Spying the Land ...

One's first thought while looking over 27-1 is one of wondering whether refunds are possible on the sheep tags. 

We left the last gas-up place at McCall, over Lick Creek Summit, down to the Secesh, South Fork, up the East Fork of the South Fork to Yellowpine, and then to Stibnite.  Stibnite is an old mining ruins.  The road then climbs as the river diminishes, then bends up Fern Creek to Monumental Summit. 

The view from Monumental Summit is awesome.  Murphy Peak and the Red Peak area on the right, and the Monumental Creek drainage going deep into the Idaho Wilderness.  The elevation is 8500 ft - the weather was cool.

From the Summit the road dives and switchbacks on east, forming a corridor of non-wilderness to the Thunder Mountain mining area.  The road itself brings mood of seriousness - the seriousness of having a breakdown so far from anything - and in an area that could close due to weather or other.  A towing or repair bill out there would be financially crippling - bringing an extra tire, or two, would go on the checklist for the next trip.

Thunder Mountain is like Monumental Summit on top again.  This time you can look into the Marble Creek drainage of Unit 27, and on to Shellrock Peak to the east which divides 26 and 27.  Marble Creek looks handle-able, until you realize that you can only see about the upper third of it clearly - then you're sobered by the sheer hugeness of the area.  Shellrock Peak lies several days journey east - not the little hill just across the first valley.  One wonders if even Shellrock is do-able on a hunt.  Certainly anything on the other side would need to be hauled out down - and to an airfield - and even that would be a huge haul.  And from this view - which is quite a view - it dawns on you that you can only still see a portion of Unit 27.  Scary.

We climbed Lightning Peak for a better view - and crossed fresh elk tracks.  The Red Peak area to the southwest looked rugged.  The first drainage to the south looked huge - but hardly registers on the map.  Rain clouds approach.

Dad insists that Shellrock Peak is the hill just past Black Pole Mountain - I wish he's right - but know he's wrong.  The Middle Fork canyon at the northeast of 27-1 looks eternities away.  The Bighorn Crags are in a squall and barely visible in the distant haze.

Selah ...

We visited Dewey Mine and chatted about what brought on names like Suicide Rock, and what people did clear back here.  Then drove back to Monumental Summit and then took the road out to the Mule Hill Trail into Indian Creek.  Indian Creek didn't look as vast - but certainly vast enough.  Big Baldy Peak to the southeast was impressive - we tried to find a way to get closer to Big Baldy Ridge - but the road started getting worse (do-able but slow), and we were almost out of day.

We drove back to Stibnite, Yellowpine, and at the bar of one of the only places to eat the `Hewlett Packard' lady told us the only way to get a hamburger was to go to the Fire Department benefit BBQ.  We got a good meal, but declined on the offer to stay for the dance afterward, and the pot-luck the day following.  On the way back we tried to find access to the Big Baldy Ridge area from Johnson Creek - but only found jeep trails not even as good as the one we abandoned beyond Mule Hill.  We would perhaps have to scratch access from Big Baldy Ridge. 

On to Landmark, Warm Lake, Cascade, and then the cabin.  We had spent some 13 hours reconning. Sixty-forty joking-serious we talk of hunting without ammo if we can't get refunds on our tags.  Or maybe fifty-fifty.