What is it: It is a self-paced self-guided ride through the mountains of Montana and Idaho on forest service roads.
When: August 16-22, meeting at West Fork camp ground just outside of Darby MT the 16th and heading out the 17th
Where: Magruder Corridor
Who: Whoever wants to join in, people of all ages have ridden with us in the past mid 20’s to 70+ I think this year we are going to have some teen's
The Plan: To ride for 6 days and survive off what we carry on our atv's well kind of… LOL
Activities: Prospect, Fish, Camp, Eat, swap stories, Drink and be merry and enjoy God’s country
Hi everyone,
I have traveled this corridor 2 times in the past and it is a blast. This is my first time doing it while prospecting. So it should be interesting. So far there are about 10 or so people riding along this year. The round trip is about 350 miles covered in 6 days. This is not a race or anything even close to it. It is about 350 miles of slow enjoy as you go, riding. Everyone is encouraged to stop and sight see or fish or prospect or just sit on your machine and enjoy the country side. This is all on forest service roads that I would drive my car on. Ok, minus a couple sections of bumpy road it is very easy riding. There are some fire towers along the corridor you are encouraged to stop and see. Plus a couple of pretty cool historic events happened along this corridor back in the day. So as you can see it is a low and slow ride. I have attached a internet link to the brochure published by the forest service. This will give you some good information about the corridor.
How we have done this in the past: We load up our atv's with everything you will need for food, cooking utensils, stoves, tents, sleeping bags, air mattresses, extra fuel, water and of course our favorite beverage. Now first off...... no one gets drunk, we have a couple of adult beverages at night (not while riding) just for relaxing and social. There is a 70+ year old joining us again this year that does not drink at all. As a matter of fact Jack and his wife (who is also coming this year) are both ministers. So we are not a loud and rowdy bunch. We meet at West Fork camp grounds (look at the map in the link at the bottom of my post. We meet at point of interest number 22) in the evening and spend the first night at our rigs. This usually gives everyone time to arrive and unload and lots of story swapping. Then in the morning we are all up and roaring to ride. Usually we try to ride as a pack. But sometimes some folks want to go visit an area that others don’t. That is the beauty of this ride. It is a ride at your own pace. If you want to ride for 5 minutes and stop and take a break. You go right ahead and do it. I like to stop along the creeks and rivers and fish. I have spent a couple hours fishing in a couple mile area not a big deal. When we all get up in the mornings we as a group decide where we want to sleep that night. So everyone knows where they have to make it to in order to meet up with the group. Then off on the dusty trail we go. In the evening usually everyone is pretty close to each other so there are not to many stragglers. Again usually if one person stops everyone else stops just to see why and then the story telling starts. Somewhere along the way we cross over into Idaho so if you plan on fishing and you are not a Idaho resident I suggest you buy your 5 day fishing license before you leave Montana. After a couple of days we arrive in Elk City Idaho. Now don’t get lost. Or should I say don’t blink you will miss it. We resupply our fuel at the 1 and only gas station and hit the 1 and only grocery store. Usually we sit at one of the 3 restraunts and all have lunch together, your choice. Then off to Red river hot springs. Where we rent the whole lodge (it isn’t very big but lots of beds so it is easier to just rent the whole place and split the cost) and take our showers and get at least 1 layer of the road dirt off us. Last time I bought a hugh prime rib in Elk City and we bbq’ed that up for everyone for supper. I hope to do the same for this year. Then of course after dinner and some drinks we hit the hot springs. The hot springs is a hugh hot spring pool outdoors. Very large and just the right temp. Last time we were lucky enough to catch the northern lights and a meteor shower in the same evening. So several of us floated around in the pool until about 3am. What a kick in the pants. Oh yea also, the lodge is run off a generator so about 10 pm it is lights out. But that’s ok because you carry your flashlight with you and you are fine. Then from there we head back to the rigs over the next couple days. Again in the mornings picking the places we want to camp that evening. This is a lot of fun for the whole family. If you don’t have a atv then bring the family in your daily driver. Serious, it is a easy road. If you want to go on some of the side trips we will figure out how to get everyone to the points of interest. So this is my invitation to whoever would enjoy a atv/prospecting adventure for a few days in the great states of Montana and Idaho. Come on out and have fun with us!
Forrest Service Flyer on Magruder Corridor
http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fsm91_055707.pdf
Here is a youtube link to a group that we came across on our last trip. There are a LOT of videos of the corridor on youtube. Watch and enjoy
Replies
WOW this sounds like a blast how much dose it cost
sounds like a great time