Monday July 28, 21.9mi/35.2km

Lookout Mountain ridge (374.9/8090ft) to Confluence Marble/Grays Creeks (353.5/5130ft) (ID) +0.5mi missing junction

I love camping on ridgetops, the air is dry and breezy and the sunrise hits you early. The view to the east, The Frank Church Wilderness is massive.

I finished the short climb up to Lookout Mountain, which the trail doesn’t actually go to the summit. But great views in all directions nonetheless.

I know that’s wildfire smoke down in those valleys, but it makes a really cool photo nonetheless.

I had a couple hours of forested ridgeline walking, after I left Lookout Mountain there really weren’t any more views.

Again, I was impressed with how nice the trail was, until all of a sudden it wasn’t. The last half mile before leaving the ridge was full of blowdowns, I probably went over at least 50. And worst of all, the junction with the trail that descends off the ridge was nowhere to be found. Of course by now I’ve learned that in Idaho, maps are only suggestions and the junction is anywhere within a quarter mile of where it should be. So I searched a quarter mile further ahead on the trail, which took over 10 minutes with all the blowdowns. Fortunately I found the junction, which wasn’t signed, but there was a piece of faded orange flagging tape on the ground, and on the hillside far below I could see a cut log, signifying a trail. Eesh. At least that trail quickly improved, as it left the burn zone, and then astonishingly transitioned into an old road.

The view down into the Marble Creek Valley where I would be hiking the rest of the day.

The old road was for a mining operation that is now defunct and predates the Frank Church Wilderness.

After just sending a thousand feet into the valley, I was back on a regular trail, which went right by these old mining ruins.

The guidebook warns of dozens and dozens of stream crossings, but the upper part of the valley was mostly nice trail.

And it generally stayed a little ways above the valley bottom where all the swamps and bugs were.

I’m always impressed by the amount of work trail crews do to build a trail, especially through a talus field.

Most of the afternoon I cruised on a very gradual downhill, enjoying the sights and the little canyons that the creek would pass through.

Then later in the afternoon the frequent creek crossings started, it’s a shallow creek and only 12 ft. wide but every half mile you’re getting your feet wet.

When the trail wasn’t crossing and re-crossing the creek, it was up on the hillside, which is where I ran into this creature.

Bears! There were two bears on the trail, and for a moment none of us could decide what to do, since the trail was built into a steep hillside, going downhill was not an option. They scurried up the steep rocky slope, one of them started climbing the tree. The trail passed uncomfortably close to their tree, but I couldn’t leave the trail, so I just did a lot of loud talking as I walked slowly by. Bye new friends! After that ursine excitement, I entered a burn zone.

Which was a bit of a bummer since it was nearing time to look for a campsite, but everything looked blackened or dead or like it wanted to fall and crush me.

The burn zone didn’t look like it was going to end anytime soon, and after checking my Caltopo info, that was confirmed. So in one of my more clever moments, I found a spot safe from trees, alive or dead. Trees don’t grow on gravel bars!

I set up my tent on a gravel bar in the middle of Marble Creek, well away from any dead trees. It was basically like setting up camp in a wash, one of my favorite desert campsites.