Idaho! Lava tubes, sand dunes and hot springs, oh my! July 28- August 3th
I did it! I completed my 22nd marathon in my 18th state! This was my second marathon in 13 days, and the big goal of my road trip! With the marathon starting at 0530, I still had a full day once the race was over!!
After doing laundry and resting a bit, I walked around downtown and toured the city. Idaho Falls has a nice downtown and waterfront area, there was an outdoor market that I enjoyed that evening.
The next day, I was on my way to continue the Idaho State tour. Since I’ve now got a marathon done in this state, I want to visit as much of the state as possible. First stop of the day was Craters of the Moon National Park. The park was otherworldly, fields of hardened lava dominated the landscape. I hiked to the top of a cinder cone to view the park, however, there were fires burning 100 miles away which made the landscape appear hazy.
Next, I did an easy hike to Indian Tunnel, a short lava tube. You were required to get a permit to go into the tunnels, which was just a short talk by the ranger about a virus killing the bat population, and a bat stamp to your hand. The lava tube had openings in the sky, so you didn’t need a headlamp. You could easily walk to the end of the tube, and crawl out a small opening to hike back to the start over the lava field. The hike back was wall marked with posts.
Back in the car, I drove to Twin Falls, where I rented a kayak (thanks Kathy) and paddled under the Perrine bridge to watch the BASE jumpers jump off the bridge! I was cursing just watching them, it was exhilarating!! I couldn’t get enough, and I stopped at the top of the bridge to watch some more from a different angle.
I made my way to my home campground for the next 2 nights, Bruneau Dunes State Park. I rented a sand board to ride down the dunes! The big dune is 470 feet and it was slow moving to get to the summit. My feet were getting buried with each step I took and near the top, I had to stick my board in the sand and walk 3 steps behind it and repeat because of the steep grade. I watched 3 other people come up behind me literally crawling. Once I reached the top, the tried to walk the ridge a little ways. It was tough, the winds were blowing sand into my face and teeth, and there was a steep drop off on both sides. From what I understand, people do hike the ridge, but it had me a bit scared. Plus, I had a sand board, so my goal was to sled down, which was also scary, but scary fun! Due to the steep grade, I had to use my feet as brakes on the initial decent. After I hiked back to the car, I took my hat off and a bunch of sand fell from my hat! I expected the sand everywhere else, but not on the top of my head. I was thankful the campground had showers. The weather hit 100 degrees that day, but I was off the sand before it got too hot to enjoy.
The next morning, I headed North to Stanley, but not before stopping to hike the Alice Lake trail. I heard from several people that this was the hike to do in the Sawtooth Mountain range, and with limited time, I go where the locals send me. I made the right choice. The trail was beautiful and rocky, and with a 1600 elevation gain in just over 5 miles, not too difficult either. The weather was perfect, in the 80s. I learned from a local that Stanley is one of the colder places in the state. The local lived in the hottest part of the state, where I would soon be visiting, Riggins.
After a long day of hiking, I drove to Mountain Village Resort and rented a room for the night. The resort owns a private hot spring, which you can only visit if you are their guest. I soaked soon after my arrival, and again the next morning with my coffee.
I soaked in three hot springs that day! On my way to my next destination, Burgdorf, I stopped at Kirkham hot spring and spent over an hour there. These natural springs have soaking pools right on the river, where you can sit in the middle of a competition between the river water and the hot springs. As I soaked, I would get a rush of cold river water, followed by a blanket of hot spring water. It was hard to leave these springs. I found myself going back to different pools and soaking each time I got up to leave. These springs also have water running off the rocks above the springs, simulating a hot shower.
Knowing I was driving to another spring made it easier to leave this sweet place. I made my way to Burgdorf, the place I was most excited about visiting. I reserved one of the rustic cabins there, and it was like stepping back in time. I rent cabins all the time in Alaska, but this place was different. Very much in the backcountry, although you can drive there, Burgdorf is a large hot spring “resort”. When I arrived, I was greeted by one of the caretakers who had been living off the grid for several years. Despite the lack of amenities, like electricity, the main cabin was equipped to make pizza, which I ordered for dinner (and breakfast) that night. The hot spring was quite hot, and I floated in a kid sized blue flowered tube for over an hour while waiting for my dinner. It was the most relaxed I’ve been on the trip so far.
I had a long drive the next morning, but gained an hour going from Mountain time to Pacific time. I awoke at 0430 and brought my coffee down to the hot springs by 0515 in the dark. I walked into the spring with my headlamp on, and it was a different world when I turned it off. I was not surprised that I was the only one in the pool. With the ambient temperature just hovering above 40 degrees, the soaking was perfect. I learned how to float on my back that morning, but I also had some assistance from the floatation noodles, for the ultimate relaxation. It was still dark as I was getting out of the springs, so I figured I’d drop my bathing suit and walk back with my hoodie and towel on. The pool beckoned for one last naked dip, which I succumbed to for just a few minutes.
I had a Hell’s Canyon tour booked for this day, which got cancelled. The owners gave me the number for Killgore Adventures instead. It could not have worked out better. I learned from one of the locals that the captain, Kirk, knows the river better than anyone else. I arrived an hour early, but I reserved a camping spot on their property, and I was allowed to set up camp, so time was not wasted. I also booked a shuttle down to the dock, and I was the only person who had done so, which allowed me to ride down with the captain. The ride down and back where almost the highlight of the trip. I got to hang out with the boys, and I was let in to their small town culture a bit. It was refreshing to converse with these strangers that allowed themselves to be vulnerable around me. The captain told me how he and his mom started the business, he said, “I’m not good at a lot of things, but I’m damn good at driving a boat.” And he was. The ride down river was laid back, the time for picture taking. The ride back up was white water central! He navigated class 5 rapids with his jet boat, one rapid we hit just right and the water flew up over the boat, soaking those in the back. The water rained from the ceiling for several minutes afterwards, and once it did, the captain took us back in for another soaking. The last stop on the tour was to a swimming hole. I am not a swimmer and don’t choose to go into the water much, but the river was 72 degrees that day. I was the last one out of the river, practicing my new skill of floating on my back, and secretly knowing that I’m making my wife proud.
There were fires burning all over Idaho during my visit there. I heard from a local that the smoke brings down the yellow jackets, as they were all over my campsite. During dinner and breakfast, they were buzzing around my food and dishes, and I actually ate in my tent. I don’t know why I didn’t come up with this idea earlier, as I was bothered by black flies and mosquitoes in the past. Although the yellow jackets can definitely cause more damage, they were quite the nuisance, I luckily did not get stung.
I had to drive through a fire zone at one point, entering the smoke and immediately dropping my driving speed down. I could only see a few feet in front of me, and I could taste the smoke, even after I cleared the area. When I would sweat, smoke and hot springs seeped from my pores. That was my last day in Idaho, and I was making my way back to Washington. It was a long drive day and I drove past the town of Cottonwood, which I was curious about, but I couldn’t remember why. Then I saw it, the dog bark park b’n’b. I had to turn back to visit this curious place. I struck up a long conversation with the owners. He was in the back, working with the wood, and she was painting wooden dogs. Their gift shop filled with wooden dogs and other cute creations. They even created a large fire hydrant that held a port o potty, which was free for travelers to use.
Since I was already in town, I had read about a church and I asked the b’n’b owner if I should check it out. She told me about the walk up to an old graveyard, which intrigued me. I love old graveyards. It wasn’t a church that I visited, but a working monastery. The nuns pray 3 times a day there, and I think I felt their power of prayer. This was a calming place and guests could freely walk the property. I did take the trail up to the graveyard, and along the way were the Stations of the Cross. I grew up Catholic, but this was the first time I truly understood the Stations. The last station was placed in the graveyard. There were deer feeding in the woods along the trail. There was also a chapel built out of stone and wood located about half way up the trail. It was a lovely stop and the serenity lasted for hours afterwards.
Last stop in Idaho was in the town of Lewiston, for a photo op of the town’s oldest bridge. Today’s stops live up the old adage; it’s not the destination, but the journey! Onward to Washington!
Review of Idaho Falls marathon:
I was only able to find one review of this race online, and the review was for the half, so I thought I would give my input of this race. This was the smallest marathon I’ve run, I think only 200 participants. There was no expo, but the number pick up was convenient and easy. The organizers also provided us with a salad and baked potato bar, which was delicious, keeping in mind I’ve been eating out of a cooler for over a month.
The next morning, we boarded the bus at 0430 sharp to be driven to the start. Parking was easy and the buses were already waiting and warm when I parked at 0410. There were 3 buses for the marathon and we caravanned to the start line. The start line was super laid back, the race started once everyone finished using the 5 port-o-pots. We started in the dark, but it was a full moon, so that brightened the area. After the “go” announcement, we began on a short dirt road stretch before hitting pavement, and the sun came up rather quickly after the 0540 am start. The first 17 miles were beautiful. Rolling hills, but mostly downhill. At mile 10, there was a long uphill, and after that about 6 miles of downhill. I believe we started around 6000 feet elevation and I heard the town is about 3500 or 4000 foot in elevation.
There were no mile markers to assist us. The roads also were not closed to traffic. Up until mile 17, it was not too big of a problem, except the traffic did blow by us pretty fast. There were no signs warning drivers that runners were on the road. After mile 17, traffic was a problem. We had to cross busy intersections. While there were volunteer crossing guards, who were awesome, they could not walk in front of moving traffic, so there were times we needed to wait for traffic. The volunteers were awesome and the water stations were great! Cold water, snacks and watermelon! Everyone was very friendly and they cheered us on. There were otherwise no spectators at this race. Two people mowing their lawns gave me a “good job” nod. There were volunteers stationed at some of the turns, but otherwise, we followed colored tape marking the turns. While it did seem intuitive, at mile 20, you don’t want to think about where you are going or wondering if you are going the right way. The race also seemed a bit long and everyone’s GPS was slightly different.
The finish line area was great, although food wise, just breads and donuts to eat. There was a tent set up and several people were lying on the ground recovering, it was a comfortable setting. There was also a wonderful message therapist giving free massages. This was the first time I’ve gotten a message after a race, I should do that more often!
I only met one person who was doing this race as a first marathon, and he was local. All the other racers I spoke to were chasing the 50 states or they were marathon maniacs. I would not recommend this race to a first timer! But if you are chasing the 50 states, then it will fit the bill.
Stats:
Miles run- Idaho Falls Marathon- 26.2!
Miles hiked-16
Wildlife spotted- big horned sheep, black bear, deer, more snakes, bald eagle, osprey, blue heron
Camp meals- getting repetitive, mostly red meat meals, like burgers. My cooler is filled with condiments that I’ve only used once, like BBQ sauce, soy sauce. I did grill a killer BBQ chicken at the sand dunes, with fried potato, onion and zucchini
Bugs- The hardest part (besides being away from Candace) of camping, the mosquito bites covering my body, black flies buzzing, and yellow jackets attacking my meals and dishes.