Return to the Wilson Creek Tour

29 April 2021
18.6 miles  3:18 riding time  2,224 elevation gain

We rode the Wilson Creek Tour in March but inadvertently cut off the Hardtrigger loop which I wanted to see and part of the group had cut the ride short leaving off Reynolds Canyon and the "China Wall" which they now wanted to see. Plus the idea of seeing this dry part of the desert on the eastern edge of the Owyhees in its brief green appealed to me. Wind storms and many schedule conflicts caused us to reschedule several times, but finally the weather was nearly perfect, so we went for it despite a few of our group not joining us.

Three of us, Ken, Michelle, and I, met at the overflow parking lot. Ken has proved himself to be an adapt map reader and plotted out our route from a book on the area. I had downloaded the route into my Garmin. Immediately, our sources disagreed on the starting trail and I suspect on the definition of "The Wilson Creek Tour". Michelle had been there before and agreed with Ken's book.  Since my Garmin is new and I'm far from its master, I agreed to follow my two companions advice although my Garmin kept telling me to "do a U Turn". We skirted the edge of the dry foothills on the eastern edge of the Owhyee Mountain sometimes following Ken's map and sometimes following Michelle's memory which steered us right when the map gave no info and trail markers were missing. 

Ken and Michelle skirting the edge of the Owyhee Foothills

Ken's map reading and Michelle's memory of a ride from a few years back eventually brought us to the Hardtrigger Canyon where there was even a trailer marker!

Ken entering Hardtrigger Canyon

the trail's a bit vague - but there - photo by Ken

The canyon soon narrowed and water appeared in the stream.

Hardtrigger Canyon narrows but is still ridable except for occasional stacks of tumbleweed which have Ken off his bike in this photo

Then our canyon became a box canyon.

We could ride no further into this box canyon

The bikes awaiting our decision

Ken spotted a route out of the canyon he thought he could climb on foot, and shot up it like a mountain goat. With very little encouragement he continued and found a game trail that seemed to lead out, and we decided to hoist the bikes up. Good thing everyone had grippy shoes. The first stage of the climb was a scramble, and we stationed Ken just above that to grab the bikes. Ken seemed to climb and move quickly without even breathing hard.

Michelle and Ken hoisting the first bike up

Ken, the mountain goat, has the bike from this point

looking down on Michelle and Steve hoisting the final bike - photo by Ken

looking down into the box canyon - photo by Ken

Michelle and Steve above Hardtrigger Canyon on the game trail - photo by Ken

Ken and Michelle back on what is likely a designated trail in the final ascent out of Hardtrigger Canyon

We had a short snack break after climbing out of Hardtrigger and joined the route we had ridden in March across the minor Wilson Creek and on to Bingo.

Ken and Michelle nearing the Bingo Trail

Michelle ready to launch as the smooth flowing Bingo Trail transitions into "Jacob's Ladder"

heading into Reynolds Canyon

Reynolds Canyon has a real creek, greener grass, and neat canyon walls that make it seem like a different world than the rest of the ride.

looking down Reynolds Canyon

Almost immediately, we were on the "China Wall", a trail built by Chinese miners. Most of it is smooth, but a few wash outs and rock slides over the last 150 years or so leave some obstacles that required pushing or carrying the bikes a very short distance.

Ken and Michelle on the upper portion of the "China Wall"

Michelle and Ken on the lower section of the China Wall. The Snake River Valley can be seen in the background.

Once out of the canyon, it's fairly smooth rolling through a couple of draws back to the car. MTB Project shows the Wilson Creek tour as 17.1 miles with 1,855' of elevation gain. We added only 1.5 miles and 389' of elevation gain. I doubt either Ken's book or the MTB Project routes people thru the box canyon, but it was well worth the extra effort in this adventure.  However, I don't recommend it with less than three people for hoisting the bikes up - scrambling with a bike in hand would be difficult and dangerous. Thanks Ken and Michelle for sharing your adventurous spirits!

Happy cycling for fun, fitness, and transportation!