Boise Greenbelt Walk

Well, the weather is improving nicely, and so we took advantage of the Mothers' Day weekend to talk a stroll along the Boise River Greenbelt between Ann Morrison Park and Julia Davis Park, with Boise State University along the way.  We also took the opportunity to stop by the Idaho Ann Frank Human Rights Memorial for a few minutes... something we haven't seen since moving to Boise.  Turns out, we weren't the only ones with the idea.  Cyclists, joggers, skateboarders, roller bladers, and strollers like ourselves were out in force.

Boise River Greenbelt at the NW 0.3 marker (as seen in the white circle in the bottom left of the picture)

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GPS Info

We collected all of the following data from our GPS unit during the adventure:

Maps

This Google Map is provided by GPS Visualizer

Time Profile 

This profile shows our relative rate of travel.  Steeper portions of the curve are slower.  For example, the steep light blue curve shows the 10 minutes that we stopped at the Anne Frank memorial.

This profile is provided by GPS Visualizer

Coordinates and other details

Mileage:  Time:  Average Speed:  Trailhead Coordinates:

2.0 Miles 1:10:06 1.7 Miles/Hr. N 43 36.730, W 116 13.065

 
If you would like to use this info with your GPS unit, the full GPX file is here.
If you want to view this in Google Earth, you can download the KMZ files of the track and topographic overlay.

Military Reserve Geocaching

 

Adjacent to downtown Boise sits an old Military Reserve.  Now reserved as a city park, it offers nearly 500 acres of excellent mountain biking, hiking, and views of Boise, the Treasure Valley, and the Owyhee Mountain range on the other side of the valley.  Mike took the kids up during an early spring weekend to do some geocaching as well.

Downtown Boise from Elephant Rock Loop Trail

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GPS Info

We collected all of the following data from our GPS unit during the adventure.  Since this track is a mixed hiking/driving map, colors are used to indicate speed.  Red and orange sections denote hiking, whereas blue and green colors depict driving through the park to get from one cache to another.

Maps

This Google Map is provided by GPS Visualizer

Elevation Profile

This profile is provided by GPS Visualizer

Coordinates and other details

Mileage:  Time:  Average Speed:  Trailhead Coordinates:

4.3 Miles 1:50:30 2 Miles/Hr. (mixed driving/hiking) Refer to individual geocache pages above for coordinates to each cache.

 
If you would like to use this info with your GPS unit, the full GPX file is here.
If you want to view this in Google Earth, you can download the KMZ files of the track and topographic overlay.

Hoodoo Showshoe

On our get-away to Oregon's Central Cascades, we took a snowshoe trip near Hoodoo Ski Resort.  The snow was very icy, so we didn't have to worry about sinking into powder.  We had magnificient views of a couple of peaks in the Cascades, as well a couple  of  downhill skiiers coming down the very steep backside of Hayrick Butte.  The run drops an average of one foot of vertical distance for every two feet of horizontal distance.  At the top, the angle is about 45 degrees!  If you look closely enough, you can see the ski tracks here.  You can see the full set of pictures from the outing here.

Mt. Washington from meadow on South Loop at Ray Benson Sno Park.

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GPS Info

We collected all of the following data from our GPS unit during the adventure:

Maps

This Google Map is provided by GPS Visualizer

Elevation Profile

This profile is provided by GPS Visualizer

Coordinates and other details

Mileage:  Time:  Average Speed:  Trailhead Coordinates:

4.2 Miles 02:25 2 Miles/Hr. N44 24.281 W121 51.723

If you would like to use this info with your GPS unit, the full GPX file is here.
If you want to view this in Google Earth, you can download the KMZ files of the track and topographic overlay.

Pilot Butte Hike

One of the highlights of our Central Oregon getaway was this hike to the top of an old cinder cone volcano in Bend, Oregon.  With commanding views of the Cascades, we were highly impressed that we could see the entire Oregon Cascade range, all the way up to Mount Hood, over 90 miles away!  While we were expecting to be able to drive to the top of the butte, the road is closed during the winter season, but the 2-mile, 500-foot hike to the top was well worth the view.

This 7-Frame Panorama of the Central Oregon Cascades includes views of Mt. Bachelor, Broken Top, The Three Sisters, Three-Fingered Jack, Mt. Washington, Mt. Jefferson, and Mt. Hood.

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GPS Info

We collected all of the following data from our GPS unit during the adventure:

Maps

This Google Map is provided by GPS Visualizer

Elevation Profile

This profile s provided by GPS Visualizer

Coordinates and other details

Mileage:  Time:  Average Speed:  Trailhead Coordinates:

0.6 Miles 00:28 1.3 Miles/Hr. N 44° 3' 27.79", W 121° 16' 42.45"

 
If you would like to use this info with your GPS unit, the full GPX file is here.
If you want to view this in Google Earth, you can download the KMZ files of the track and topographic overlay.

Bogus Basin Tubing

During the winter break, Mike took Amelia & Raymond to the tubing hill at Bogus Basin Ski Resort.  While it was about 37 degrees , the wind was blasting snow in our faces at about 25 miles per hour.  We could only handle the biting cold for an hour and a half of our two-hour session on the hill.  The kids had a blast anyway, and I'm sure we'll be heading back up there.  While we didn't take any pictures, we did want to show our GPS data that indicates tube speeds of up to 25 MPH, coming down the 800-foot long hill.

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GPS Info

We collected all of the following data from our GPS unit during the adventure:

Maps

This Google Map is provided by GPS Visualizer

Elevation Profile

This profile is provided by GPS Visualizer

Speed Profile


This profile is provide by GPS Visualizer

Coordinates and other details

Mileage:  Time:  Average Speed:  Trailhead Coordinates:

0.6 Miles 00:28 1.3 Miles/Hr. N 43° 41 52.26, W 116° 6 31.74

 
If you would like to use this info with your GPS unit, the full GPX file is here.
If you want to view this in Google Earth, you can download the KMZ files of the track and topographic overlay.

Pilgrim Loop Showshoe

During the winter break, Mike took Amelia & Raymond snowshoeing near Idaho City.  They found a nice loop trail that wandered peacefully through the snow-covered forest.  Mike enjoyed the fresh air and snow.  The kids enjoyed getting back to the car--and a thermos of hot apple cider--as it was about 20 degrees outside that day.

Snow-covered trees in the Boise National Forest.

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GPS Info

We collected all of the following data from our GPS unit during the adventure:

Maps

This Google Map is provided by GPS Visualizer

Elevation Profile

This profile is provided by GPS Visualizer

Coordinates and other details

Mileage:  Time:  Average Speed:  Trailhead Coordinates:

0.6 Miles 00:28 1.3 Miles/Hr. N 43º 57.747  W 115º 37.698

 
If you would like to use this info with your GPS unit, the full GPX file is here.
If you want to view this in Google Earth, you can download the KMZ files of the track and topographic overlay.

Lucky Peak Snowshoe

During the winter break, Mike took Amelia & Raymond snowshoeing near Idaho City.  They found a nice loop trail that wandered through the snow-covered forest.  Fortunately, it was a short trip, because both of the kids complained about getting cold--it was about 20 degrees

A seven-frame panorama from the ridge on the hike.  The turnout on the road in the middle of the picture is where this adventure started.  (Click on the picture to see it in full size.)

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GPS Info

Mike collected all of the following data from our GPS unit during the adventure:

Maps

This Google Map is provided by GPS Visualizer

Elevation Profile

This profile is provided by GPS Visualizer

Coordinates and other details

Mileage:  Time:  Average Speed:  Campsite/Trailhead Coordinates:

0.8 Miles 1:22 0.6 Miles/Hr. N 43º 37.608  W 115º 59.278

 
If you would like to use this info with your GPS unit, the full GPX file is here.
If you want to view this in Google Earth, you can download the KMZ files of the track and topographic overlay.