Road closed, seemed to be a theme in our outing for this weekend. Our plan was to head to Marble Creek in Idaho, south of Avery Idaho and camp somewhere along the water. There are a few spots in the national forest that looked promising via Google maps. Once we turned off the pavement and made our way south on the forest road it was all good until 2 miles in. Then there it was, “Road Closed”, it was due to logging operations. Now, it probably would have been more helpful to place the signs back two miles at the turn off the pavement.
So now what? I had a basic idea of places to go in the area. We made our way east to Avery Idaho and topped off the fuel in the truck since we had no real idea on how far we were going to go to find a place to camp. While I was paying for the fuel inside the little store I mentioned that we would see about the couple spots I knew about going up Moon Pass. I knew the pass was closed due to snows still but I soon found out by the woman working there that the road was closed down lower due to a slide. Another road closed.
So now where? There are a few campgrounds along the St Joe River heading up river. So off we went to look at campgrounds and see if any looked good to us. We passed a small 2 site camp then made it to Turner Flat Campground, a Forest Service campground. There are 11 spots there and we really liked a spot. No one was there and we had a choice of them all. I was not planning on paying for a camp spot but paying to stay there was no big deal, with our discount it was $6.00 per night.
We soon got parked and got our things set up. We put up one of our pop ups next to the rivers edge. Rain would be on and off all weekend long but the temperatures would get up to 55-60F so still not bad out at all really.
Soon enough it was time to enjoy a beverage and watch the water roll by. Light rain came and went with sunshine mixed in, mostly both at the same time.
The night was very quite. Maybe 10 cars drove by on the road and they all stopped going by fairly early that night.
The next day we walked around the campground checking things out closer. There were 2 pit bathrooms, both clean and stocked with toilet paper. We picked up just a small handful of trash in the whole campground. That was wonderful, so nice to see a place taken care of.
We then walked the road side for about 3/4 a mile and picked up trash. There we picked up 1 bag full of trash. While that seems like a lot, it did not appear to have that much but by foot you could see it easier than by driving by. Along the roadway there were several little streams flowing into the river with the snow melt going on.
We did bring our packs with us on this trip. While I am still having foot issues, I figured I could do and easier smaller hike. We did plan on a cool hike near our original spot to camp but that was out. However, just a short distance up stream from camp there was a foot bridge over the river. Where did that trail go? I was not sure as I did not expect to camp where we were so I did not check things out before we lost cell/web coverage. Well, we checked it out anyway.
The trial had a nice up hill grade, not too steep and we were able to gain elevation fairly quickly. We got to a spot where we could look below to the river.
The trail with the exception of one view of the river was all about forest. No other views really but it was nice to be enjoying the trees and hearing birds about. We ended up going about 2 miles up the trail before we decided to call it quits. With no idea what was up ahead we turned around and made our way back to camp.
We got back to camp and relaxed there the rest of the day. We did not do much other than that and it was okay with us.
Another night and no one else in camp but us. There were a couple people who stopped by for a short visit in the campground but no one stayed the night except for us.
The next morning we decided to continue down the road. I knew the river road would eventually dead end at a campground, Spruce Tree. So we made the drive there, checking out a couple campgrounds along the way. From where we camped to the end of the river road it was about 31 miles. The last 11 miles or so was single lane road with turnouts.
We got a couple miles away from the end of the road and we came across snow. However it was not a lot at all and we easily drove through it. The snow was not constant and just in spots.
We got to with in about 2 tenths of a mile from the end of the road and the campground and we came up to another snow covered section of the road. This time though, it was too deep to chance it. We were way out in the woods with no one around and no cell coverage. We did not chance it. So now…remember…single lane road? Yep, we had to back up almost a 1/2 mile until we got to a spot we could turn around. Just more adventures right?
We stopped at one of the camp spots we passed by to check it out more. Wow, what a fantastic spot! I would love to stay there at some point. But during the summer time these spots are used a lot so getting it may not happen. But we enjoyed it for a short stop on this trip.
We eventually got back to the main paved road and drove back to Avery. There in Avery is a place called TFPs. We have stopped by there for a beer, chicken and pizza before on the few times we have been by. We decided to stop again and luck be had, it was open. It was still considered the off season but it was open. We ordered some fried chicken and a pizza and had a good beer to wash it all down with. Once again, as with our other visits there…the food was delicious and the service and other guests were welcoming and nice to chat with.
We finished up with lunch and made our way back home. While the trip was not what we had planned, things worked out just fine. Just another thing we love about a camper is that with a smaller footprint size, options are pretty open on where we can go. We would really love to come back to this area and enjoy some other spots we looked at. Not sure when that will happen. The crowds will soon be back along the river enjoying what it has to offer. That will mean we will need to wait it out so we can have the quietness we were able to get on this trip.
The TC Life 