Selway Somewhere Serenade
(The Still Untold Story)
July 30 - August 6, 2000
by Rob Jones
(Text
and Photos © copyright by authors, as indicated)
Sorry, no, these photos are not at full resolution - because I am running out of server space, argh!
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Hikers enjoy moosely company
(Click the image for a full-size view (28k); Photo by Rob)
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Ms. Moose warms her feet in a HS
(Click the image for a full-size view (21k); Photo by Rob)
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The Namesake: Bitterroot Flower
(Click the image for a full-size view (36k); Photo by Rob)
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Burbling, Gurgling Ms. Moose
(Click the image for a full-size view (10k); Photo by Rob)
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Cardboard cutout deer in camp
(Click the image for a full-size view (8k); Photo by Rob)
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Cicero enjoys the deep grass
(Click the image for a full-size view (20k); Photo by Rob)
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Bear Grass
(Click the image for a full-size view (13k); Photo by Rob)
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George and Bruce unload tired llamas
(Click the image for a full-size view (24k); Photo by Rob)
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Fire cloud near Darby Ranger Station
(Click the image for a full-size view (21k); Photo by C. Lagodich)
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Famous Sula & Elk F.S. photo - taken where the E. Fk. of the Bitterroot River crosses Hwy. 93
(Click the image for a full-size view (24k); Photo by John McColgan, U.S.F.S. firefighter)
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Hit this button in the text to return to the top
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Jumps to these sections: (click on
section name to go there, then on 'top' bear paw to come back here)
Selway Somewhere Serenade, by Rob
One version of the trip, by Rob
Notes & something to consider
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The Group at one of The Mayors' hot springs. L-R: Rob, George, Bruce (in back),
Carol, Garney, Deborah & Paul.
(Click the image for a full-size view (30k); Photo by George)
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First, a narrative poem:
Selway Somewhere Serenade:
by Rob
Selway Somewhere Serenade?
Wildness, Lochsa ramblings?
Exchange for money? No, no trade!
Where in the Selway? You ask
Bitterroot Mountains? Trammeling?
I will not tell, lest wilderness spirit take me to task!
Hotsprings capers, known by few
So lovely, so hot you'll poach
Ranger Sarah, George and llamas, here's to you.
Blackberry, Service, Thimble too
Loads of berries, on trails they encroach
Selway country, here's eating you.
Round the circle, shade of Redcedar
At happy hour, we burble
No tent poles, and who cares to be the leader?
What's that, a boulder in the lake?
Sounds of gurgle
It's Ms. Moose, and she's no fake!
Black Bear prints, deep in the dust
Eating berries, I assume
On a 15 mile tent pole quest, a mind is free of rust.
Moose guzzling from the hotsprings
Wild experiences bloom
In the Selway, wildness is a love thing!
Go to the Top
Day 1: Berry Nice:
Over Lolo Pass from Montana and into Idaho we 7
rolled in the Llamamobile, accompanied by Alfie, Snowball, and Cicero the
anxious-to-go harmonic-nosed llamas. The "we" are Bruce, Carol, Deborah, Garney,
George, Paul, and me, Rob. This is the famous Lolo and Lochsa country which so
stymied Lewis and Clark, but not the Nez Perce People (the Ni Mii Pu). As we topped
the pass, we dropped into a bowl of smoke. "Forest fire, ho!" Noted Bruce. Flames
licked uphill toward the connifer-choked ridges.
We visited the first hotsprings (HS) of the trip, relishing in its 115 degree
waters and slipping into the wildness that is Idaho. We camped somewhere along
the Lochsa River, where happy hour and stories began to flow, attended by a luscious
variety of wild berries, Blackberry, Service, Thimble too. Paul grazed his way toward
dinner, snacking on the delectable berries.
Day 2: Selway Sauna:
Lounging in the HS, peering at the barely
crescent moon, the soggy sauna memories fade as beginning planet light reflects in the
calm 101 degree water, somewhere in the Selway the trickling of warm waters
serenades us. It is still warm, after a very hot and humid day. Shaggy Redcedar lurk in
the shadows. During dinner, while eating one of those concoctions, George notes
"everything tastes better outdoors" and "my worst day in the wilderness is still better
than my best day at work."
Day 3: Surprise, no tent poles:
The group is probably lounging, again, in
the HS as I return to the trailhead to look for George's tent poles. No luck, so I
returned with my North Face tent, leaving the other useless shell in the llamamobile.
Hooray for bringing 'extra' equipment.
My plodding stopped with a lurch when my meditating mind processed what
I had just seen - Black Bear prints, deep in the dust, recently ground finer by the pack
string I just encountered. Wait, this means Ms. Bear had been here no longer ago than
5 minutes! I coasted to a stop to evaluate briefly, leaving the meditation to the trees
(standing meditation is best learned from trees). Ms. Bear's front paw was 5-6" across,
claws close to the toes, shaggy guard hair imprints in the deep dust on the sides of the
print. Moderate Black Bear, and very near, probably gathering berries for the new
year.
After a 15 mile tent pole quest hike, I caught up with the group, now lounging
in a crystal clear mountain stream. My feet were a bit flat, but the Idaho waters soon
fixed this.
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Cicero relishes the deep grass
(Click the image for a full-size view (20k); Photo by Rob)
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Day 4: Llama Delight:
Cicero is lying in his dinner, grass so deep only
his ears can be seen as he rests on his belly and munches. A cold stream bubbles and
burbles below camp, located on a once-maintained trail up the tree-studded slope to
the West.
George and Carol discuss prose and poetry. As the conversation unrolls, it
becomes too complex for my feeble abilities and talents to track, so I gaze at those big
banana llama ears batting flies, flicking above the tall grass, then disappearing.
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Burbling, Gurgling Ms. Moose
(Click the image for a full-size view (10k); Photo by Rob)
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Day 5: Bug Heaven:
Paul and I watch and listen in wonder as a deep
dragon guttural erupts somewhere near the black boulder just out from the lake shore.
With a clearing snort, a bulbous nose thrusts from the depths, defining the boulder as
Ms. Moose, snacking on aquatic plants.
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George and Bruce unload tired llamas
(Click the image for a full-size view (24k); Photo by Rob)
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A squadron of mosquitoes and deer flies ambush us as we rally for happy
hour, following a delightful swim in the lakes we share with the mooses. We bop
several of the large horse flies and bounce them off the speckled granite swim ramp,
where a lightning-fast frog gulps them on the second bounce.
Day 6: Down Elevator:
Here we are, raucous revelers back in our first
wilderness night HS, accompanied by a burgeoning bolus of stars as only a wild Idaho
sky provides, joined by three Kooskia horsemen wielding a half a gallon of Black
Velvet and grinning at our wilderness tales. A vagrant candle floats by, buoyed by my
butt pad, providing a Halloween glow to our wilderness home. A pan of chocolate
pudding makes the rounds between those of libations, oh my. Our knees recover from
over 3000 vertical feet of de-climbing from lake basin to HS home. Garney, with her
repaired knee, has certainly earned lounge time in the HS. Again, we talk with Ranger
Shawn as he makes his rounds, joining us, and adding humor, in the HS. He told us
that all open fires are now prohibited in the forest.
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Hikers enjoy a moose-a-rama
(Click the image for a full-size view (28k); Photo by Rob)
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Day 7: Moose-a-rama:
Ms. Moose guzzles from the HS as we relish,
just one more time, in the peaceful waters. Close enough to see a fly on her nose, it's
a rare viewing we enjoy. I try to look like a tree stump snapping photos while Carol
and George float for a closer experience. Here, we have closed the loop and we will
soon return to the greater heat of the trailhead.
Day 8: Sun Glow:
The goose-egg sun glows flaming orange as ashes
float onto the hood of the llamamobile. It's only 6 p.m. and yet it looks like dark-thirty.
The entire West appears to be on fire, and we long for respirators as we plow through
the purple gray of forest fire smudge.
The day started with a short hike to another delightful HS, where we met the
Mayor of the HS, and the past Mayor, complete with tooth-dotted grins and long
mopish hair. Carol in particular enjoyed talking with the Mayors. Then, we waited
on Lolo Pass while smoke cleared enough to get through the fire zone. On to
Hamilton, then Darby, where we found the road closed. We stopped at the fire info
center in Darby, where the sign said, "Bitterroot NF Closed!" We were required to
return to Missoula and again drive I-15 into the premature night.
As we thundered home into the night in the llamamobile, charging through
forest fire murk, we reminisced that in the Selway, wildness is a love thing!
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Famous Sula & Elk F.S. photo - taken where the E. Fk. of the Bitterroot River crosses Hwy. 93
(Click the image for a full-size view (24k); Photo by John McColgan, U.S.F.S. firefighter)
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Fire cloud near Darby Ranger Station
(Click the image for a full-size view (21k); Photo by C. Lagodich)
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Click here to see photos in the F.S. Fire Gallery!
Go to the Top
Note:
You will not see specifics in this trip report. Based on our continued
headlong rush into total obliteration via overpopulation, I challenge you to think
about how to keep some places safe (for a little while) from repercussions of Utah's
state motto, "Industrial Propagation, Now!" When the sustainable population of the
earth is estimated at 2 billion, aren't 6 BILLION people more than enough?! (We are
rushing toward 7 BILLION in a mere 13 years! Yikes!)
The point is, look at the Wilderness Vagabond Caveat and the Wild
Activist Links (links below and on main page), and please consider what you can do to reduce
the devastating effects of our burgeoning, bloating, bursting population pyramid,
coupled with extensive resource abuse via winnehogos, ORVs, second, third homes,
"luxury" homes, etc..... Do you or the earth really need that big house, that nth child or
grandchild, that hogomobile....?
Something to think about:
When asked how much wilderness the country needed, Bob Marshall
replied: "How many Brahms' symphonies do we need?"
"The earth was created with the assistance of the sun and it should be
left as it was. I never said the land was mine to do with it as I chose. The only one
with that right is the one who made it." Chief Joseph, Nez Perce, 1870"
"Peace comes within the souls of men, When they realize their oneness with
the universe." Black Elk
"Everyone talked, Chiefs talk, Lewis talk, Clark talk, Twisted Hair talk,
Red Bear talk, Sacajawea talk, and all make presents to other people." Many
Wounds the Younger, Ni Mii Pu (Nez Perce), 1806
Please make a present for your current relatives, for the future children of this, our
only planet, by exercising restraint. I hope that economists, and all residents of earth,
especially Americans, learn how to subtract, thus keeping something good for the future.
