SW Idaho Overlanding
- Thread starter GHCOE
- Start date
Traveler III
If you get up into the Pan Handle look me up, i could go for some day trips. We’re in Hayden
I will try and keep that in mind. I have a person that comes down from up there from time to time for my trips.
South West Idaho Overlanding's West/East Route Leg 1
Sep 23-24, 2023
Time: 7:30am (I-O-N) or 9:30 (Mrs Z's)
Meet Place: I-O-N Truck Plaza 5644 Buntrock Rd, Marsing, ID 83639 or Mrs Z's 807 Main St, Jordan Valley, OR 97910
Destination: South West Idaho Desert
Estimated Duration: 2 days
Estimated Distance: 205 miles
Comms Channels: GRMS=17, CB=13
I am trying to build an Idaho West to East route that will include at least 90% dirt roads. Can it be done? Well leg one is a great start at 205 miles with only about 10 miles of pavement. This covers about a 3rd of the distance across Idaho at it' widest part. Am I making part of Idaho Overlanding History? I don't know, but if you want to be a pioneer of this route with me then let's see where this goes. Some previous trips this year are also, in part, routes that may be included in future legs of the SW Idaho Overlanding's Idaho East West Route.
Starting in Jordan Valley, Oregon we begin our journey east. Soon we will cross the Idaho border and the adventure begins. 205 miles of dirt and two track roads to our next fuel stop in Bliss, Idaho. I have the feeling this will be the most remote portion of the entire east/west route so be prepared.
Most of these roads should be pretty straight forward. Could be narrow brushy sections and certainly some rocky sections. High clearance would be helpful in some sections. Good tires again are recommended. There will be a few bail out points on this trip if conditions should deteriorate.
This is a two-day trip, but day two will be a long day on the trail so be prepared for a late return Sunday night.
As always, these trips are not guided tours and all who attend are ultimately responsible for their own safety. I am not responsible for damage, injury and or death. You partake under your own free will knowing the dangers of such activities.
I hope to see you on the trails! George.
Sep 23-24, 2023
Time: 7:30am (I-O-N) or 9:30 (Mrs Z's)
Meet Place: I-O-N Truck Plaza 5644 Buntrock Rd, Marsing, ID 83639 or Mrs Z's 807 Main St, Jordan Valley, OR 97910
Destination: South West Idaho Desert
Estimated Duration: 2 days
Estimated Distance: 205 miles
Comms Channels: GRMS=17, CB=13
I am trying to build an Idaho West to East route that will include at least 90% dirt roads. Can it be done? Well leg one is a great start at 205 miles with only about 10 miles of pavement. This covers about a 3rd of the distance across Idaho at it' widest part. Am I making part of Idaho Overlanding History? I don't know, but if you want to be a pioneer of this route with me then let's see where this goes. Some previous trips this year are also, in part, routes that may be included in future legs of the SW Idaho Overlanding's Idaho East West Route.
Starting in Jordan Valley, Oregon we begin our journey east. Soon we will cross the Idaho border and the adventure begins. 205 miles of dirt and two track roads to our next fuel stop in Bliss, Idaho. I have the feeling this will be the most remote portion of the entire east/west route so be prepared.
Most of these roads should be pretty straight forward. Could be narrow brushy sections and certainly some rocky sections. High clearance would be helpful in some sections. Good tires again are recommended. There will be a few bail out points on this trip if conditions should deteriorate.
This is a two-day trip, but day two will be a long day on the trail so be prepared for a late return Sunday night.
As always, these trips are not guided tours and all who attend are ultimately responsible for their own safety. I am not responsible for damage, injury and or death. You partake under your own free will knowing the dangers of such activities.
I hope to see you on the trails! George.
Explorer I
- 3,680
- First Name
- Brian
- Last Name
- McGahuey
- Member #
-
23711
- Ham/GMRS Callsign
- GMRS WRMV941
Just talked to the wife, and we're in. We'll be bringing two vehicles. Including this one, which was purchased yesterday.
Nice! We are up to 5 vehicles already then...Just talked to the wife, and we're in. We'll be bringing two vehicles. Including this one, which was purchased yesterday.
SW Idaho Overlanding West/East Idaho Overlanding Route. This is something that I have been thinking about for a few years now. I know about the IDBDR that runs North/South, but there is no West/East route. Although the IDBDR is there, it is really just a lot of forest and back country road travel. A Idaho West/East route could easily be built using the same idea with forest and back country roads for sure. I decided however to make a more challenging route. I gave myself some criteria to go by.
-10% or less paved roads
-No using already known Back Country Routes
-Try and use roads less often used
-Try and go through some areas that are interesting to see
-Stay 100% in Idaho
-Try and keep the route as low as possible in elevation
-Stay as isolated as possible
This proved to be more difficult than it sounded in my head.
South West Idaho and Central Idaho I already knew pretty well. The difficult area was to the east of American Falls, Idaho. I did not really want to get into the Fort Hall Indian Reservation and there is a lot more populated areas over there as well as mountains that go North/South with less roads. There really was no way to avoid these areas that I could find.
One of the biggest issues in East Idaho was where to cross the populated areas and keep the pavement time down to a minimum. I also wanted to stay as isolated as possible without going through multiple towns. This proved to take quite a bit of time to figure out. Finally, I think, I found a route that keeps the pavement down to a minimum. More than I wanted at one time, 13.17 miles, but with no other options it is what it is. This does however keep it down to one town which is perfect for a fuel/supplies stop.
For the rest of the state I had good knowledge of the roads and routes I would be taking. There are some new to me roads, at this time, that I have not been on. Drawing from previous trips I was able to piece a lot of them or portions of them into this West/East Route.
How did I do with my criteria? Well, if the route works out the way I have it now it is quite good I feel.
-10% or less paved roads. I have achieved this one. The Route, as it stands now, is 541.3 miles border to border. This is with 35.76 miles of pavement total with the longest stretch being 13.17 miles. This comes in at 6.6% dirt/gravel for the entire route.
-No using already known Back Country Routes. Well there is one point where I had to use 5.28 miles of the Owhyee Back Country Byway in two locations. Being that far out in the middle of nowhere there really was no other option that made sense. I had to take a bit of a hit on that one, but I feel it is acceptable due to the area.
-Try and use roads less often used. This one is a bit tricky since what I think is less often used may be different to the next person. I feel, however, pretty good about this criteria for the most part of this route. Once I got to the Eastern part of the state, I feel this slip a bit. Sure, still probably less used roads, but I was limited to country dirt/gravel or forest roads. The population and terrain just does not allow for roads that I generally like to use. Sure I could find roads that I like to use, they just don't go to where I wanted to go. Usually they were dead ends. So I give this one a 3/4 success. Which I feel is not too bad considering it is a 541.3 mile route across Idaho's widest part. You are bound to find limitations.
-Try and go through some areas that are interesting to see. I did manage to hit some interesting areas. Most are divided by large areas that may not be too interesting. Just the nature of the beast of trying to get from one boarder to the other using mostly dirt. There are some long miles of nothing as well. Once I get a run through all this I will know more of where to camp and update the info as time moves on.
-Stay 100% in Idaho. This was achieved. After all it is the Idaho West/East Route.
-Try and keep the route as low as possible in elevation. I wanted to keep the entire route low in elevation in hopes that the route would be open for use during the spring and fall. This would leave the IDBDR available for the summer season since it would be too hot to be in the desert in the summer anyway. Most of the route is in the 5000-6000 foot range. there are two high points. One on the west side at 6228 feet and one on the east side at 7028 feet. I will have to do more research on these areas to see when they may be open for travel. Most of the interior could probably be used in the wintertime as well. If that is you thing.
-Stay as isolated as possible. As with using roads less often used, this would be considered different to each person. For most of the trip I believe you will feel pretty isolated. And again, once you get to the eastern part of the state that feeling may go away a bit. Depending on your idea of isolation.
The route will not be for the average overlander. I intend for it to be a bit of a challenge, in some areas, for driver and vehicle. The route will not be for AWD's or low clearance 4x4's. No Subaru is going to feel at home on portions of this route. A bit of clearance and a two-speed transfer case will be needed in areas. A big portion of the roads I chose on this route are not maintained by anyone.
I have come up with 4 legs to the route. Each leg being different in their own way. Each leg begins and ends with a resupply point for food and fuel.
-Leg 1 205.3 total miles. 7.33 paved
-Leg 2 89.4 total miles 4.09 paved
-Leg 3 160.0 total miles 10.67 paved
-Leg 4 86.6 total miles 13.17 paved
Well, I am running leg 1 of the route next month. It is the longest and most remote of the 4 legs. Next spring, I am planning on doing legs 2-4 to verify the route is doable. If all goes well, I will release the route to fellow overlanders to enjoy. I hope the SW Idaho Overlanding's West/East Idaho Overland Route will be a success for us all. George.
-10% or less paved roads
-No using already known Back Country Routes
-Try and use roads less often used
-Try and go through some areas that are interesting to see
-Stay 100% in Idaho
-Try and keep the route as low as possible in elevation
-Stay as isolated as possible
This proved to be more difficult than it sounded in my head.
South West Idaho and Central Idaho I already knew pretty well. The difficult area was to the east of American Falls, Idaho. I did not really want to get into the Fort Hall Indian Reservation and there is a lot more populated areas over there as well as mountains that go North/South with less roads. There really was no way to avoid these areas that I could find.
One of the biggest issues in East Idaho was where to cross the populated areas and keep the pavement time down to a minimum. I also wanted to stay as isolated as possible without going through multiple towns. This proved to take quite a bit of time to figure out. Finally, I think, I found a route that keeps the pavement down to a minimum. More than I wanted at one time, 13.17 miles, but with no other options it is what it is. This does however keep it down to one town which is perfect for a fuel/supplies stop.
For the rest of the state I had good knowledge of the roads and routes I would be taking. There are some new to me roads, at this time, that I have not been on. Drawing from previous trips I was able to piece a lot of them or portions of them into this West/East Route.
How did I do with my criteria? Well, if the route works out the way I have it now it is quite good I feel.
-10% or less paved roads. I have achieved this one. The Route, as it stands now, is 541.3 miles border to border. This is with 35.76 miles of pavement total with the longest stretch being 13.17 miles. This comes in at 6.6% dirt/gravel for the entire route.
-No using already known Back Country Routes. Well there is one point where I had to use 5.28 miles of the Owhyee Back Country Byway in two locations. Being that far out in the middle of nowhere there really was no other option that made sense. I had to take a bit of a hit on that one, but I feel it is acceptable due to the area.
-Try and use roads less often used. This one is a bit tricky since what I think is less often used may be different to the next person. I feel, however, pretty good about this criteria for the most part of this route. Once I got to the Eastern part of the state, I feel this slip a bit. Sure, still probably less used roads, but I was limited to country dirt/gravel or forest roads. The population and terrain just does not allow for roads that I generally like to use. Sure I could find roads that I like to use, they just don't go to where I wanted to go. Usually they were dead ends. So I give this one a 3/4 success. Which I feel is not too bad considering it is a 541.3 mile route across Idaho's widest part. You are bound to find limitations.
-Try and go through some areas that are interesting to see. I did manage to hit some interesting areas. Most are divided by large areas that may not be too interesting. Just the nature of the beast of trying to get from one boarder to the other using mostly dirt. There are some long miles of nothing as well. Once I get a run through all this I will know more of where to camp and update the info as time moves on.
-Stay 100% in Idaho. This was achieved. After all it is the Idaho West/East Route.
-Try and keep the route as low as possible in elevation. I wanted to keep the entire route low in elevation in hopes that the route would be open for use during the spring and fall. This would leave the IDBDR available for the summer season since it would be too hot to be in the desert in the summer anyway. Most of the route is in the 5000-6000 foot range. there are two high points. One on the west side at 6228 feet and one on the east side at 7028 feet. I will have to do more research on these areas to see when they may be open for travel. Most of the interior could probably be used in the wintertime as well. If that is you thing.
-Stay as isolated as possible. As with using roads less often used, this would be considered different to each person. For most of the trip I believe you will feel pretty isolated. And again, once you get to the eastern part of the state that feeling may go away a bit. Depending on your idea of isolation.
The route will not be for the average overlander. I intend for it to be a bit of a challenge, in some areas, for driver and vehicle. The route will not be for AWD's or low clearance 4x4's. No Subaru is going to feel at home on portions of this route. A bit of clearance and a two-speed transfer case will be needed in areas. A big portion of the roads I chose on this route are not maintained by anyone.
I have come up with 4 legs to the route. Each leg being different in their own way. Each leg begins and ends with a resupply point for food and fuel.
-Leg 1 205.3 total miles. 7.33 paved
-Leg 2 89.4 total miles 4.09 paved
-Leg 3 160.0 total miles 10.67 paved
-Leg 4 86.6 total miles 13.17 paved
Well, I am running leg 1 of the route next month. It is the longest and most remote of the 4 legs. Next spring, I am planning on doing legs 2-4 to verify the route is doable. If all goes well, I will release the route to fellow overlanders to enjoy. I hope the SW Idaho Overlanding's West/East Idaho Overland Route will be a success for us all. George.
Explorer I
- 3,680
- First Name
- Brian
- Last Name
- McGahuey
- Member #
-
23711
- Ham/GMRS Callsign
- GMRS WRMV941
Well we finished up what we could of the West/East Route this last weekend. Everything was going good till we hit a private property sign 62 miles in. This is what happens when you get deep into these desert areas. At one time you could drive these roads, but with people not respecting the lands they travel in it starts to limit our access.
Usually I make reroute options in areas that are questionable, but not out here. Looking at the maps we had available I did not feel comfortable with the options presented so we decided to abort the rest of the trip. We were already stretching our fuel capabilities with this leg. Trying to find a reroute option would limited our fuel even more so we decided to find a camp spot for the night and head back home in the morning.
This morning I broke out the maps and started to see if there was other options available. Well, I found it was probably a good thing we did not try to reroute in the field. There really was no easy route available for us at that point. I did, however, found a route that should work. It is mostly BLM land and could be made all BLM land if were it cross private land is a problem with reroutes. Again when you get out into these areas it is a coin toss if you will have access to crossing private land. Sometimes the roads are public through fares and sometimes they are not. Hard to tell on just a map now-a-days.
At this point this reroute is really the only option. If for some reason it does not work out I will be forced to reroute closer to civilization and undoubtedly would add more pavement travel. I have only 3.4% left of pavement travel to meet my requirements. Getting more interesting as I dig deeper into this adventure.
This reroute added 6 miles to Leg 1's total miles. Bringing the distance to 211.4 between fuel/supplies distance.
Stay tuned for more updates. George.
West/East Idaho Overland Route Leg 1 Reroute Conformation Expedition
Nov 4, 2023
Time: 7:00am
Meet Place: Grand View Gas n' Bass Hole 110 ID-78, Grand View, ID 83624
Destination: South West Idaho Desert
Estimated Duration: 1 days
Estimated Distance: 118 miles
Comms Channels: GRMS=17, CB=13
The attempt to do the West/East Idaho Overland Route Leg 1 ended in a fail. All was good till we hit a private property sign 64 miles in. Heading back out in defeat I was determined to still find a viable route. Well, I was able to find a route that should be good this time. Not knowing what roads are public access at this point. I decided to avoid most, if not all, private property for this adventure.
Most of these roads should be pretty straight forward. Could be narrow brushy sections and certainly some rocky sections. Especially if any of the bypass roads should need to be used. High clearance would be helpful in some sections. Good tires again are recommended.
As always, these trips are not guided tours and all who attend are ultimately responsible for their own safety. I am not responsible for damage, injury and or death. You partake under your own free will knowing the dangers of such activities.
I hope to see you on the trails! George.
Nov 4, 2023
Time: 7:00am
Meet Place: Grand View Gas n' Bass Hole 110 ID-78, Grand View, ID 83624
Destination: South West Idaho Desert
Estimated Duration: 1 days
Estimated Distance: 118 miles
Comms Channels: GRMS=17, CB=13
The attempt to do the West/East Idaho Overland Route Leg 1 ended in a fail. All was good till we hit a private property sign 64 miles in. Heading back out in defeat I was determined to still find a viable route. Well, I was able to find a route that should be good this time. Not knowing what roads are public access at this point. I decided to avoid most, if not all, private property for this adventure.
Most of these roads should be pretty straight forward. Could be narrow brushy sections and certainly some rocky sections. Especially if any of the bypass roads should need to be used. High clearance would be helpful in some sections. Good tires again are recommended.
As always, these trips are not guided tours and all who attend are ultimately responsible for their own safety. I am not responsible for damage, injury and or death. You partake under your own free will knowing the dangers of such activities.
I hope to see you on the trails! George.
Explorer I
- 3,680
- First Name
- Brian
- Last Name
- McGahuey
- Member #
-
23711
- Ham/GMRS Callsign
- GMRS WRMV941
Day trip this time? Either way, count me in.
Edit:
Scratch that. That's Liana's birthday, and there's an event she wants to go to. I'll mention it, but chances are not good.
Edit:
Scratch that. That's Liana's birthday, and there's an event she wants to go to. I'll mention it, but chances are not good.
I am happy to see the progress and the plan to get it all fixed and back in operation.
I hope you have found a good shop. It is hard to find anyone who will work on an older vehicle. Varmint #1 got rear ended in his XJ this summer. Only shop he could find was Maaco. I am not pleased with their work. Twice they tried to call it "done" and I rejected it. They made efforts to fix the things I pointed out, but the underlying metal work was simply out of their league. If Varmint #1 keeps the XJ long term and wants to fix it properly everything Maaco did will have to be redone.
I hope you have found a good shop. It is hard to find anyone who will work on an older vehicle. Varmint #1 got rear ended in his XJ this summer. Only shop he could find was Maaco. I am not pleased with their work. Twice they tried to call it "done" and I rejected it. They made efforts to fix the things I pointed out, but the underlying metal work was simply out of their league. If Varmint #1 keeps the XJ long term and wants to fix it properly everything Maaco did will have to be redone.
If all goes well with the shop I am going with I will let you know for future reference. Macco was one of the places I was told that would still take on a complete car. I did not even try with them, knowing their reputation. At that point I would just try and do it myself.
Traveler III
- 2,134
- First Name
- David
- Last Name
- Hopkins
- Member #
-
18768
- Ham/GMRS Callsign
- WRKQ684
- Service Branch
- U.S.A.F.
Hey George, Glad the Jeep is getting a second (third, fourth, ???) shot at life. You should title the rebuild as your Phoenix Project (literally rising from the ashes)..
I had a '77J-10, worked on it a lot, but that was 40 years ago
. Did a lot of custom work and repairs on it so if you need any help, I'd love to offer my time and enthusiasm. I personally would love to find a '77-'79 Jeep Cherokee Chief (my Favorite vehicle of all time), and make it my own.Take care and keep us informed on the progress... David
Please do share if it turns out you have found a good shop, because yes, I am at that very point of trying to figure out how I can take care of future body projects myself.
