Story:
Gary, Chuck, Buzz, and I departed the Burgdorf Campground on our ATVs and Fatcat on the Warren Wagon Road in route to the abandoned lookout at Smith Knob. The first stop was at the bridge over the Secesh River where Gary spotted Chinook Salmon in the river. There were at least five of them we saw. We took photographs with mixed success. These fish have traveled over 700 miles from the ocean to get to this point. They have missed gill nets and traversed dams in order to return to this area and spawn.
Gary, Chuck, Buzz, and I departed the Burgdorf Campground on our ATVs and Fatcat on the Warren Wagon Road in route to the abandoned lookout at Smith Knob. The first stop was at the bridge over the Secesh River where Gary spotted Chinook Salmon in the river. There were at least five of them we saw. We took photographs with mixed success. These fish have traveled over 700 miles from the ocean to get to this point. They have missed gill nets and traversed dams in order to return to this area and spawn.
Continuing on, we proceeded to Warren, Idaho where I videoed the town from my ATV. The sun was not helpful, but I videoed anyway. Warren is still home to an active gold mine. Warren has four or five inhabitants during the winter and receives their mail via a bush pilot/plane. This whole area is covered by snow eight months of the year.
The road to Smith Knob skirts along the wilderness area and is steep, rugged terrain. If you travel this road in a jeep/pickup bring a good chainsaw, due to large down timber across the road. It's a good idea to bring a chainsaw no matter how you are traveling.
Mountain lion sign was in the road and black bear sign was abundant where the Raines Creek Trail intersects the Smith Knob Road.
The view is spectacular from the old lookout site. The Forest Service removed the unused lookout several years ago. After some more exploring, we returned to Burgdorf.
Tags:
Frank Church Wilderness, Raines Creek Trail, Paul Reece, Smith Knob Lookout, Warren, Idaho, Chinook Salmon, Secesh River, Warren Wagon Road, Warren Summit, Burgdorf Summit, Polaris 550 XP, Fatcat
Frank Church Wilderness, Raines Creek Trail, Paul Reece, Smith Knob Lookout, Warren, Idaho, Chinook Salmon, Secesh River, Warren Wagon Road, Warren Summit, Burgdorf Summit, Polaris 550 XP, Fatcat
Comments (1)
End of Sept, my group cut out a huge fallen tree just up the trail to the lookout from the wooden furniture. We cut out wide enough for ATVs but if you take something larger in you will need to do some more work.
by gbraach on Oct 27, 2010
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