Indian Cliff

Well here I am at home from school on a Monday afternoon feeling like I have been hit by a freight train. Every time I drove down a hill yesterday on my adventure with Walter it felt like my ears were going to explode. It was quite strange. And then I woke up very early this morning and realized that something had indeed exploded inside my head. But at least the explosion waited for Monday so I could have some fun this weekend. I decided to post our pictures since I have already had one bath and two naps today and it is only 1:30 in the afternoon. I am not quite sure what to do with myself at the moment.

I had originally planned on taking a hike on Saturday but ended up doing school stuff for about six hours and then I attacked the back yard. Oh, what a mess. I had to mow twice because the grass is so tall (no easy task since my lot is the length of a football field) and then I tilled up my garden. I was going to go seed shopping after school today but that is not going to happen. Anyway, on to our adventure yesterday...

Walter turned five years old in March and I bought him a new trail guide. It is called Best Hikes with Dogs: Inland Northwest. Of course there are some in there that we already know about from other books, but there are quite a few new ones. And, this is cool, there are some that provide alternate routes to places we know about. That is most cool and I can't wait to do the alternate route up to Copper Butte this summer (it is on the 50x50 list). One of the hikes in the book is at Heyburn State Park in Idaho, between Plummer and St. Maries. This is where I go to access the end of the St. Joe River (see September 2006 in the archives).

The hike, though not very long (about 4.5 miles) is beautiful. We started out on the Plummer Creek trail, walked along the creek, crossed it, then headed up into the hills and to the parking area for the Indian Cliff trail. The paved Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes goes right past the parking lot. The trail is 72 miles long and goes through some incredible scenery. I highly recommend it as a bike ride.

The Indian Cliff trail is a sort of loop. The Dogs book says to go counter clockwise, but I think it should be in reverse because that way all the lake views are in front of you and not behind. So if you go there, take the left trail which quickly heads up the side of the ridge in an old burn area that reminded me of the parklands in Colorado. The trip to the top of the ridge and the cliffs is pretty quick. The flowers were incredible!!!!! And it is only April. In another two or three weeks it is going to be stunning. Here is what I saw blooming: arrowleaf balsam root (of course), desert parsley, biscuit root, blue bells, wild strawberry, violets, mock orange, sago lily (at the bottom of the ridge in a spring area) wild clover, prairie star flower, and my absolute favorite, shooting stars. There were some flowers that I am unfamiliar with and tons of little tiny purple pansy looking things. The lupine has not bloomed yet. There will probably be lots more up there in the weeks to come, hopefully some indian paintbrush. That is one of my favorites as well.

Walter and I hung out on the top for about 45 minutes looking at the flowers and enjoying the view. We met two other people on the top who had all their camera equipment. It was a great place to take a little nap. The view looks down onto Lake Chatcolet and the mouth of the St. Joe River. There was an old snag with a nest not too far in the distance and I could see a head poking up every now and then. There are lots of osprey around and one did fly over us while we were sitting there. I am going to make it a priority to get back up there in the next few weeks to see more flowers. It was stunning, but it will be a mind blower then.

The trail follows the ridge and cliff for a ways and then starts heading downhill. We were getting rather hot in the sun on the ridge and it was nice and shady at the bottom in the forest. Most of the trees are douglas fir and pine but I did see some cedar. I love cedar trees. We ambled back to where we parked, had a drink, then drove through the campground. Nancy went to Mexico this weekend so I had her suburban (he, he, he) and decided that since I had a reliable vehicle I would take the long way home. Walter and I drove to St. Maries and then headed north on Highway 3 towards Cataldo and I-90. Wow, what a beautiful drive. The road goes along both the St. Joe and the Coeur d'Alene rivers and ends up on I-90 east of Fourth of July Pass; beautiful country. I highly recommend the route. When I finally get a decent car, watch out. Walter and I are going to be all over the place!!! For now though, I think I will take another nap.

Pictures: Walter; the trailhead; grove of cedars; Plummer Creek; the way up; first view of the water; 3 views from the top; shooting star.