Kryptonite

Green Kryptonite was the bane of Superman, a substance that sapped his powers and made him a helpless weakling.

I took a picture of this plant on Sunday 9/28/14 along the Greenbelt, near the Boise River.   

I call it "Ron's Kryptonite."   other folks call it "Sagebrush."   this is what it looks like in full bloom.  

I am highly allergic to it.  

here in Idaho,  it blooms generally between the last week of August, through September, and up to the first couple of hard freezes in October.    

when we first moved here, I had to take a year of allergy shots. part of the serum was sagebrush pollen.    the immuno-therapy helped, for the most part, but this is the time of year when I rely heavily on Vitamin Z  (Zyrtec).  

the Soggyway and the Bitter Pill

sometimes things just don't go your way.   this is a sad chapter in the story of my seven year hike across Idaho.   we were going to attempt to do one big knockout punch on the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness.   we being myself, Kim Heintzman, and Nick Abshire.   we attempted a 95 mile hike.   an entire day of hiking in the rain and a non functioning satellite phone changed the plan.   Then we still had to walk 40 miles out to rescue ourselves.  



song credits go to



"Trial of Tears" by Dream Theater  (split into 2 parts)



http://www.dreamtheater.net



and



"Minor Setback"

by Acaideus

Upper Priest Falls

the rain forest like environment of northern Idaho is a wonderful contrast to the high desert environment of southern Idaho.  





for this video segment of the Idaho Centennial Trail, I used a different approach. instead of a face-melting rock soundtrack, I chose a "jungle" theme. I had a lot of fun putting this one together. This is the next to the last segment of the trail, in the Idaho panhandle north of Priest Lake. July of 2011.







1

ROLLED ANKLE

this is the bruising about four days after rolling the ankle.  

ICT East alternate route

it was planned as a 30+ mile section of the Idaho Centennial Trail, East alternate route, from near
Alturas Lake, through Johnson Creek, over to Emma Creek, up Emma Creek to Big Smoky Creek, then down FR215 to Highway 75 below Galena Summit.   Jerry and I planned it for Labor Day weekend.   We started on Sunday, August 31st, at the trailhead near Alturas Lake.   things went well for the first 6 miles or so.  We reached the Idaho Centennial Trail near Mattingly Divide, and were on the main ICT for just a half mile or so before reaching the junction with the ICT East trail going into the Johnson Creek drainage.   About a mile and half down this trail, my ankle suddenly gave way beneath me.   My momentum caused me to do a complete somersault, and I landed on my back with my feet facing down the slope.   Fortunately I didn't continue to roll.   The damage was done, however.   My ankle was severely strained though not broken.   Through the rest of the afternoon I hobbled on down the trail.   Our campsite was not the greatest (see previous post) and the next morning we continued on.   We had accepted that we would not get done by Tuesday and were trying to figure out how to get a message out to our wives.    As the day progressed, it became apparent that I was not going to get even to the half way point of the hike.   We decided to come off the trail at Emma Creek, where it meets the South Fork of the Boise road (NFD road 079).      We were helped by Roger and Mary Ann on their ATV.   They got us down the road to a Methodist church camp where we were able to send messages out by satellite internet.   Jerry's wife and son came to the rescue.    Sometimes it's better to live to hike another day......


pictures here....

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Site selection

Sometimes home for the night is what you make of it. 

Not the most ideal sleeping spot. this person-sized depression up slope from a tree was where I made camp. 

Jerry's spot down the hill from me was only slightly better.

 I need to improve at taking "selfies", but this is the morning after I rolled my ankle and the pain is showing through. this shot shows the angle of the slope. Believe it or not this was the best camp location we could find in that stretch of trail