North King Mountain Climb

For a long time, North King Mountain, or "The King's Crown" has been on my list of peaks to climb.  It is accessed from a high elevation hang glider launch site which makes it more accessible than most peaks of its stature.  Sadly, the direct road from Moore, ID, washed out in 2018.  Instead I took the back road from Arco over Beaverland Pass to the upper launch site.  This drive was uneventful but does include some 4WD sections.

Once at the upper launch site, I checked out the launch ramp.  After about two seconds I became convinced that hang gliding looks terrifying and it will not be added to my bucket list!  The hike from the launch site follows a very steep use trail up a ridge directly to King Mountain, an intermediate point before reaching North King Mountain.  The trail is easy to follow and eventually leads you onto some class 3 terrain to bypass a tower near the top of the ridge.  After about 2500' of elevation gain up a veritable staircase, the climb to King Mountain is over!  King Mountain offers great views of the surrounding area and a good place to take a breather before continuing the quest.

The ridge to North King Mountain is much more moderate and makes for enjoyable hiking.  A small class 3 section adds some interest to the traverse.  On top of North King Mountain, there is an infrequently signed summit register (only three other parties signed this year) and even better views of the numerous surrounding mountain ranges and valleys.

Downclimbing was uneventful but the steepness of the ridge descent was tiring and led to sore knees and sore feet.  When I got back to the vehicle, I knew I had to time to visit nearby Peak 8150 which is accessed from Beaverland Pass.  A road leads most of the way up the peak.  I followed the road until I felt like I abused the XTerra enough.  I then hiked the last 500' of gain to the top.  Peak 8150' has great views of King Mountain, the Arco Hills, and the Lost River Valley.  I wanted to continue further to Peak 8082 but sore feet and a sinking sun caused me to head back to the vehicle so I could drive the 4WD road back to town in daylight.

In short, this was a great day in the mountains and a highly recommended climb.  I saw two pronghorn and no other people!

North King Mountain Photos!
North King Mountain GPS Track
Peak 8150 GPS Track

Family Camping at Herald Provincial Park

In mid-July, we embarked on another camping trip, this one to Herald Provincial Park, near a town called Salmon Arm, BC.  We left Boise on Saturday, July 13, and drove up to Osoyoos, BC, a lovely little resort town on Osoyoos Lake which is known for being the warmest freshwater lake in Canada. We stayed in a hotel suite that had a separate (bunk bed) room for the girls, so they were happy, and we enjoyed a beautiful view of the lake from our balcony.  The girls splashed in the hotel pool the following morning and then we were on our way for the final leg of the drive to the Provincial Park.

Unfortunately for us, it was the Penticton Gran Fondo weekend...which means that for miles and miles and kilometres and kilometres, we were stuck inching along behind approximately 459,347 cyclists making their way up the hilly highway.  After what felt like our entire lives, we parted ways with the interminable clusters of bikers in Pentincton!! We stopped in Kelowna, BC for lunch at White Spot because that's just what you do when you're in BC.  Unsurprisingly, it was delicious.

We got to the campground and said hi to the crew - Liz, Cathy, Margaret Wells, Megan, Ben, Matt & Emily, Dave, Greg & Kristy. And Sydney & Kona, of course! We knew that the weather might not be awesome...but we didn't realize that meant thunderstorms and 2 hour long downpours! We were all a little worried that the tents would wash away at one point, or that we be sleeping on soaking wet sleeping bags, but luckily our tents all stood the test throughout the whole week of on again/off again rain.

We definitely made the most of the sunnier times, hanging out at the beach and swimming in the lake whenever there was a break in the weather. Dave & Ben got some fishing done and Zach took Claire to check out a big totem pole near the campground. We ventured into the town of Salmon Arm and spent some time at a cute little farm stand & petting zoo! We stocked up on some necessary rain gear, and tarped down our tent to protect against the rain showers. The kids had a great time hanging out with their cousins, swimming, smore-making & eating, reading and hanging out in Grandma's trailer! We got to hang with the family and really, truly catch up, which is always fantastic, even if it's raining!

On Saturday, July 20, we packed up the sites under threat of rain, but luckily it missed us! Everyone else headed back to the Lower Mainland, and we headed south to Richland, WA. We stayed at the Homewood Suites hotel, which is always great, and were all happy for showers and actual beds!  On Sunday we finished the drive to Boise with a lunch stop at Nells-N-Out in La Grande, OR.  We didn't get home until almost 6pm MT - it was great to be home!

We all had a wonderful visit with the Shepherd side of the family, and the rain this year just means that next year will be beautifully sunny and blue-skied! 

We're about to head off on our next (last) summer adventure - we're going to visit Jan, Ron & Grandma Dow in St. Augustine, FL for a week! We'll check in with an update when we get back, in the meantime, here are some pictures from our trip!

BC Camping 2019 Pictures!