My friend Art is leading an ITA trail project down the North Fork of Lick Creek in a couple of weeks and he needed to scout the route. Tom, John, Ruby and I volunteered to go along and help him out. It’s a route I have traversed from several directions and seen from peaks above but have never hiked the entire route so this was something new. It is a super remote canyon and requires a point to point shuttle if done in one day. I volunteered to drop my car at the finish and then rode my mountain bike to the start. Check out John’s report here.
Smoke season arrived early this year. This is a shot down the Main Fork of Lick Creek of which I just rode up.
The flowers are still out despite the dry conditions. In the distance, Rain Peak which I climbed a couple years ago.
Looking southward, that is Teardrop Peak on the left which John, Ruby and I climbed two weeks ago.
At the top of the first climb is Hum Saddle. Ruby poses as we look down Hum Ridge which contains several promenade peaks, the nearest of which I climbed in 2019. This spot always reminds me of my daughter Nicole as it is one of her favorite spots in the world! A quick check of my phone showed I had some cell coverage. I sent a text and was soon doing a FaceTime conversation with her!
John, was in his own world playing NTP….. Notice Tom, Ruby and Art paying absolutely no attention. Tom is John’s brother and Art is his friend of over 50 years. Obviously they had acquired the ability to tune out John’s NTP!
Down below, Hum Lake.
Nice reflections as we walked by.
On top of the second climb, lots of smoke and views down Loon Creek. On the right, South Loon Peak.
Walking down the canyon, the smoke seemed to clear off a bit in the afternoon.
As we come out of the North Fork Canyon, nice views of the lower elevations around the South Fork of the Salmon River.
Ruby wanting a photo shoot as we drop into Split Creek.
A beautiful long day with a 10 mile mountain bike and 15 mile hike. I’m tired!!!! If you too want to see this canyon, I encourage you to join Art’s ITA trail trip, check it out here.
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