In addition to the issue below, I have learned that Governor Otter has pledged Idaho’s ‘help’ in regard to the transportation of Tar Pit Sands equipment by offering up use of Idaho’s largest campground and gateway into the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness as a parking lot for the Canada-bound vehicles.

Wilderness Gateway Campground has over 90 units and is located just off highway 12, which is along the proposed route of the equipment. It is the trailhead for Stanley Hot Springs. Weir Creek and Jerry Johnson Hot Springs are both accessible from highway 12 as well.

From Friends of the Clearwater…

The Exxon Mobil Corporation has been developing a huge open pit mine in Alberta, Canada for a few years now. This project has been referred to in the media as the Tar Pit Sands project. This project effects the Clearwater Basin because the oil processing equipment is being shipped up the Columbia River Basin this summer, and then unloaded at the Port of Lewiston. The equipment is then being loaded onto trailers and driven up the Wild & Scenic Lochsa River corridor, up and over Lolo Pass into Montana, and eventually into Canada. Transporting of these mega rigs are to begin in early fall. The dimensions of the rigs are between 170′–210′ feet long, approximately 25′ feet wide, and up to 30 feet tall. Over 200 of these industrial processing rigs will weigh up to 550,000 pounds.

As you may be aware, the local and regional media has just begun to report on this critical issue and citizen awareness has just begun. Many citizens and environmental groups are outraged about the fact that there has been no public involvement or scoping done by public officials and there has also not been any environmental review. Public meetings in townships along Route 12 are supposed to be announced, but so far they have not taken place. For the most part, the public has been kept in the dark and the potential ecological consequences have been swept under the rug.

Therefore, Friends of the Clearwater is asking you to Take Action and write a letter or send an email to the Idaho Transportation Department, Governor Butch Otter, and the editors of our local papers. You can reach Alan Frew of the Idaho Transportation Department at: 3311 W. State Street, PO Box 7129, Boise, Idaho 83707-1129, Attention Alan Frew or email him at Alan.Frew@itd.idaho.gov. You can also call the department to voice your concerns at (208) 334-8000.

You can contact Governor Butch Otter by emailing him at governor@gov.idaho.gov or submitting comments via his web site at http://gov.idaho.gov/WebRespond/contact_form.html. You can call his office at (208) 334-2100.

If you wish to contact the editor’s of the Lewiston Tribune, the Moscow-Pullman Daily News, or the Idaho Statesman they can be reached at letters@lmtribune.com, letters@dnews.com, and editorial@idahostatesman.com. Both the Tribune and the Daily News have 250 word limits and the Statesman has a 200 word limit.

Here are some important talking points you may wish to consider:

Rt. 12 is a federally designated Scenic Byway (Northwest Passage Scenic Byway) and All-American Road
Rt. 12 runs through the heart of the Nez Perce Reservation and historic Lewis & Clark country
Rt. 12 parallels 2 federally designated Wild & Scenic Rivers, the Middle Fork of the Clearwater and Lochsa Rivers
Rt. 12 is already a dangerous, narrow, curve-hugging road to travel on

Travel/Tourism, Public Safety, Property Values, Recreation and Way of Life will all be negatively impacted. The Clearwater and Lochsa Rivers are an important fishery for both native and anadromous fish species. Numerous wildlife species cross in their pursuit of food and habitat.

Please continue to use this web site to get updates about this massive industrial transportation project threatening our lifestyles and precious resources. Another good source of information is http//:www.fightinggoliath.org and/or http://northernrockiesrisingtide.wordpress.com.

Thank you so much everyone for taking the time to get involved and make a difference!

Related: Visit Exxpose Exxon

Great video of Stanley Hot Springs (not mine)!

August is a great time to visit the White Cloud Mountains, located in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area (SNRA), northeast of Stanley, Idaho.

Hoodoo Hot Springs is also located in the White Clouds, and is near multiple backcountry trailheads to alpine lakes that are anywhere from a 2 mile jaunt to a 20 mile expedition to reach.

While Hoodoo Lake is a mere 2 miles/2K ft hike, the trail is … rustic to say the least. Twists, snags, deadfall, huge boulders, jagged cliffs, scenic waterfalls and incredible views of the White Clouds; this hike has it all.

Bring lots of water, there’s any icy cool lake waiting at the top and a stellar soak at the bottom near the haunted Hoodoo Mines. J/K. Or, am I?

The access road, appropriately numbered FSR 666 is a tire killer. I made it in and out ok, but 3 of 6 other vehicles that drove into the area took on flat tires.

And, the bugs! Were insane! I’ve been out here a few times a few different years and this one took the gold. Luckily, I had a mesh shelter that I finally got to put to the test … it was so awesome to be able to take a bug break, especially when eating. At least it was only during the day, shortly after nightfall they thinned out quick. High altitude has that effect.

The hike to the lake was a surprise challenge. The reward at the top made it more than worth the brutal scramble during 90 degree heat. And, the hot spring at the bottom felt good on the muscles and took the chill out of the evening mountain air.

Mountain Village Hot Springs Resort in Stanley, Idaho pictures…

View the complete listing on IdahoHotSprings.com

Video Features: The hike out to the soak shack, inside the soak shack overview, hot springs pool and soak

View the complete listing for the Mountain Village Resort, located in Stanley, Idaho.

Stanley, Idaho is well-known for being a tad chilly. It has even been, at times, the coldest place in the United States. My good friend that works at Denali National Park will surely contest this.

So, you might be thinking – why on Earth would anyone want to spend spring break in such a place? Well, for starters, Stanley is quiet and engulfed by the mighty Sawtooth Mountains. Other benefits include: hot springs (of course), lack of people, snowshoeing, incredible scenery, wildlife and yes – homemade blackberry pie (this one was a bonus).

One evening spent soaking and gazing at the Sawtooths involved watching a live episode of the playful coyote. In this episode, the coyote romped and rolled around in crunchy snow amongst a gaggle of nervous Canadian Geese. Much better than any talk box show I could think of.

This particular natural hot springs is rather deluxe, and is only available to guests of the Mountain Village Resort. Which I ended up calling ‘Mountain View’ a few times in the video clip. It’s rather difficult not to think ‘Mountain View’ up in Stanley when surrounded by the majestic Sawtooth Mountains.

In a nutshell; staying at the Mountain Village Resort was better than expected thanks to friendly staff, clean rooms and good food (homemade pie!). I can also imagine that cleaning up their guest-use hot springs facilities is quite the chore. I thought it was rare to see a garbage can at a hot springs. Despite the presence of the receptacle, many guests still opted to throw their trash everywhere else. One would hope that those visiting areas like this would be least likely to be trash mongers. One would hope.

Here’s the skinny on Mountain Village Resort; includes additional pictures and video.

Stanley, Idaho Map

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References

Sawtooth Mountains on Wikipedia

Stanley, Idaho Chamber of Commerce

Stanley Idaho on Wikipedia

[where: Stanley, ID]

Found a great video on YouTube that features Stanely Idaho, the surrounding area and Slate Creek Hot Springs (also near Stanley):

More video and pictures of Slate Creek Hot Springs in Idaho

General Description
Rocky user built pools that feature fluctuating temperatures with heavy silt bottoms.

Seasonal Notes
Pools submerge during high water.

Camping Notes
No camping at the hot springs since the campground is no more. However, plenty of official campgrounds along HWY 75 and even some primitive camping options.

Old Camping Notes
Hot Springs are located in Basin Creek Campground off HWY 75 along Basin Creek. There is a trail leading to the hot springs from campsite #4. There is also access via the dirt road on the other side of Basin Creek.

08.05.07 Trip Report

The main pool was too cool and the source pool too hot. Plenty of slit and not so great temps prevented me from soaking. I think a better pool could be built, but spring runoff will destroy it every season. Why? When there are so many other great soaks nearby. Too close to the highway anyways.
Rating: D

08.18.06 Trip Report

Basin Creek Campground is no more. Apparently, the flooding damage was too great. I wanted to check on the hot springs but the side road was closed due to bridge construction. The bridge crossing Basin Creek had washed out.

View the complete listing for Basin Creek Campground Hot Springs in Idaho

Cove AKA Kem AKA Basin Creek Hot Springs in Central Idaho near Stanley.

General Description
Rocky user built pools with gravel/rock bottoms that are a short hike from the highway parking area near Stanley.

Seasonal Notes
Pools submerge during high water.

Camping Notes
No camping at the hot springs. However, plenty of official campgrounds along HWY 75 and even some primitive camping options.

08.05.07 Trip Report

Maybe next time? The temps were too sucky… again. I soaked my feet, though.
Rating: D

View the complete listing for Cove Hot Springs in Idaho

General Description
A rebar reinforced 6 person sunken wooden box (approx. 6ft x 6ft/3ft depth) with seating, cold and hot water plumbing and a drain plug await at the end of a short hike and a bumpy, unpaved forest service road. Please drain after use to preserve the soaking box.

Seasonal Notes
Spring runoff has demolished the structure erected at the hot springs time and time again; imagine what could happen to the road – drive carefully in spring.

Typically, during winter, locals try to keep the road to the hot springs plowed. However, keep in mind the geographic location of this hot springs; 10 inches of snow can drop in mere hours. Again, be very careful. It should also be noted that harsh summer storms can oftentimes turn the road into a muck pot – there have been a few times where the road has actually washed away – leaving campers and hot springers stranded until rescue.

Camping Notes
Plenty of nearby National Forest primitive sites to choose from along the forest road, and many primitive and official campgrounds along highway 75. New for 05/06 is a small camping site next to the parking area trailhead. Don’t camp here unless you are ready for round-the-clock visitors.

08.03.07 – 08.05.07 Trip Report

Great trip, stellar soak. Increase in trash and bugs; moderate amount of visitors. I encountered an interesting couple on the evening of the 4th. After the couple had been soaking for around 5 hours I went to get my soak-on. The two textiles were friendly enough. However, the dude was heavily wasted and kept asking me question after question while being totally rude to his wife. She eventually convinced him to leave, but not after I endured a full hour of not so nice banter. I sunk down into the hot springs after they left, looked up and let out a big sigh. The blanket of stars above my head more than made up for it.
Rating: A

View the Complete Listing for Slate Creek Hot Springs in Central Idaho

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