| Name: | Boise Ridge to Horseshoe Bend loop | 
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| Description: | For our Pioneer Day visit to Boise I decided to ride from the town. I was intrigued by possibility of riding the Boise Ridge road from Bogus Basin ski resort to Harris Summit - which is on the road from Idaho City to Horseshoe Bend. I got more excited when Google Maps and Topo both routed the way back to Boise through series of dirt roads a about 5 miles east of the busy highway that connects Horseshoe Bend with Boise. So, I set out on the plan to ride to Bogus Basin on the road, ca. 20 miles, then follow the ridge to Harris Summit, then down the road to Shaffer Creek, and take that over a summit and back to Boise. Total about 70 miles. That was the plan. I set out about 7.30am, since it was promising to be a hot day. It was fairly humid although not that hot during the Bogus Basin climb, I got quite sweaty, though. It's about 3400 ft vertical and I was at Bogus a bit after 9.30am. I filled up as much water as I could at a water fountain there (the shop is only open during the weekends), and then followed a dirt road that rounds around Shaffer Butte and then climbs about 500 ft to join with the ridge. The ridge was a beautiful stretch, with some ups and downs but generally slightly descending, The northern part had some logging activity so it was not as scenic, but, still, quite nice views. I was at Harris Summit a bit after 11am, reapplied sunscreen and went down the main dirt road. The road was not that much fun, parts of it were loose and washboarded, but, at least there was not much traffic so I did not get dusted much. Then I turned south to Shaffer creek - ignoring the dead end sign. I figured there'll be a gate which I'll climb over . That was the case about 2 miles up - there's a ranch. I continued for another couple of miles to a fork - one was going to Shaffer Canyon dead end, the other one which I wanted to take was supposed to go up Cartwright Canyon - but, the road up there was more-less non-existent. Not wanting to trek for miles over bushes, it was time for plan B - return to Boise via road. So, I rode another 4 miles down to Horseshoe Bend and took Hwy 55. Fortunately, there's an old highway 55 which goes away from the new one, so that's the one I took, it was a hot and unpleasant 1500 vertical ft, but, at least it was car free. The problem there was flats - I got a nail and a goathead - two flats - on this road stretch - probably because noone drives there anymore. By the time I reached the summit, I was ready for a cold drink, but, had to wait till I got to Eagle where I stopped at the first gas station to get some Gatorade. From there, I took less busy Hill Road back to Boise, that was a fairly pleasant stretch although at this point I was quite tired and ready to get it over with. Which in the end I did, although about 2 hours later than I planned to. Bottom line, a nice first half of the ride, and not so nice second half means I won't be repeating this loop again. An interesting option for the future could be to drop down from Harris Summit east to Grimes Creek and back to Boise via the Idaho City highway. | |
| URL: | TopoFusion Home Page | |
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| Total Distance: | 89.33 miles (143.76 km) |
| Total Trip Time: | 8:08:53 (7:08:05 moving time) |
| Total Climbing: | 8419 feet (2566 m) |
| Total Descending: | 8325 feet (2537 m) |
| Average Speed: | 12.52 mph (20.15 kph) |
