Fun Fitness After 50

Old enough to know how to have fun!

  • Running
    • barefoot
    • minimalist
  • Swimming
    • my Endless Pool
    • open water
  • Cycling
    • spin bike
    • mountain bike
    • road bike
  • Dancing
    • backyard
    • clubs and pubs
  • Strength Training
    • TRX
    • yoga
  • Hiking
  • Health Basics
    • nutrition
    • aging
    • weight and body image
  • The Fun Fitness After 50 Store

The Secrets of Squaw Canyon – Owyhee Desert Adventure

January 23, 2020 by Laura Blodgett Leave a Comment

Should we talk about the bull first or the bouldering?

The deep muscle aches from the virus were almost gone. The hacking cough was still painful, but I felt like I needed to move and get some fresh air. So, when dear hubby wondered if I was up for a walk, I said, “Yes, please.”

I don’t know why I thought he meant a walk around our new neighborhood. When he said he wanted to explore a new place in the Owyhee Desert, I almost backed out. Instead, I emphasized that I wasn’t sure I could go far. He was agreeable to dealing with my limits.

And so began our adventure that included huge bulls, disintegrating precipitous trails, climbing huge boulders, and a beautiful canyon.

(video below)

Where is the Owyhee Desert?

(If you don’t care where it is, skip to the video below!)

The Owyhee covers covers 9 million acres in Idaho, Oregon, and Nevada, according to Idaho Fish and Game. We live in Marsing, which is considered a perimeter town to the otherwise desolate space. If you want more maps of trails and points of interest in the Owyhee Desert, check out this pdf published by the BLM.

However, Squaw Creek isn’t on any of those maps. I searched high and low for a map specifically of Squaw Creek and couldn’t find one, so below are some screen shots to help.

The yellow arrow in the top left points to Marsing, where Highway 55 passes through town, right after you go over the bridge to cross the Snake River.

The yellow arrow at the bottom left points to where Squaw Creek intersects with Summercamp Road (which I will show more closely in another photo below).

The blue arrow near the bottom shows approximately where Squaw Creek is and where it empties into the Snake River.

(screen shot compliments of Google maps)
It was easiest for us to find Clark Road off of Highway 78, then head south to Summercamp Road. The yellow square shows the intersection of Clark and Summpercamp.
(screen shot compliments of Google maps)
The red circle show the unmarked open spot where we parked off of Summercamp. The red arrow indicates the cattle fence which you can barely make out as a thin line in the photo. It is easy to open.

The blue arrow shows where Squaw Creek is from there.

(screen shot compliments of Google maps)
This map view shows both the Snake River and Lake Lowell for positioning. The red arrow is pointing to Summercamp Road. The blue arrow is pointing to Squaw Creek, pretty much where we parked.

(screen shot compliments of Google maps)
This is zoomed in some and the red circle shows where we parked.

(screen shot compliments of Google maps)
The upper blue arrow shows the rough road we followed along the first part of our hike. That is about where the bull was.

The red arrow show about where anything like a road ends.

The lower blue arrow shows where the canyon starts in earnest.

(screen shot compliments of Google maps)

Did someone say something about a bull?

I know about cattle out on BLM land. I’ve hiked a lot of places out there. I’ve been surrounded by a pack of dogs and I know there are coyotes and rattle snakes. I still wasn’t expecting the huge bull right in our path as we rounded a corner.

I will admit to being panicked. He looked straight at us like we look at an ant right before we squish it. I backed up on the trail, but dear husband tried some arm waving to get the bull to move. The bull did not want to move.

Our dog, Boo, dashed around, not actually at the bull, but because she is an energetic black lab who always dashes around on hikes. She seemed fairly oblivious to the bull and I wondered if he’d casually flick her with his horns.

Instead, he decided we weren’t worth the trouble and plodded a bit further into the sage brush, still keeping his eye on Boo. He looked like he could easily charge at a moment’s notice. Dear hubby told me to move up the path while the bull was watching Boo… and I did.

Should you take a picture of a wild bull?

In spite of my terror, I was interested in a photo. Maybe because it makes my fear seem more worth it? But I couldn’t bring myself to stop for a photo this time.

When he was still there on the way back, I took a photo from way back, but it ended up being like taking photos of whales in Hawaii. They never look as big or as close in the photo as they do in person. Even my husband said this bull had some big equipment!

Where did the path go?

The road narrowed down to what I thought was nothing, but dear hubby kept walking. He had studied the map and could see the rocks that he thought were the beginning of the canyon.

After a bit, a narrow trail became a little more obvious. We came across one other lone hiker, who asked us where the bull was now… Other than that, we might as well have been on the moon.

Here is the video:

Below is a movie/slideshow that shows highlights of the hike, everything from the tumbleweed blockade, that necessitated quite a detour, to the intimidating rock formations. I am putting in that photo of the bull, but keep in mind that his surroundings don’t give a good idea of his size when he finally got away from the path. His head was on level with mine and he must have weighed over a ton.

Is it safe to hike Squaw Creek?

How easily do you get lost? Is it flood season? Is the temperature safe for getting warm? These are the kinds of questions you should ask when thinking about hiking along Squaw Creek.

The nearly 3 miles we hiked this particular cold day in January required moderate physical stamina. It wouldn’t be easy to run or ride a mountain bike along the second half of our hike, right up to the canyon opening. Inside the canyon would certainly be a lot of bouldering.

There were places where the trail was washing out along the side of a precipitous edge that dropped off about 30 feet down to the creek. There were other places where the creek had to be crossed amidst thick shrubs and no distinct opening on the other side. Some parts of the trail were liberally strewn with large rocks that would make either running or biking pretty impossible.

A couple of years ago, dear hubby took some of our teenage kids to hike up to the other end of Squaw Creek canyon. They encountered the same issues. They had our 6 year old Australian Shepherd mix dog with them and she could not deal with the boulders. She was carried over some parts, but it was stressful for her.

I would definitely go again. I don’t know about climbing around in the canyon, though. I would need evaluate the likelihood of a flash flood, so probably not at all in the spring.

However, it would be nice to go in the spring to see it when it is green. I like to try identifying wild flowers, too. Maybe I will see you out there?

Filed Under: Adventures with Wild Greg, Hiking Tagged With: Idaho, Owyhee Desert Adventure, Wild Greg Adventure

About Me

If you want to know more about what I’m up to, here is a summary!

Get the paperback or audiobook! (audiobook read by me.)

My Other Blogs

  • Fun Learning Chinese
  • Daily Improvisations
  • The Happy Homeschool
  • LauraBlodgett.com

Archives

Recent Comments

  • Nick Deutschmann on A Letter to the College of Western Idaho About Going to Class Barefoot
  • lauraimprovises on Un Snorkeling to Make Underwater Ocean Observation More Enjoyable
  • Anemone Flynn on Un Snorkeling to Make Underwater Ocean Observation More Enjoyable

Tags

12 Weeks to a Healthy New Year body image book reviews dancing dogs female issues gear Helpless Female Idaho injuries interview interviews legal issues Luna sandals music my Luna sandals my Moc3s nutrition organizing Owyhee Desert Adventure PVC Pipe Projects questioning the establishment race report recipes sockwas spin bikes at home Swimming Pool Project Taipei Trails and Paths to Run or Bike training plans weight Wild Greg Adventure Winnipeg Barefoot Runners

All pictures and content including the name and logo “Fun Fitness After 50” are Copyright (c) 2021 by Laura Blodgett, unless otherwise noted. Please contact the author with any questions or comments.

Making sure you know that:

Some of the links on this site are affiliate links, including affiliate links to amazon.com. See disclosures here

Contact me

I’d love to hear from you! You can send me a message by clicking here.

Written by yours truly:

Why Does Grandma Run Barefoot? The key to fun movement and good balance

The audiobook is read by me!

Copyright © 2022 · Beautiful Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in