Sheep move up the valley.

 The weather went on to hot for a few days, 88f.
 Mornings have been to die for,
before the traffic starts on the highway, it heats up and dries out.
 A little rainstorm this evening, probably undoing most of the knapweed spraying I did today.  Yesterday morning, I was out in the field and saw a dust cloud high on the hill on the East side of the valley.  Sheep had arrived, moving up the valley.

They will head up valley all Summer, foraging and fertilizing.  That's why it's generally not safe to drink the water from any mountain stream. In the Fall the sheep will turn down valley  ending up in the South valley, and loaded on trucks.
 Ketchum used to be the sheep capital of the West. The train shipyard and holding pens were where the new YMCA stands today.

 
   That's the "Last Chance Ranch", owned by the late Steve Mc Queen.
 The hillsides have been terraced by the CCC, or civilian conservation corps, back in the 1930s.  The terracing was to prevent erosion due to the number of sheep traveling through.

 With the adorable nickname of "mountain maggots", more of Idaho's Summer visitors have arrived. 
  All attended by the shepherds and sheep dogs, 

  some will make it into the Sawtooth Valley, beneath the awesome Sawtooth Range.

Oregon gulch volunteer trail work day

Oregon gulch volunteer trail work day

                                            
         Thursday, June 16th, 2011
         Oregon Gulch Trail head
          17:00                                   

                                               
The new trail up Oregon Gulch gained momentum today with the volunteer work day.
Members of the Northwest Youth Corp trailcrew started connecting the trail over the new bridge circumventing the old trail taken over by aggressive beaver action.

The Sawtooth Backcountry Horseman provided a cookout  with healthy portions for all volunteers.

  So after a bit of thankfulness for the weather, 
                     
The Mule Skinner demonstrated amazing adeptness controlling the team with verbal commands and reign actions.

    After the log was delivered to the clearing, the Youth Core began peeling the logs to dry for a future project up the gulch.

          































  The skinners headed back for another log for the project.

And the last log brought in
  to be used on the project .

      Amazing kids the youth corps are. Spending a month plus out in the woodlands clearing trails.



  Will update on progress on the trail.