Little Jacks Creek

Hikes: D.
Total Distance, D: 1 to 5 miles.
Difficulty: Levels I, II.
Season: March 15-June 15.
USGS Map: O X Lake, Big Horse Basin Gap.
BLM 100K Maps: Triangle.
Dirt Road Miles: 11 fair-to-poor dirt.
PLSS Location: Section 17, T8S R3E.

Introduction: Back in 1973, when the author (a hiking fool in his youth) wanted to go hike "in the desert", he went to the Boise District BLM and asked where to go hiking. After a long time some guy was found to answer this question, and the answer was, "Go to Jacks Creek." Not bad advice: the author included it in his 1980 "Hiking Trails of Southern Idaho", and Margaret Fuller included it (or at least a brushwhack-up-the-creek variation) in her 1982 "Trails of Western Idaho".
  By the time the author got around to "Exploring Idaho's High Desert" in 1988, he decided to leave it out, partly because the road wasn't very good, partly because it was already in two books. But what the heck, this is a Web site, we're not counting pages, so let's keep it in.
  The traditional Jacks Creek hike isn't the best in the book, because it is a short rough hike to a great view. The author expanded it to include a trip he just made this year: a 1200 foot climb up to the plateau top.

The Hike: For the hike from the lower trailhead, start climbing up the grassy slope above the creek. Be careful while walking on the sharp-edged rhyolite! The author finds sidehilling on this stuff to be very tricky, and sidehilling is what you'll be doing. It doesn't take long to get to the traditional goal (D1), a viewpoint and logical stopping point. See the photo page for details on what you're looking at.
  The author heard a horror story of a "death march" hike which continued to sidehill up the canyon. However, hikers could not get down to the creek to get water.
  A better idea to make this a longer hike is to climb up the ridgeline to the top of the plateau (D3). The author really enjoyed this hike, which starts at the upper trailhead. From there, look south, across the creek that runs east-west at the base of the uplift.
  Jacks Creek on the east, and two more small creeks in front of you, divide the uplift into three lobes. You'll initially go up the rightmost lobe, then cut across the center lobe to reach the gully between the center and left lobes.
  To start your climb, head to your right, climbing the gentle slope above the creek. One steep stretch puts you on the lobe, and you should soon join a very nice old cow trail. (At least, the author hopes it's not a new cow trail when you walk it!) When you finally reach a broad, grassy plain, the cow trail cuts left. Take it, and cross the middle lobe. The trail gets lost several times in this stretch...
  Aim for the gulch between the middle and leftmost lobes. The trail reestablishes itself as it climbs on the left/east side of the drainage. It feels great to come out on top of the plateau. Aim for the left, and you'll soon come to the edge of the Jacks Creek Canyon. You can walk along its rim as far as you like.  
  An additional hike in the same area is up Halfway Gulch. It has a more accessible canyon, and you can stay low for a couple of miles, to D2.

Access: Drive to Grand View on ID-78, and head a short 2 miles southeast on that highway to a junction with a major paved road heading south (W1). That junction is the northern terminus of the Mud Flat Road Loop Drive. Take the road south for 7 1/2 miles, to the good Shoofly Cutoff road heading left/east; take it (W2). Go east 2 1/2 miles to where a fair dirt road descends to the right/north, into the drainage of Halfway Gulch (W3). Follow this fair/poor road for 3 3/4 miles, and bear right on a road that leaves the lowlands and climbs to the uplands (W4).
  Continue on the best road for a long 3 1/2 miles, to a four-way intersection (W5); turn left on the road that parallels the Owyhee uplift fault. After 1/2 mile, a road heads right toward Halfway Gulch; the author hasn't used it, but it ought to provide better access than continueing to the first big Halfway Gulch crossing and parking (T2). After another 2 1/2 miles, you come to a three-way junction; turn right. After 1/10 mile, you are at the upper Jacks Creek trailhead (T3). You can continue down the road for 1/2 mile and reach the lower trailhead (T1), but this road just gets worse and worse...