Gooding Little City of Rocks

Hikes: D, O.
Total Distance, D: 5 miles.
Difficulty: Levels I, II, III.
Season: March 1-October 15.
USGS Map: McHan Reservoir, *Thorn Creek SW.
BLM 100K Map: Fairfield.
Dirt Road Miles: 1/2 good dirt, 1/2 fair dirt.
PLSS Location: Section 29, T3S R15E.

Introduction: This is almost too good a hiking area to make a wilderness! It begs extensive development of hiking trails, even for those on wheelchairs, with a hut or two thrown in for good measure. With true BLM commitment to protecting its wilderness character while promoting non-motorized recreation, it would be a superb attraction for the city of Gooding. It has elk and deer winter, spring, and fall range, outstanding scenic values, good native grasses, petroglyphs, and near-highway access. It is the easiest to reach of the four Camas Trail WSA's, and offers cross country ski potential in a good year.
  There are five main hiking routes you can take, and combine in any way. You can immediately climb to the plateau to the right or left; you can hike up the canyon to a forks (an easy ramble), and then make a steep climb to the plateau to right or left; or you can simply climb up the canyon, which becomes rocky after the ford. This page describes the hike to the forks, up to the plateau to the left, and then a descent via the upper canyon.

The Hike: Start at the old dam (T), and walk the quickly-deteriorating road up the canyon. After it peters out, you walk on a fairly well defined trail, crisscrossing the stream bed. You'll see some small brush-choked cracks to the left, but the main fork to the left (W1) can't be missed. Climb that fork, generally staying to the right of its stream bed, until you come to another fork. Go right into a small grassy meadow, and then right again. Now you begin to climb in earnest. A brush patch forces you up a slippery slope, but after that last hump you're on top of the world.
  You should come out on the finger of land that ends at 5108T on your map. Go left and climb the prominent cliffs, pausing to savor the view of the basin at the head of the valley. To hike the loop, head north parallel to the canyon rim. After a short half mile, watch for a small cliff with especially deep purple desert varnish. Head for it (D), and you'll find a nice group of petroglyphs in a grassy setting. The author found them defended by an especially prime rattlesnake.
  One good descent into the canyon's right fork starts directly in front of the petroglyphs. Descend a magnificent grassy slope to a creek, and then down its bed to the main fork. This fork is tougher going than the left fork. You must follow the bed of the stream, jumping from rock to rock. This is the kind of hiking the author loves best--but if it's not your cup of tea, don't try this fork.
  The author hiked up to the plateau on a nice Spring day, and was enjoying the view when he realized a massive thunderstorm was approaching from the southwest. He raced down this route into the canyon, moving at warp speed to avoid the storm. At one point he felt an icy downdraft from the menacing clouds. The hike ended in lightning, hail, and rain-a risky alternative but preferable to staying in the canyon's dubious shelter while being pelted with cold rain.
  The rocks here are something! They have been stripped and polished by running water, so you can see the two main rock types of the area: platy thin layers of rhyolite, and white-on-black volcanics that weather to rounded forms.
  As you descend, you may have to skirt small pools that sustain wildlife long after storms. At last, you come to a series of falls that force you out of the stream bed and up to your left. Relax--this stretch is over quickly, and you are at the forks!

Extensions: You could explore the uplands east of the canyon, where there are tepee rings. Or, you could extend the loop by hiking west to Burnt Willow Creek, in the Black Canyon WSA.

Access: Drive to the junctions of US-26 and ID-46, on the south side of Gooding. Turn north on 46, and drive 13 1/2 miles towards the Bennett Hills. The dirt road takes off to the left from an asphalt turnout (W2). It isn't really a bad road, until it gets wet. You can camp in the crested wheatgrass seeding about one mile in. The trailhead is the old dam a quarter mile beyond.