Visiting desert national parks was a joyful experience. Sleeping in desert campgrounds turned out to be a mixed bag.

Recently my sweetheart and I visited two national parks in the southwest — Joshua Tree and Saguaro national parks.

Joshua Tree is a rugged desert area in southern California in an area where two deserts meet, the Mojave and Colorado deserts. Two major features about this park stood out to me: The vast tracks of large Joshua trees and giant boulders and rock formations of a coarse type of granite.

I had seen Joshua trees before, but never so many and so large. Many of the “trees” were as big as a house. Joshua trees are not a true tree, but a type of yucca plant that grows to the size and similar shape of a tree. The area also has junipers and piñon pines and a variety of cactus plants.

We met my daughter and her family who flew in from Wisconsin to Palm Springs, California and chased two small grandsons on some of the trails in the park. The boys had fun scrambling up rocks, talking to lizards and watching jackrabbits dart away.

The next day, my wife Julie and I returned to Joshua Tree to sample some of the thousands of rock climbing routes in the park. I was not feeling as spunky as I had hoped. Poor sleep the night before caused by noisy campground neighbors and a giant desert rock concert with sound that carried throughout the region turned my sniffles into a bigger deal.

We did manage to find some wonderful climbing routes and have an enjoyable time.

After a couple of days in Joshua Tree, we traveled to Tucson, Arizona to visit in-laws and sample the sights.

In the Tucson area, the dominant exceptional plant is saguaro cactus. They look like giant green cigars covered in spines and standing straight up. I was told that they don’t start growing arms until they are about 70 years old. Many are two stories tall.

Saguaro National Park celebrates this exceptional plant and protects it along with petroglyphs and a unique desert environment. The park is actually two separate land sections, one on the east side of Tucson and one on the west side of the city.

I rode my bicycle from my in-laws’ home through the town over to the east side national park and then rode the one-way loop road (about 8 miles) through the park. The total distance was 29 miles door-to-door, and I was so proud of myself for not getting lost and having to phone a friend for directions. (Tucson seems to be easier to get around in than Albuquerque.)

Riding a bike through Saguaro National Park was sheer joy, and I found myself grinning most of the time. There are pullouts along the way with a few desert trails to explore.

Besides the rabbits and lizards that I saw along the way in Saguaro National Park, I’m told that there is a full complement of other desert critters, including cougars, tortoises, snakes, birds and the coatimundi — a funky looking cat-like animal that has a long tail that sticks straight up. My in-laws said they’ve seen one pass through their yard along with javelinas — a mean little wild desert pig with dark hair and weapon-like tusks. They’re so tough that they munch on cactus, and most everything gets out of their way.

It seems every type of plant in the desert southwest has spines or quills growing on it. My worry was riding a bike down here and having enough spare inner tubes. But so far, I’ve yet to change a flat. Just dumb luck no doubt.

The Tucson area brags that it is prime cycling country. There is a huge network of mountain biking trails and almost all of the streets have well-placed bike lanes. A cyclist could get used to this town quickly.

Jerry Painter is a longtime East Idaho journalist and outdoorsman.

I first became acquainted with the Scooters Youth Hunting Camp back in 2004 or 2005. My wife came home from school one day and told me that she’d signed up two kids in her school in some kind of youth hunting camp named Scooters Youth Hunting Camp and that I had to take them to it. What! The camp is held the first Saturday in May every year. That is right in the middle of primo bear and whistle pig hunting and crappie fishing … and turkey hunting … and morel mushroom picking seasons!

I don’t want to sound self-centered but I was stuck no matter how much I whined. So, I dutifully took the two young boys. Little did I know that I would end up liking the camp better than they did. In fact, I’ve been a volunteer ever since. And the two young boys have grown up to be good young men and I later got to take them both on their first deer hunt.

I conduct 40 to 60 outdoor seminars/speaking engagements per year all the way from Texas to Alaska. I had five in Vegas in January alone and yet the SYHC is the coolest deal that I do all year. Scott McGann originally did it to help single moms. But he couldn’t deny kids with two parents to come but his heart was originally to help single mom’s in getting their kids in the outdoors to help them stay out of trouble.

In the beginning, kids mailed in applications and all were accepted. I think in those days we had about 140 kids. Finally, it kept growing until we had to hire someone to do a call-in registration. Last year it filled up with 250 kids in 47 seconds. It is the coolest deal in the world.

Here’s the format: The kids show up and sign in and are divided into six groups. To begin, we meet and say the Pledge of Allegiance, a local pastor says a prayer and then group one goes to the first station, group two to the second one and so on. There are six stations.

• TRAP SHOOTING

•.22 RANGE

• BLACKPOWDER RANGE

• ARCHERY RANGE

• SURVIVAL RANGE

• GUN CLEANING/KNIFE SHARPENING

After 45 minutes all groups reconvene in the meeting area and a seminar is put on by a pro staff member. They are great seminars and I always learn a lot at them. When the seminar is over, the kids rotate to their next station.

At lunch time, we break and eat lunch that has been prepared by a group of volunteers. What makes the camp really cool is that, due to generous local businesses, the food and snacks are all donated and cooked by volunteers so they eat for free. After lunch the kids rotate to their next station.

After the kids have hit all of the stations they reconvene in the meeting area for Scott’s favorite event The kid’s drawing. Due to local businesses and major companies donating items every kid draws a gift. And I meant nice gifts. Companies and local businesses are over-the-top generous. Companies like Knives of Alaska, Smith’s Consumer Products, Spyderco, Swab-its, Otis, Umarex Airguns, Swab-its and the list goes on and on.

All of the kids get to go free due to the generosity of local and national businesses and volunteer help. Where the heck was the SYHC at when I was a kid!!!

Here are a few general rules but check the website below to ensure that you don’t miss the registration!

• Registration opens April 1, 2022, at 10 a.m.

• Kids must be 9 to 16 years old

• Camp will be held rain or shine. Nothing short of the rapture will stop the camp from occurring.

• The camp will be photographed by various media sources. If you do not want your kid filmed, then DO NOT attend.

It will take place in Emmett at the Gem County Rod and Gun Club.

(Ok, I hate to be juvenile but, here’s the highlight for me. HeBrews coffee in Emmett sets up a donut trailer at start-up. Let’s just say, I eat more than my fair share of sugar/cinnamon donuts).

Go to the website to register: scootersyouth hunting.camp.

Tom Claycomb lives in Idaho and has outdoors columns in newspapers in Alaska, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Colorado and Louisiana. He also writes for various outdoors magazines and teaches outdoors seminars at stores like Cabela’s, Sportsman’s Warehouse and Bass Pro Shop. He can be reached via email at smileya7@aol.com.

The other day I wrote horror stories about ice fishing. I figured I’d better follow up with a how-to ice fishing article in case someone still had a death wish and wanted to go! I’m headed to Texas next week for a hog hunt using the Umarex Air Sabre (which is an airgun that shoots arrows). Due to being AWOL, I had to submit this story early. By the time it publishes, ice will probably be melting at CJ so you’ll probably have to go up to a mountain lake to ice fish.

It’s according to how serious you want to get. If you’re going to go every weekend, you’ll need to accumulate more gear than I’m going to recommend. You see pictures of ice fishermen up in the Northeast that have ice fishing shanties out on the ice. We won’t cover that angle.

If you’re going to ice fish regularly, I’d recommend a portable pop-up hut. You set on a bench and there are holes in the floor to line up with the holes you’ve drilled in the ice. I’ve never used any of these so sorry, I don’t know a good one to recommend.

I’ve always wondered, but never have tried it, why wouldn’t a cheap little dome tent work? Set it up and fish in it? But who knows, the bottom of the tent may freeze to the ice and become a permanent fixture until spring! So, this idea may not work.

To haul out my gear I use a cheap little red kid’s sled. Load on your gear, tie a rope on front to drag it and off you go. It should hold all of your gear but if not, throw the rest into a backpack. It’s smart to take a 20-foot rope with a thick diameter. That way if someone falls in you can throw it to them and drag them out.

I always carry a 5-gallon bucket to set on. Yes, a chair would be more comfortable but you can throw your gear in the bucket and then set it in the sled. If it’s cold you may want to take a tent heater. Or, you can build a fire.

Then, of course, you’ll need an ice auger. I have a cheaper hand auger but if you’re going to be fishing much a gas auger would be better. If they’re not biting, you need to move. Maybe you can’t troll when ice fishing but if you have a gas auger you can move more/faster. You’ll also want an ice scoop to scoop the slush out of the hole after drilling it. You’ll also use the scoop to break up ice as it starts forming on the surface of your hole.

Now for the important items. If you’re going to be drilling a lot of holes, you may want to buy cheap tip-ups to save money. I personally favor regular rods and reels. But you don’t want your regular fishing rods. You’ll want to use the short ice fishing rods. Again, I’m not a 24/7 ice fisherman so I buy cheap ice fishing rods and reels but like with all fishing, you’ll cuss less and fish more if you use quality reels.

Like with all fishing, no one lure is the silver bullet. No siree, the manufacturers have convinced us that we need a multitude of lures of different sizes and colors. I usually use the little ice fishing jigs and tip them off with a meal worm. Or, I’ve got a variety of Pautzke’s Fireballs that you can put on the jig. They’re colored and scented to help attract fish. And, they don’t die like worms do. So you can keep a bottle for … I don’t know how long, but years. That’s probably your best option because a worm isn’t going to be too lively in the frigid water below anyway, right?

For perch, I usually drop down to the bottom and reel up 8-12 inches. But like all fishing you have to check all of the water column to find out where the fish are. They even offer fish finders for ice fishermen. I’ve never used one, though, so I can’t tell you anything about them.

One good thing about ice fishing, you don’t need a stringer or a live well. Kick a little snow in a pile and throw your fish in the snow and you’re good to go. Then when you leave, just throw them into your bucket.

One last tip: due to the cold water, the fish will be a little lethargic so don’t fish your lure fast. And yes, you can jig up and down but do it slower than normal. Have fun.

Tom Claycomb lives in Idaho and has outdoors columns in newspapers in Alaska, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Colorado and Louisiana. He also writes for various outdoors magazines and teaches outdoors seminars at stores like Cabela’s, Sportsman’s Warehouse and Bass Pro Shop. He can be reached via email at smileya7@aol.com.

At least once a winter we make our annual pilgrimage to Bear Gulch and ski along the canyon rim to Lower Mesa Falls.

About every other year we get to feeling our oats and ski to the Upper Falls and back (nearly 10-mile round trip).

Bear Gulch is a popular winter destination about 17 miles east of Ashton on Highway 47 (also known as the Mesa Falls Scenic Highway). The highway is plowed up to the trailhead. Beyond that, it is groomed for snowmobiling and cross-country skiing.

The winter trailhead parking area can be packed with mostly snowmobilers and a few cross-country skiers on weekends. The trailhead is a Park ’N Ski trailhead.

This past week my sweetheart and I went on a weekday and almost had the place to ourselves. There were only a couple of vehicles in the football-field-sized parking lot.

The other nice thing about going in the middle of last week was that about 3 to 4 inches of snow had fallen the night before and improved the skiing experience.

On the downside, the temperatures were chilly, especially with a slight breeze. We had to wear buffs over our faces and robust beanies to fend off the single-digit temperatures.

The trail leaves the parking lot and follows up the road for about a third of a mile. On the left, look for a trail sign announcing a ski trail and telling snowmobilers to keep out.

This ski trail roughly parallels the highway but follows the rim of the deep Henry’s Fork canyon. Because the trail winds along the canyon rim, it adds more mileage and ups and downs to the distance than simply following the highway.

On our visit, the trail was ungroomed and snowed over. Because the base beneath the new snow was mostly hard-packed, the skiing was still quick and pleasant. Following the trail isn’t too hard — just look for the blue diamond markings along the trees every 30 yards or so.

After about a quarter of a mile along the canyon rim, we were treated to the best reason to ski this trail in the wintertime: astounding beauty. The views along this trail are some of the best in all of Idaho, and that’s saying a lot.

With the sun out, bright blue skies, snowy trees and the sparkling waters of Henry’s Fork far below, there were moments of pausing and soaking in the sights.

For the most part, the trail is fairly easy. There are a few short whoop de doos that may give beginning skiers pause.

We stopped at the Lower Mesa Falls overlook area for our usual snacks and thermos of hot herbal tea.

From the parking lot to the Lower Mesa Falls overlook along the rim trail is about 3 miles one way.

If you continue on to the Upper Mesa Falls, expect to add another 1.25 to 1.5 miles, one way depending on the route you take. If you want a shortcut going back, just ski back along the road. This is not recommended on busy weekends because of all the snowmobile traffic ripping along at mach speed.

The Upper Mesa Falls is an impressive sight in the wintertime and a major stop-off for most snowmobilers.

It can be a major commitment for skiers because the side route down to the falls is all downhill, meaning you’ll have to ski back up the road on the way back.

If you’re looking for maps and directions for this and other nearby ski trails, you can find them in the guidebook “Eastern Idaho Sweet Spots” or online at the Caribou-Targhee National Forest website.

Jerry Painter is a longtime East Idaho journalist and outdoorsman.

OK, I’m not a hard-core ice fisherman. I don’t want to be a little wimp but deep down, I don’t relish the idea of breaking through the ice. I don’t know which would be worse. Breaking through the ice or getting to survive and having to crawl out back up on the surface soaking wet and freezing cold! It’d be a toss-up.

Now mind you. I’ve experienced a lot of near-death experiences. But the older I get, the harder I try to stay alive. I haven’t broken a bone in … a few years now. Used to think you had to or you weren’t living life to the fullest.

But there’s something a little spooky about hearing that harmonic cracking sound reverberating across the lake as a crack comes racing across the lake and the ice semi cracks/splits between your feet.

Like I say, I hate to be a wimp but it’s just a little disconcerting.

I remember one time, not long after I graduated out of college, I took a job over in Nebraska. My buddy Mike Helzer wanted to go ice fishing. It had warmed up a little and the snow had melted so there was a little water on top of the ice.

I’d taken my pastor’s son with us. If a fish hit at one of the holes and we all three ran over to reel him in, the ice would somewhat sink down an inch or two and water would run out of the hole onto the top of the ice and we’d slightly sink down. Again, I hate to be a wimp but that is a little disconcerting.

The fishing was pretty good, the best I remember but … . I don’t think it was good enough to have been designated as my final spot on earth.

Then after that I moved to Colorado. A couple of buddies had some death wish to go up to the mountains and ice fish all night every year on the longest day of the year. Well, I got out of that ordeal but we did go up on a lake at 10,000 feet on New Year’s Day.

We were drilling holes to fish and my buddy Mike Trautner was setting up an ice house. We were involved in drilling our holes and suddenly we heard some screaming. A stiff wind had whipped up and he was in the process of going airborne! We grabbed his ice house (with him in it) as it was sliding across the lake and rescued him.

But, all of our gear — 5-gallon buckets to set on, rods, gear AND my party trey with sausage, tomatoes and slices of cheese — had been blown away. We got Mike’s ice house staked down and then took a hike across the lake picking up gear.

But while walking across the lake there were little frozen red marbles, which I finally figured out were the little red tomatoes that were on my party tray. The slices of sausage were rolled for amazing distances like pinwheels all across the lake. My party trey was scattered to Kingdom come.

Luckily, there was a barbed wire fence on the far side of the lake, which stopped all of our gear from blowing to the Antarctic.

Then one more ice fishing horror story. Years ago, I attended a Winter Camping seminar at Sierra Trading Post put on by Brian… I can’t remember his last name. After attending his seminar, I came up with an ingenious idea. Why go winter camping with nothing else to do? Why not go winter camping on a lake and make it a joint ice fishing trip! I’m a genius. No, that’s not giving me enough credit. I’m a visionary genius. The only problem, I couldn’t find anyone dumb enough to go with me. None of my buddy’s were game. Surely Ron Spomer would go. Nope. Oh well, I’ll go by myself.

I threw my gear in a sled and on my backpack and hiked a mile or so out to an island and luckily set up my tent on the side of an island in case the wind whipped up. Which it did. It was by the grace of God that I didn’t go tumbling off but luckily, I was on (whatever it is??? The leeward side of the island). I thought my tent was going to take off rolling. The wind was howling. The next morning, I gingerly crawled out of the tent to surprisingly (not) find that all of my ice holes had frozen solid with my lines frozen in them.

Luckily, I had a tent heater and had survived the night. I caught a few fish that morning and finally gave up the ghost and headed for the truck. A guy on a snowmobile stopped by and fished with me for a while. When he was leaving, he asked if I wanted him to carry my gear to the truck. Naw. I’m fine … . I hiked to the truck and the road had drifted shut. There was a good 2 feet of snow. Luckily someone was behind me and had to help me get out or they wouldn’t have been able to leave. Gee, I love ice fishing!

Tom Claycomb lives in Idaho and has outdoors columns in newspapers in Alaska, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Colorado and Louisiana. He also writes for various outdoors magazines and teaches outdoors seminars at stores like Cabela’s, Sportsman’s Warehouse and Bass Pro Shop. He can be reached via email at smileya7@aol.com.

What my sweetheart Julie wants, she gets.

What she doesn’t want, she just says, “No.”

We’re not talking about fancy clothes or jewelry. I’d say, “Hey sweetie pie,” I was hoping the extra sugar would encourage her to jump on board with my idea. “Would you like to go cross-country skiing up at Kelly Canyon?”

“Nope,” she replied. “I’m waiting for some new snow.”

So lately, I’ve been going without her. She did have a point. While there has been plenty of snow in the backcountry to ski on, it has been hard and icy lately. That is until the most recent storm that passed through last Sunday and dropped about 3 to 4 inches of new white stuff.

So, I approached her again on President’s Day with the sweetest, most pleasant voice I could muster. (Since it’s out of my usual character, it kind of strained a vocal cord.)

“Hey sweet Julie, you want to go cross-country skiing up at Kelly’s?”

“How much new snow did they get?”

“I think about 3 or 4 inches.”

“OK.”

YIPPEE!

I dropped her off at the skier drop-off near the resort lodge, parked in the lower lot where the snowshoers and cross-country skiers park, and hiked up with her to the last ski lift.

From there, we skied up to the Y Junction and on to the Morgan Summit warming hut. With a fresh topping of powdery snow on top of a hard-packed base of almost 2 feet, the skiing was fast and pleasant.

At the warming hut, we paused for a snack and fired up the wood stove in case someone else was following behind us.

From the warming hut, we followed the marked route to the Pine Loop Trail. The route had been groomed and skied in the past but was now covered over with fresh snow. In some places where the wind had blown the snow around, the groomed path was only a memory. Not to worry, there are blue diamonds on the trees to mark the way.

After a few initial ups and downs, the Pine Loop Trail is mostly easy skiing. The route takes you through a deep forest of fir and occasional pockets of aspen trees. From the Morgan Summit warming hut, the Pine Loop Trail covers a little under 2 miles. It’s about 2 miles from the ski lodge to the hut (all uphill), making for about 6 miles altogether there and back. A map can be found on the Idaho Falls Ski Club’s website and also in the local guidebook “Eastern Idaho Sweet Spots.”

We experienced super quiet while skiing the Pine Loop. It was fun guessing what critters made which tracks in the snow. One small rodent had its sad tale told in the snow. You could follow its tracks for 20 or 30 yards, then the tracks abruptly stopped where a set of wing marks were made in the snow, left no doubt by a raptor descending from above. The bird of prey caught its breakfast.

We skied back to the warming hut, and then down the hill from Morgan Summit. Ours were the only tracks on the road except halfway down we came across fresh moose tracks trotting up ahead of us. The tracks weren’t there on the way up the hill. We could see where the moose must have heard us coming and left the road and continued up the hill and out of view. I imagined the giant standing off the road peeking behind a tree and spying on us as we skied by.

With each new snowstorm that passes by in the next few weeks, conditions should improve for cross-country skiing in the region.

Jerry Painter is a longtime East Idaho journalist and outdoorsman.

Can you fly with a gun? Yes, but there are rules and regulations that you must follow. Some set by the government and some by each individual airline. We’ll cover some of the regulations … but first, if you’re new to the gun world you may ask the question: why would you want to fly with a gun?

I see three reasons right off:

1. You’re flying somewhere to hunt.

2. You’re a competitive shooter and flying to a match.

3. You want to have a gun for self-protection.

It doesn’t matter what the reason, the rules are the same. When you get to the ticket counter you have to declare that you have a firearm. They will ask you if it is unloaded and locked in a hard container. They will then have you sign and date an orange “Declaration Card” which is later taped to the gun box. In Boise, you will then be directed to go down to the left to have TSA check it out.

The firearm must be locked in a hard sided container. Many pistols come with a traveling case. For rifles, you will have to buy one. Forty something years ago Frontier Airlines would rent you a case for $20. The first time I flew with a rifle I was headed to Texas for a deer hunt. The ticket lady told me that if I didn’t bring it back that they’d keep my $20. She said if I wanted to keep it, she’d go get me a new one in a box.

Now, there are a plethora of gun cases to choose from. Most are lined with foam to protect your scoped rifles. These types of gun cases work fine but all that you can fit into them is your guns and maybe a knife or two. So you’re paying the airline for one bag that only has your guns in it.

Seven years ago I discovered a gun case made by Explorer that had no inner foam. They utilize a canvas carrying case. At first, I didn’t like it. I thought that’s stupid, it won’t protect my scope. But I used it on a trip to Alaska for a brown bear and duck hunt and fell in love with it. Here’s why.

When you go on a hunt, you have to take a ton of gear. Clothing — pants, shirts, base layers, coats, gloves, etc. etc. Then your guns, ammo, optics, knives, camera, maybe waders and the list goes on and on.

With my foamless case I could lay shirts/pants on the bottom, lay the canvas case on top with the guns in it and then lay more clothes on top. Wow. This was almost like having an extra bag of clothes. Plus, I could put my binoculars in the case and they’d be padded.

I fell in love with this concept of luggage. It is the only one like it that I’ve seen on the market. But what if you already own an expensive gun case and can’t (or don’t want to) buy another one? It just hit me while I’m sitting here typing but I guess you could remove the foam out of your existing case and be set. That’s better than flying a luggage half full of foam around the country!

So, if you go the above route, I’d recommend getting a canvas gun case to put your gun in to stick in the case. Plus, you can carry your gun around in the canvas case when hunting. For a pistol you can lock it in a smaller case and put in your unlocked suit case.

Some gun cases have holes for two locks. My Explorer case has holes for six locks which is a pain because Delta requires you to have a lock in every hole. You don’t want a real long necked lock because a thief may be able to pop open the closures on the gun case and be able to stick his hand into your case and pull something out (plus TSA will ding you).

On the other hand, I like longer necked locks to ensure that they can be locked. To alleviate any problems with TSA I carry a baggie of washers. I put a few on the backside of the neck of the lock and then lock the lock in place. Then, even if a thief opens the clasps on the case, he cannot pry open the top. I started doing this years ago.

I always carry 1-2 extra locks in case one malfunctions, which would be a disaster. I’ve never had a problem until … the other day. TSA wanted to open my case to inspect it upon arriving at their booth and for some reason the key wouldn’t work. No biggee. I let them cut the lock since I had an extra one.

What about ammo? Some airlines say ammo has to be in the original container but here is an excerpt from the TSA website:

• Small arms ammunition (up to .75 caliber and shotgun shells of any gauge) must be packaged in a fiber (such as cardboard), wood, plastic, or metal box specifically designed to carry ammunition and declared to your airline.

• Ammunition may be transported in the same hard-sided, locked case as a firearm if it has been packed as described above. You cannot use firearm magazines or clips for packing ammunition unless they completely enclose the ammunition. Firearm magazines and ammunition clips, whether loaded or empty, must be boxed or included within a hard-sided, locked case.

• Please check with your airline for quantity limits for ammunition.

You can carry your ammo in the original box but over time, a factory cardboard box starts to deteriorate. I just discovered some lightweight plastic containers called Ammo Buddy made by Clamtainer. That’s what I use now. They’re also great to carry extra ammo while backpacking or packing into elk camp. I would classify them as somewhat water resistant, at least as compared to a factory cardboard box.

As far as I can tell TSA doesn’t limit you on how much ammo you can carry but airlines seem to set their own limits. Delta allows up to 11 pounds and in the past United has told me they allow 10 pounds.

Tom Claycomb lives in Idaho and has outdoors columns in newspapers in Alaska, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Colorado and Louisiana. He also writes for various outdoors magazines and teaches outdoors seminars at stores like Cabela’s, Sportsman’s Warehouse and Bass Pro Shop. He can be reached via email at smileya7@aol.com.

There are four main means of transportation people use to cover the 10 miles of snowy road to Granite Creek Hot Springs in the wintertime: snowmobile, sled dogs, cross-country skis and fat tire bike.

Last week, my friend Joe Hill and I chose fat bike.

Although we are both avid cyclists (Joe owns the Sled Shed ski and bike shop in Rexburg), neither of us owns a fat bike. So, we rented bikes for the day. Many bike shops in the area rent bikes. Joe picked up a pair from the Outdoor Resource Center at Brigham Young University-Idaho, and we met early in the morning in Ririe for our drive to the winter trailhead a few miles south of Hoback Junction, Wyoming.

I have been up this beautiful mountain canyon a few times in the summer, but this was my first winter visit. The road is left unplowed in the winter and open only to snow travel. From trailhead to hot springs is about 1,000 feet of elevation gain, but there are several ups and downs both directions. The views along the way are typically spectacular with mountains in the distance and a pretty stream at the bottom of the canyon. Many sections of stream were frozen over with nearly a foot of ice.

If you talk to most fat bike riders, one of the biggest worries is the condition of the snow on the planned route. The week prior to the ride, the temperatures were bitter cold, hovering between minus 10 and 15. But when we decided to ride, the temperatures climbed to 30-plus degrees. If the snow is too soft, tires sink in and wheels feel like they are riding through glue.

At the trailhead we found scores of snowmobiles lined up in a large parking area. Most were commercially guided machines to take clients to see the sights. Near the trailhead and up a hill is a large barn announcing sled dog tours for hire.

We parked and sat for a minute discussing what to wear and not wear on the ride. The truck thermometer said it was 35 degrees. I was worried the snow was going to soften up and make riding challenging.

We dressed like we were cross-country skiing with several layers. I started riding with a beanie on under my bike helmet and a buff over my face. There was a slight breeze that made things chilly.

As we started down the road, there was that initial thrill you get of starting off on an adventure. We found that riding on the outer edge of the road proved to have the most solid snow. In the middle, snowmobiles had churned up the surface, making fat tires sink in. I noticed that the sled dog teams also chose the edge of the road.

After about a half-mile, which included a steady uphill section, we stopped and peeled off a layer of clothing. I also took off my beanie and buff. Despite shedding layers, I could still feel my under layers getting damp with sweat.

“I can tell I haven’t been getting much riding in this winter,” Joe said as we ground up another hill. Add to that a new baby that doesn’t sleep through the night and his fitness was not where he would like it.

Riding a fat bike over snow is a novel experience. We putted along at about an average speed of 7 to 8 mph. We stopped about every 15 or 20 minutes to snap photos and eat snacks.

After about an hour and 20 minutes, we came to Granite Creek Falls. We stopped and walked down to the creek and took photos. A couple was sitting in a natural hot pool on the other side of the creek below the falls. Unfortunately, to use that hot spring, you must walk through the frosty water.

The developed hot springs are about another 10 minutes of riding up the road. Here, the Forest Service operates a pool with changing rooms and benches. There is a caretaker on-site to take your $8.

At first we were the only ones in the pool, then a group of people who arrived by sled dog joined us in the pool. One talkative woman said they were a group of Rhodes scholars doing a travel trip as part of their program. She listed off several other trips they had taken in the area: Yellowstone National Park’s Old Faithful, the National Elk Refuge, cross-country skiing in West Yellowstone, Mont., riding the gondola at Snow King Ski Resort and marching around downtown Jackson, Wyo.

The typical reaction to seeing a person enter the pool was first an expression of uncertainty that quickly turned to smiles and, “Oh, this is nice!”

After a bit more than 30 minutes in the pool, we dressed, walked past the curious sled dogs and began riding down the road. By this time (early afternoon) a few things had changed. The snow was a bit softer and our bikes were acting more squirrelly and a strong head wind also fought against us. We had one major thing in our favor — the way back was mostly downhill. It ended up taking only about an hour to return back.

After my first go at fat biking Granite Creek, this trip might make the annual regular winter trip list.

For more information about Granite Creek Hot Springs, go to https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/btnf/recarea/?recid=71639.

Jerry Painter is a longtime East Idaho journalist and outdoorsman.