eclipse trip (1 Viewer)

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Aug 29, 2011
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Santa Barbara, CA
I was walking the dog a week or so in my ‘hood here in beautiful Park City and stopped to visit one of my neighbors who is the builder of these cool off road trailers called Escapod Escapod-Trailers
When I told Chris I was going up to central Idaho to go fishing and see the total solar eclipse. He graciously offered to let me use one of his trailers for the week, which I accepted. That was the impetus to write my first trip report.

I apologize for the lousy photos, but you can blame Apple for that.

We decided to head out last Saturday AM for Copper Basin which is an area between Ketchum and Mackay on the East Fork of the Big Lost River. As usual, rather than getting out at 6:00 AM, we finally got going around 9:00, loaded up with 15 extra gallons of gas, a fully packed fridge, a case of wine and all the usual accoutrements for 5 days in the boonies. We were still hoping to beat the rush north but were worried after the hoopla about how crowded it was going to be.

Luckily, as we headed north on I-80 to I-84 to I-15, the traffic was no busier than a usual Saturday AM. Blazing north, the Escapod towed much like our rafting gear trailer- almost like it wasn’t there.

We gassed up in Blackfoot and headed across the lava rock desert towards Arco and north to Mackay. We stopped for lunch at a nice little park in Mackay, Idaho .
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After that it was north again to the turnoff to Copper Basin. We drove past a large gathering- the Mackay Eclipse Festival or something like that. It looked great- in the meadows beside the Big Lost River and the landing area for the hang glider flights off of Borah Peak. Borah Peak is the highest point in Idaho and was the location of the 1983 earthquake at 6.9 that actually caused the top to rise 1 foot and the Lost River Valley to drop 8 feet!

We headed east on Trail Creek Road, past the town of Chilly. There was only a single sign referencing Cilly- “Chilly Cemetery”. A few miles later, we hit the gravel road and aired down. The roads at this point were in really good shape- none of the washboard we’d run into later!

Just before the turn off to Copper Basin, we came across an airstrip beside the road with a couple of twin engine planes and a bunch of cars parked- not a good sign for the crowds we were hoping to avoid. At the turn off itself, we saw a pop up tent with a table and people sitting like that were waiting for other to come by- again not a good sign.

We turned off and went south on FR 135 into Copper Basin. When we stopped at the junction of FR 135 and 136 to let the dog out, there must have been 6-8 cars taking the Copper Basin Road. We decided to take the Wildhorse Creek Road instead of the Copper Basin road- big mistake! We drove the entire way down to the campground at the end of the road and saw a vehicle pulled off at virtually every single site. We turned around and were discussing what we should do, assuming that the Copper Basin area would be ever worse. As luck would have it we ran into a Forest Service truck and stopped them to get some info. The guys told us that there were, surprisingly, not nearly as many people in Copper Basin as Wildhorse Creek so we turned right and into Copper Basin.

We had been into this area before on our way back from Stanley and were surprised to see about 4 brand new homes built inside a huge fenced area along the East Fork of the Big Lost River- It must have been some sort of inholding in the Salmon-Challis National Forest that someone figured out how to develop.

As we drove south, we saw a few cars, but nothing like Wildhorse Creek. We finally turned off at an unmarked road heading toward the river. SCORE! A great campsite right along the river with a view of Big Black Dome to the west and Porphyry Peak to the north. We set up camp and I grabbed my fly rod and fished with Mac the dog while Candace poured a nice glass of rose and got her book out.
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Fishing was great, catching was terrible so I joined Candace for a glass of wine and relaxed. Shortly thereafter, I started preparing salmon to cook on our firepan that we use on river trips. We use it almost exclusively now to both cook our dinners and have cave man TV after dark. We start the charcoal briquettes, cook dinner and then put some wood on the charcoal to start our camp fire.

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Off to bed in the queen sized bed in the Escapod. Read one page before turning off the lights and lights out!


More to come.
 
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Off to bed in the queen sized bed in the Escapod. Read one page before turning off the lights and lights out!

Saturday night was cold!! We woke up in the middle of the night freezing. Grabbed the heavier bags from the Land Cruiser, put on fleece beanies and wool socks and right back to sleep. Got up before sunrise to a hard frost on the ground- definitely not in any forecast I looked at, but not really a problem when you’re prepared.
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Candace with gloves, down and coffee with Black Rock Dome in the background

Ate a quick breakfast we decided to go for a hike in Bella’s Canyon- hopefully to the lake. As we headed up the trail, Candace remarked how chewed up the trail was. It wasn’t long before we found out why- cattle, lots and lots of cattle. All cow/calf units grazing everywhere- in the aspens, pines and meadows. We have never seen that number of cattle in such a relatively small and narrow canyon. We hiked past 6 riders who were looking for cattle- apparently there was a large roundup going on. After hiking for 2 hours, it was evident we weren’t prepared to go all the way to the lake so we reluctantly turned around and had a late lunch at the trailhead.

After lunch we drove around what is called the Copper Basin Loop Road that, as the name implies, circles around the edge of the basin- pretty drive with some antelope in the distance. We scouted out the Burma Pass road as an alternative to getting back to Mackay but were convinced it wasn’t a good idea by the sign that said “No trailers or cars recommended on this road.”

I convinced Candace to stop by the East Fork so she could read and I could fish which she was happy to do in a nice spot on the river bank. I headed off to fish and had one of the better afternoons I can ever remember. Wet wading in my flipflops (forgot my wading boots) and shorts and catching lots of 8-14 rainbows and brookies is a heavenly way to spend 3 hours in the warm sunshine.

As we were getting ready to leave, an older gentleman and his two grandkids and their dog came up and we started talking. He told us he grew up in Rupert, Idaho and that he had been fishing the East Fork Big Lost River for all his life- over 60 years. He said it looked pretty much the same now as when he first remembers fishing there, except the roads are a hell of a lot better now.

Back to camp where I decided to set up the awning. I’m usually not a fan of anything that sets up ropes and poles for me to trip over or run into in the night but tried this one for ducks. It was easy to do and
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provided a goodly amount of shade.

I fired up the instant hot water heater and we each took a nice warm shower to freshen up after Bella Canyon and fishing.

Then it was time for a glass of wine or two, elk roast in garlic and butter for dinner, a night cap and some cave man TV then into the Escapod for the night.

Monday morning dawned clear and cold again. I made coffee and took Mac for a walk along the river. About a mile away, we saw a camp with 3 vehicles that hadn’t been there the day before. We guessed they were just coming in for one night before the bid event. We had decided to hangout in camp until after the eclipse so I did a little fishing, a little reading and a lot of ball throwing with Mac. Right before
11:00 AM, we turned the beach chairs to the south and got out the eclipse glasses and started the festivities. All of you who were fortunate enough to experience the entire total solar eclipse know what I mean when I say words cannot describe the whole experience. We were amazed at how dark it became and how cold it got. Candace was glad she had her down jacket at the ready.
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This is how dark it was during the total eclipse
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Mac and I with our eclipse glasses on during the totality ( sorry I am not enough of a tech ninja to rotate this pic)

After the big event, we decided to go for a hike in Broad Canyon. We met a few hikers who had camped up the canyon and saw a big bull moose eating water plants in a beaver pond- forgot the camera so you’ll have to take my word for it just like all the fish I caught!

Back to camp for a repeat of the previous evening except it was Duroc ham pork chop with grilled scallions, grilled potatoes and an arugula avocado salad.

Tuesday morning was a repeat as well.
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Unfortunately we were out of wine so it was time to pack up and head back to civilization. Traffic was definitely worse than on the way up, but not too bad through Idaho. We stopped at the Portneuf Brewing Company for lunch and had a triple IPA that was even hoppier than our Red Rye IPA which is saying a lot. Great food, beer and staff.

Then it was back onto I-15 which was not too bad until we got to the junction of I-15 and I-84 where the traffic was stopped. Having partaily grown up on the family ranch in Farr West, not too far away, I knew the back roads well enough to get us past the stoppage and back onto I-15 near Corrine. Once we get off I-15 and back on I-84 traffic was a breeze ‘til we got home to Park City.

A great trip to celebrate the 2017 total solar eclipse and revisit an old favorite area. The Escapod was impressive- this coming from a hard core camper. Hot showers and a queen size bed off the ground goes a long way for me these days.
 

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