The Take Me Fishing Trailer is back for its 10th year of spreading fishing fun around the region, and during the month of July, it has some Southeast Idaho fisheries on its schedule.
The trailer has all the gear and bait you need, and you don’t even need a fishing license during the event as long as you register at the trailer. Plus, there is staff on-hand to teach you what you need to know about fishing, from casting to reeling in a feisty fish.
Join us at these Southeast Idaho locations in July:
Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Crowthers Reservoir in Malad
July 16 from 5 to 8 p.m. at Montpelier Rearing Pond in Montpelier
July 20 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at LaMont Reservoir in Preston
July 30 from 5 to 8 p.m. at Upper Kelly Park Pond in Soda Springs. (Only open to anglers 13 years and younger. All youth under the age of 8 must be accompanied by an adult.)
For a complete schedule of all fishing trailer events planned throughout Idaho for this summer, visit idfg.idaho.gov/fish/trailers.
Idaho Department of Lands reminds those who will recreate on Idaho endowment lands to enjoy the celebration of Independence Day, but to please leave your fireworks and other pyrotechnic devices at home and use extreme caution if you choose to have a campfire.
During closed fire season (May 10 to Oct. 20), it is illegal to throw away any lighted material, including firecrackers or fireworks on any forest or rangeland in the state of Idaho. Starting a wildfire by the use of fireworks is considered negligence, and the person who started the fire will be billed for the cost of fighting the fire.
In the past two years, IDL has sent out multiple bills totaling $4.7 million for the cost of fires investigators determined to be negligent. The negligent fire bills range from a few hundred dollars to more than a million dollars.
Last year, approximately 80 percent of all fires that occurred on land protected by IDL were human caused and preventable. As you recreate throughout the summer, here are actions you can take to help prevent wildfires:
1. If you plan to tow a boat or RV, secure your safety chains. Dragging and sparking chains are a frequent cause of wildfires along Idaho’s highways.
2. Don’t drive a vehicle over tall dry grasses in the heat of summer, and clear out vegetation before you park.
3. Make sure your ATV, UTV or dirt bike has a properly working spark arrestor.
4. If you target shoot, do not use tracer bullets or exploding targets; both have caused wildfires in the past.
5. Carry a shovel and water container in your vehicle.
6. Campfire safety:
Use a contained fire pit when having a campfire. If one is not available, dig a pit away from hanging branches in a cleared area and surround the pit with rocks.
Never leave a campfire unattended.
Keep water and a shovel near the campfire.
Make sure the remnants of a campfire are cold to the touch before leaving it. If it is warm to the touch, it is too hot to leave.
I had to circle by Cabela’s today and grab a shirt for my wife. Well, the whole story is she’s had a migraine the last few days. I put a post on Facebook something to the effect of “My wife has had a migraine for three days. I asked her if it would help her feel better if she bought a new gun. That always made me feel better. Moral to the story: Apparently not, she shook her head and walked off.”
I’ve been out of town the last few days. I guess Katy’s buddy Candice figured she’d better give me some marriage advice to keep my happy marriage happy. She texted me and said, “While you were out of town, Katy and I were hanging out together and dropped by Cabela’s. There’s a cool shirt she wanted.” So today I stopped by to grab the shirt. While there, I noticed the group Shoot Like a Girl had a shooting trailer set up in the parking lot. I had a few articles due the next day so I thought one on them would be a good topic.
I ran home. Katy still felt bad, but my youngest daughter Kolby said she was game, so we jumped in the truck and ran back to Cabela’s. The Shoot Like a Girl media guru Jeanine Sayre greeted us and told us the format. Inside their mobile range, they had a shooting range set up for pistols, ARs and archery. She herded us inside where Kolby signed a waiver and then we got in line.
I was very impressed with the shooting instructors. Obviously, the ladies knew their stuff. It was not a “herd them in and hurry and herd them out” deal. The instructors were very patient and took their time helping each woman. They’re either really good instructors or Kolby has been practicing a lot more than I knew of because she shot better than I can. I told the girls I needed them to help me!
After shooting we went outside. On the outside wall of the trailer, they had a lot of pistols for the women to handle and I assume be able to check and see which one felt more comfortable to them. I should have paid more attention, but I wanted to talk to their media contact Jeanine Sayre. I’ve seen the Shoot Like a Girl crew at the big shows like SHOT, DSC, etc., while I’m there doing seminars but haven’t really ever taken time to get to know them. So, I had to ask Jeanine a few questions.
Q: How long has SLG been around?
A: This is our 10-year celebration. It was founded in 2009.
Q: What is your mission?
A: To empower women to participate with confidence.
Q: What is your personal goal? Or maybe I should say what is your passion?
A: Pretty much the same thing. And I guess I’d have to add, I love to watch fear turn into excitement and passion. We pretty much promote all aspects involving guns — self-protection, hunting, competitive shooting and the camaraderie that goes along with it all.
So there you have it, the goal of Shoot Like a Girl in a nutshell. In my brief 30-minute encounter with them, they hit me as a well-trained group of women who are willing to share their passion. If you’re a girl, you may want to check them out at shootlikeagirl.com.
Here would be my two-bits that I’d throw in. Above the door as you enter the mobile range is the quote “Changing lives, one shot at a time.” I’d have to say from my 30 minutes experience with them, that this is a true statement. During my time there, here’s what I saw. A young lady in front of us was from the Netherlands and had never shot a gun. Behind us was a young lady with three kids who was interested in getting a pistol for self-protection. She said the guys at the gun counter hadn’t really adequately answered her needs. And some lady that is in the process of moving from California stopped by just to say thanks for all they did to help promote guns. I’d say Shoot Like a Girl is making a difference.
Have a good Fourth of July weekend, and take a minute to give thanks for all the blessings we have being able to live in America.
Tom Claycomb lives in Idaho and has outdoors columns in newspapers in Alaska, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Colorado and Louisiana.
Once again Idaho Fish and Game will be offering its Ladies and Girls Hunter Education Class at the regional Fish and Game office in Pocatello. The class will take place July 8 to 11 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. each day. Cost for the class is $9.75, and registration can be completed online at idfg.idaho.gov/hunt/education.
This will be a fun and educational setting for female students who would like to earn their hunter education certification. The course will be taught by female instructors who are eager to share their knowledge and passion about hunting, safety and ethics in the field.
This course is for girls and women of nearly all ages — participants must be at least 9 years old. However, it is not necessary that youth are accompanied by an adult in the class.
The Ladies and Girls Hunter Education Class provides an opportunity for moms, daughters, grandmothers, aunts and friends to get together and learn more about an activity that is not only fun, but a great way to enjoy the outdoors and become a part of Idaho’s conservation heritage. Participants will leave the course with basic knowledge, skills and hopefully the confidence to move forward as a safe and ethical hunter.
At one time, hunting was considered more of a “father-son” tradition. However, more fathers than ever are taking their daughters hunting, and more and more women are heading out to the field on their own or with family and friends.
Still, women (16 and older) make up only about 10 percent of the hunters in the U.S., according to information provided the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2016 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation. Perhaps learning opportunities such as the Ladies and Girls Hunter Education class coming up next week can help change that.
For more information about this class or the Hunter Education program, visit Idaho Fish and Game’s website at idfg.idaho.gov/hunt/education or contact Tessa Atwood with Idaho Fish and Game at 208-232-4703.
KATHMANDU, Nepal — After every party, it’s time to clean up and Mount Everest is no different. The record number of climbers crowding the world’s highest mountain this season has left a government cleanup crew grappling with how to clear away everything from abandoned tents to human waste that threatens drinking water.
Budget expedition companies charge as little as $30,000 per climber, cutting costs including waste removal. Everest has so much garbage — depleted oxygen cylinders, food packaging, rope — that climbers use the trash as a kind of signpost. But this year’s haul from an estimated 700 climbers, guides and porters on the mountain has been a shock to the ethnic Sherpas who worked on the government’s cleanup drive this spring.
Moreover, the tents are littering South Col, or Camp 4, which, at 26,240 feet is the highest campsite on Everest, just below the summit. The high winds at that elevation have scattered the tents and trash everywhere.
“The altitude, oxygen levels, dangerously icy and slippery slopes, and bad weather of South Col make it very difficult to bring such big things as tents down,” said Dawa Steven Sherpa, who led an independent cleanup last month and has been a leading figure in the campaign to clean Mount Everest for the past 12 years.
Exhausted climbers struggling to breathe and battling nausea leave heavy tents behind rather than attempt to carry them down. Dawa Steven said the logos on the ice-embedded tents that identify the expedition companies were deliberately ripped out so the culprits could evade detection.
“It took us an hour to dig out just one tent out of the frozen ice and bring it down,” Dawa Steven said.
His expeditions have alone brought down some 44,000 pounds of garbage since 2008.
Dawa Steven estimated 30 tents had been left on South Col, and as much as 11,000 pounds of trash. Bringing it down is a herculean task when any misstep at such altitudes could be fatal.
It is impossible to know exactly how much litter is spread across Everest because it only becomes visible when the snow melts. At Camp 2, two levels higher than Base Camp, the campaigners believe that around 18,000 pounds of human excrement were left during this year’s climbing season alone.
Some climbers do not use makeshift toilets, instead digging a hole in the snow, letting the waste fall into small crevasses. However, rising temperatures have thinned the glacier, leaving fewer and smaller crevasses. The overflowing waste then spills downhill toward Base Camp and even communities below the mountain.
People living at the Base Camp use melted snow for drinking water that climbers’ toilets threaten to contaminate.
“During our expedition to Camp 2, eight of our 10 Sherpas got stomach illness from bad water at Camp 2,” said John All, a professor of environmental science at Western Washington University who visited Everest on a research expedition.
For the Nepalese who regard the mountain as “Sagarmatha,” or Mother of the World, littering amounts to desecration. Climber Nima Doma, who returned recently from a successful ascent, gets angry thinking that the sacred mountain is being turned into a garbage dump.
“Everest is our god and it was very sad to see our god so dirty. How can people just toss their trash on such a sacred place?” she said.
The trash is creating danger for future climbers and spurring calls for action now.
“When the snow melts, the garbage surfaces. And when there is high wind, tents are blown and torn and the contents are scattered all over the mountain, which makes it even more dangerous for climbers already navigating a slippery, steep slope in snow and high winds,” said Ang Tshering, former president of Nepal Mountaineering Association.
Ang Dorjee, who lives in Boise and heads the independent Everest Pollution Control Committee, has demanded that the Nepal government — whose general oversight of Everest has come under scrutiny this year as climbers died waiting in line to ascend — institute some rules.
“The problem is there are no regulations on how to dispose of the human waste. Some climbers use biodegradable bags that have enzymes which decompose human waste but most of them don’t,” he said.
The bags are expensive and have to be imported from the United States.
“The biggest problem and concern now on Everest is human waste. Hundreds of people are there for weeks who go to open toilets,” Tshering said.
Melting conditions at Camp 2 create a odor that is sickening to climbers, and the waste will eventually contaminate water sources below and become a health hazard, he said.
Tshering and other mountaineers say the government should mandate the use of biodegradable bags. It would spare Dorjee and his team the unpleasant task of collecting the waste and carrying it down the dangerous slopes.
The government is working on a plan to scan and tag climbers’ equipment and gear. All climbers would have to deposit $4,000 before their ascent and might not get the money back if they return without their items.
Custer County Marine Deputy John Haugh sees boaters without life jackets on cold Sawtooth Mountain Range lakes nearly every time he takes his patrol boat out.
He issues warnings and citations to parents whose children are not wearing life jackets. He teaches water safety classes to schoolchildren, who often end up teaching their parents a thing or two. Tragically, despite his best efforts, not everyone gets the message.
Haugh was among the emergency responders last week who tried to save a 5-year-old girl from drowning on Redfish Lake. Claire Tanney and her father, Christopher Joseph Tanney, 31, an active duty serviceman stationed at Mountain Home Air Force Base, died after their kayak capsized on Redfish Lake on Friday.
Nobody saw the boat capsize or heard anyone call for help, said Haugh, even though hundreds of people were at the north shore day use area that includes Redfish Lake Lodge, beach and marina. Nobody knew anything bad had happened until someone on the beach saw a little girl floating face down just 25 feet from shore where the wind had blown her. The kayak was spotted later.
“This isn’t an isolated section,” Haugh said. “There were many people in the area. (A drowning) can happen so fast.”
A nurse practitioner and others on the beach immediately started CPR on the girl, Haugh said. The Custer County Sheriff’s Office was notified at 10:52 a.m. Friday.
Christopher Tanney drowned. His body sank and was recovered from the lake bottom in 44-foot-deep water not far off the north beach on Saturday, Haugh said. Claire was taken to St. Luke’s Wood River Medical Center in Ketchum on Friday where doctors got her pulse back and warmed her core. Then she was flown to St. Luke’s Boise Medical Center. She died in the hospital the next day. As far as Haugh knows, she never regained consciousness.
The Tanneys were not wearing life jackets. Claire’s was found in her father’s vehicle, Haugh said.
Haugh hopes the circumstances of the double drowning never happen again.
A shuttle boat driver from Redfish Lake Lodge saw Claire and Christopher leave in their kayak from the north shore beach about 10 a.m. Friday, Haugh said. After he dropped off hikers at the south end of the lake, the shuttle skipper headed back toward the lodge and saw the father-daughter pair also heading back.
Air temperature was in the 60s on Friday, and the water temperature was 54 degrees, Haugh said. Southerly winds were blowing between 10 and 15 mph, with gusts to 20 mph kicking up choppy waves 6 to 8 inches high.
Christopher and Claire were at Redfish for a father-daughter trip of camping, fishing and boating, Haugh said. Personnel at Mountain Home Air Force Base are handling funeral arrangements, he said. Press releases issued during the weekend by the Custer County Sheriff’s Office state the girl was 4.
Haugh gave kudos to the army of emergency responders and Jeff Clegg and staff at Redfish Lake Lodge, who fed and housed members of the Bingham County dive team free of charge. Idaho Department of Fish and Game personnel responded with a boat and helped Haugh and the Bingham County team search underwater with sonar for Christopher’s body.
The boats did a grid search Friday and resumed the search early Saturday morning. At 10:39 a.m. divers found and recovered Christopher’s body from the bottom of the lake near the swimming platform, which is not far offshore from the beach.
On Saturday, Haugh found a 7-year-old boy from Wood River Valley on Redfish Lake on a stand-up paddle board without a life jacket. He took the boy on board his patrol boat and got him to shore. The boy’s father didn’t know his son was out there, said Haugh, and hadn’t heard about the previous day’s double drowning. Haugh issued a citation. The father thanked Haugh for writing him up. The boy, also named John, gave Haugh a fist bump.
“People just don’t know how fast kids can disappear,” Haugh said.
Idaho law requires children 14 and younger to wear life jackets on boats less than 19 feet long. On larger boats, there must be a readily accessible life jacket on board for every person.
Beginning in 2019, the Bloomington Lake Day Use Area, along with several campgrounds within the Montpelier Ranger District, will be managed by a recreation service provider partner, Aud and Di. Once the fee tubes are installed, which is expected in mid-July, a $5 per vehicle day-use fee will be assessed at the popular Bloomington Lake Day Use Area in Southeast Idaho. Holders of the Federal Recreation Annual Pass will pay $2.50 per vehicle. The fee will be used to service and maintain the day use area’s recreation facilities and invest in amenity updates.
While previously a no-fee site, the continued popularity of the area and increased visitation has resulted in a significant strain on day-to-day operations. Aud and Di will use the day-use fees to maintain site amenities and ensure appropriate sanitation monitoring at Bloomington Lake.
“All our campgrounds, as well as the Minnetonka Cave, operate under a concessionaire permit,” said Montpelier District Ranger Mike Duncan. “We decided to add Bloomington Lake under this strategy to alleviate some of the constraints on our workforce.” Partners such as Aud and Di provide services and can respond quickly to customer needs and expectations. The day-use fee will allow the company the tools necessary to provide quality services to the high number of individuals accessing the site.
Bloomington Lake is a high-elevation (8,200 feet) 10-acre glaciated lake with a healthy trout population. Access is by Bloomington Canyon by high-clearance vehicles only. The last quarter-mile is limited to foot travel only. This area is managed as a Special Emphasis Area in the Caribou Revised Forest Plan for its unique geologic, ecological, botanical and zoological resource values.
Fee envelopes will be placed at the Bloomington Lake parking lot. Visitors will be required to fill out a fee envelope, remove the visitor portion for placement in their vehicle, and deposit the day use envelope in a fee tube. Additional information will be available on kiosks at the parking area.
Questions or concerns should be directed Mike Duncan, Montpelier District ranger, at 208-847-0375.
ALMO — Want to find an adventure without the hustle and bustle of the typical tourist town? Almo and its surrounding recreational areas may provide the seclusion you’re looking for.
The tiny village is often described as a town lost in time. The California Trail, alternate routes of the Old Oregon Trail, and old stagecoach routes are still evident in many locations throughout the area.
Looming above 10,000 feet, Cache Peak is Idaho’s highest peak south of the Snake River. The appearance of the peak and its sister summits ahead of westbound emigrants on the Old Oregon Trail signaled the “Parting of the Ways” near Raft River, where folks decided whether to continue northwest to Oregon or take the “last exit” to the California gold fields.
Those who turned southwest toward California found what they called the “Silent City of Rocks” in Idaho just north of the Utah border. Hundreds of emigrants between 1843 and 1882 wrote their names in axle grease on towering granite boulders and camped in the future park before continuing into Nevada.
Superintended Wallace Keck points out emigrant names written in axle grease on Camp Rock at City of Rocks National Reserve near Almo in 2017.
Margaret A. Frink, an emigrant on the California Trail, traveled through what she called a “stone village” in July 1850.
“It is a sublime, strange, and wonderful scene — one of nature’s most interesting works,” Frink wrote in her journal.
Nestled in the Albion Mountains just east of the City of Rocks National Reserve, Almo was an early hub of activity on the trail. To this day, the unincorporated community — home to numerous ranching families — remains a hub but for rock climbers, photographers, birders, hunters, campers and cyclists.
The visitor center for the reserve and nearby Castle Rocks State Park is in Almo, open seven days a week from mid-April to mid-October, and Tuesday through Saturday during the winter months.
An estimated 240,000 emigrants passed through the Almo area on their way to California in the 1800s; today, the National Park Service estimates the number of “visits” to the City of Rocks and nearby Castle Rocks State Park at 290,000 annually.
The “Silent City of Rocks” is where the Holladay Stagecoach and the Kenton Freight Road met the California Trail. The trail is seen looking toward the Twin Sisters at City of Rocks National Reserve. Charles Trotter and his brother-in-law Charles Walgamott ran the stage stop near here in the early 1870s.
Climbing and bouldering
Castle Rocks and “the City” are internationally renowned among climbers, boulderers and sightseers alike. Some 60,000 climbers hit the rocks every year, said Wallace Keck, City of Rocks National Reserve superintendent since 2002.
“The City of Rocks hit the national climbing magazines in the 1980s and the word spread,” Keck said.
More than 600 established climbing routes from 30 to 600 feet high are rated from a relatively easy “5.6” to an extremely difficult “5.14” spread over nearly 16,000 acres. Guidebooks to both the City and Castle Rocks are available at the visitor center, he said.
The National Park Service offers several opportunities to learn how to climb at the City before spending money on climbing equipment.
“For about $40, our rangers in the Climbing Experience program will take you out to an easy route so you can get the feel of the rock to find out if you like it,” Keck said.
He added, “Climbing can be expensive — $700 for equipment.”
In addition, rangers have offered the First Time Climbing program for children several times a year. Children are harnessed so they can climb without danger of falling, then lowered to the ground safely by ropes.
Phillip Christensen and his sons — from left, Eugene, 4, Orson, 2, and Jed, 7 — check out City of Rocks National Reserve near Almo on March 26.
“We want children to come to the City,” Keck said. “In the eight years we’ve been doing the ‘First Time’ program, we’ve never had an accident.”
Guide services are available for those who want to continue the sport.
Wildlife abounds
An avid photographer, Keck splits his time managing both the reserve and the state park, an old ranch obtained by the state in 2003.
“I would never go out to the backcountry without a camera,” he said. “Put me wherever there are birds and plants. That’s where I’m happy.”
Mountain lions, bobcats, moose, elk and mule deer frequent the park, evidenced by the piles of droppings they leave.
Raptors such as the red-tailed hawk and the harrier hawk can be found year-round, while other hawks come and go with the seasons, Keck said.
The annual “Birding Big Day Blitz” in early June brings in some of the best birders in Idaho, he said. Birding competitors pair up to check off as many species of birds they can spot in a 24-hour period.
“We’re still studying and learning what we have,” Keck said.
Winter sports
Nordic skiing and snowshoeing are popular ways to follow the California Trail through the City. Snow depths average 3 to 5 feet in the lower elevations. Snowshoes can be rented at the visitor center.
For more extreme winter sports, Pomerelle Mountain Resort is a short drive away on Mount Harrison near Albion.
Want to spend the night? Reservations are a must
Whether visitors drive in, bicycle in or walk in, the City includes 64 standard campsites, three group sites, and an RV park with water and electricity. The City also includes campsites with corrals for horses.
Elijah Willians pulls up his brother Yonatan, 12, while sightseeing March 26 at City of Rocks National Preserve near Almo.
Castle Rocks rents out the state park’s historic ranch house called “The Lodge,” a bunkhouse and a glamping yurt. The Lodge offers modern amenities such as a fully equipped kitchen, spacious bathroom with tub and shower, flat-screen TV/DVD with Roku, Wi-Fi and propane grill.
But don’t expect to find a place to throw out your bedroll without a reservation.
“June is our busiest month, then September,” Keck said.
More information, including camping rules and fees, can be found at the National Park Service website at nps.gov/ciro/planyourvisit/camping.htm.
The City of Rocks National Reserve is open 365 days a year. All roads are gravel, so, depending on weather conditions, some roads may be impassable from November through April. Call the Visitor Center at 208-824-5901 for the latest road conditions.
With summer in full swing in Grand Teton National Park, rangers have scheduled several programs, hikes and campfire gatherings to appeal to a wide variety of interests.
The following is a list of programs and activities held this summer:
Ranger programs
Map chat — a 20-minute talk on the parks geology, wildlife and stories behind the scenery. Meet at the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center Relief Map, daily 10:30 a.m. and 11:15 a.m., June 5 to Sept. 2.
Nature in a Nutshell — a 20-minute talk on the park’s natural world. Meet at the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center Courtyard, Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays 3:30 p.m., June 5 to Sept. 1.
Tipi demo — a 1-hour talk about the traditional Plains Indian home. Meet at the Colter Bay Amphitheater, Wednesdays 10 a.m., June 5 to Aug. 28.
Indian arts and culture — a 45-minute talk with an expert on American Indian lifeways. Meet in the Colter Bay Visitor Center Auditorium, Tuesdays 3 p.m., June 9 to Aug. 29.
Teton topics — a 30-minute talk on a fascinating aspect of the park’s natural or cultural history. Meet in the Colter Bay Visitor Center Auditorium, Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 3 p.m., June 6 to Sept. 3.
Murie home tour — a 30-minute to an hour meeting on the history of the ranch, the Muries’ life-long dedication to conservation work, current work at the center. Meet a Teton Science Schools docent at the Muries’ home at the Murie Ranch, daily, 2:30 p.m., June 17 to Oct. 11.
Breaking Trails: Women Inspiring Change — a 20-minute talk celebrating the women who shaped Grand Teton National Park. Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center, Tuesdays and Saturdays, 3:30 p.m., June 8 to Aug. 31.
Bear and wildlife safety — a 20-minute talk on staying safe in bear country. Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center, Mondays and Thursdays, 3:30 p.m., June 6-Sept 2; Colter Bay Visitor Center, Sundays and Thursdays, 3 p.m., June 6 to Sept. 2; Jenny Lake Visitor Center and Laurence S. Rockefeller Preserve, check for times.
Hike with a ranger
Taggart Lake hike — 2.5 hours; meet at Taggart Lake Trailhead, 3 miles round trip, daily 8:30 am, June 5 to Sept. 2.
Hidden Falls to Inspiration Point hike — This activity is limited to 25 on a first-come, first-served basis. We will take the shuttle boat across Jenny Lake. Visitors are responsible for their boat fare. Meet at Jenny Lake Visitor Center, 3 miles round trip, 1.5 mi guided, daily 8:30 a.m., June 7 to Sept. 2.
Rockefeller Preserve hike — 2.5-hour hike, 3 miles, reservations required, call 307-739-3654. Hike the Lake Creek Trail through forest and meadows to the shore of Phelps Lake. Meet at the Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve Center porch, daily 9:30 a.m., June 5 to Sept. 2.
Swan Lake hike — 3-hour hike, 3 miles, meet at flagpole in front of Colter Bay Visitor Center, daily 4 p.m., June 5 to Sept. 3.
Campfire and Evening Programs
Astronomy Night — 45-minute talk about astronomy and stargazing. Colter Bay Amphitheater (Auditorium if inclement weather), Thursdays 9 p.m., June 13 to Aug. 29.
Twilight Talk — 45-minute campfire talk on animals and park stories. Meet at the Gros Ventre Campground Amphitheater, Tuesday-Saturday 7:30 p.m., June 10 to Aug. 31
Colter Bay early evening talk — a 45-minute talk. Meet at the Colter Bay Amphitheater, daily 7 pm, June 10 to Sept. 2
Colter Bay Talk — a 45-minute talk about the park. Meet at the Colter Bay Amphitheater (Auditorium if inclement weather), Friday-Monday, Wednesday 9 pm, June 10 to Sept. 2.
Family Movie Night — a 45-minute program on the big screen. Meet at the Colter Bay Amphitheater (Auditorium if inclement weather), Tuesdays 9 p.m., June 11 to Aug. 27
For other activities and services, call 307-739-3300.
VICTOR — There are five wild mustangs living on the ranch at HAPI Trails, fine physical specimens that are completely unfamiliar with humans. The horse rescue organization has invited volunteers to participate in the nonprofit’s first Mustang Makeover Challenge and test their acumen by gentling and training the mustangs.
HAPI Trails board chair Jennifer Carter explained that last winter, she and other members of the Victor-based organization had seen calls for help on social media from Kimberly Clark of A Little Piece Of Heaven Wild Mustang Rescue. The mustang rescue program, located in American Falls, had a lot of needs and not a lot of resources to deal with a big influx of rescued animals.
“We have a really active board and lots of volunteers and it’s still hard,” Carter said. “I don’t know how Kim does it mostly alone.”
HAPI Trails had had a very successful adoption year and was looking for more horses, so the board decided to lend a hand to A Little Piece of Heaven by providing supplies and rehoming some young wild horses that had been captured on the Yakima and Colville reservations in Washington. In May Carter, executive director Julie Martin, James Arnold, and Greta Procious drove two trailers down to American Falls and spent hours trying to wrangle horses into the trailers.
“It was the craziest thing I’ve ever done with HAPI Trails,” Carter said. “No one has handled these horses, they’re not halter broke, they have no exposure to humans. We got six horses in the catch pen and they were going nuts.”
After dropping one mustang at its permanent home, they brought five young horses back to the HAPI Trails rehabilitation ranch.
Joey, Zoe, Remington, Jessie, and Annie are all under five years old and, unlike a lot of neglected or surrendered horses that HAPI Trails rescues, they’re in great physical shape. However, rescued horses usually receive immediate vaccinations, shoeings and veterinary exams, but these animals aren’t ready for that much human contact yet. That’s why HAPI Trails is hosting the Mustang Makeover this summer. Carter said she has been interested in the idea for a while, having attended a big mustang event in Fort Collins, Colorado, but opted not to source horses from the Bureau of Land Management because it can be an expensive and involved process.
Carter didn’t know what to expect when she put out the word on Facebook about the mustang makeover recently and was surprised when five trainers quickly volunteered to work with the mustangs. They each have the option to either adopt the horse at the end of the summer, with the $500 adoption fee waived, or let the horse be adopted by another home and receive that $500 fee.
“It’s a huge benefit for us,” Carter said. “Having community members come forward to do this is a beautiful thing.”
Training can cost thousands of dollars, but these trainers, who were thoroughly vetted before orientation, are doing it for the experience. The trainers included mounted police officers from Jackson, an aspiring professional trainer, and the 2018 HAPI Trails Volunteer of the Year, Judy Nalley, who has already spent hours with her mustang and has made the most headway because of its youth.
Kiana Roylance of Rexburg was the first to volunteer. She decided to work with a mustang because she thinks it will be a good challenge.
“There is so much we can learn from horses and I wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone and grow more as a trainer,” Roylance said. “Plus, there is nothing better than working with a horse and seeing them grow into their potential and seeing them find a good home. It’s beautiful. And I wanted to be a part of that at HAPI Trails.”
The trainers have been coordinating with each other to crack the code of gentling the animals. Carter encourages potential adopters to check out the training and get to know the process. Email horses@hapitrails.org for more information.
On Sept. 14, HAPI Trails will hold the first Extreme Cowboy Competition at the arena. If the mustangs are ready by then, they will be led through obstacles and speed courses, although Carter said there is no pressure to perform.
“It’ll be interesting to see if they get anywhere,” she said. “Really our number one goal is to get them vaccinated.”
