Idaho - Lolo Motorway and McGruder Road - part 1

[Toy Man]

Lolo Motorway and Magruder Road trip report. Part 1

8/14/2004 ? Saturday.
Left Beaverton for the family reunion in Springfield at 5:30am. 78802 mileage.
Left the reunion at 12:05 for Pendleton. Wonderful weather.
The Dalles at 3:37 79110 miles.
Short rain at Arlington, overcast in eastern Oregon. 80+ degrees.
Pendleton at 6:00pm. 79236 mileage. Stayed at the Red Lion, ate at Stetson?s (poor)


8/15/2004
Leave Pendleton at 8:37. Overcast as we drive east.
Clarkston at 11:15. Nice weather.
Kamiah at 1:45. mileage 79435 warm to hot. We stay at the Hearthstone Lodge outside of Kamiah. Meet the Wilson?s at the Lewis-Clarke RV Park and have dinner there.


8/16/2004
We started at Road 100 across the river from Kamiah ID at 8:00am on Monday. 79484 mileage.
Lolo cg at 8:45. Saw wild turkeys on the way. Start on road 500 at 9:26 40.9 miles from the ranger station at Kamiah. 11:00. Rocky Ridge cg. Great campground. Few minutes later we are at the official start of the Lolo Motorway. The motorway pretty much follows the path of Lewis and Clark?s path across the Bitterroot mountains.

It is an easy road with rocks - sorta like an slightly rough narrow logging road.
About 6000 ft. - did not get above timberline. Just a few places where you could actually get a view. Had lunch at Sherman Saddle camp. Deep Saddle had a nice little camp. Everyone but me did a short hike down to Noseeum Meadows. We took the 2 mile side road out to the Castle Butte Lookout. Great view. We met a Jeep coming up as we were driving out. Heard the next day that someone (the Jeep people?) had rented the lookout for the night. They must have had a spectacular view of the lightning that night. Arrived at 12 mile saddle camp and camped there. Nice temp. Lot's of thunder and lightning to the east with just a short sprinkle at our campsite. Lightning in the distance most of the night. Met no one on the trail. Several vehicles drove by after we pulled into camp.

Note: The trail brochure said no toilets but the Forest Service anticipating (incorrectly) that a lot of people would be driving the motorway, contracted to have potable toilets installed at almost every campsite. The toilets were well maintained.

Note: The road to Indian Grave just before 12 Mile Saddle is blocked off. No signs. Looks like the FS doesn?t want any traffic to site.


8/17/2004
Continued on the next morning. 7:23 79562 miles. Saw several smokes from the lightning. At the Indian Postoffice viewpoint I called the first one in to the Forest Services (via satellite phone). They took the report and said they knew of several in the area. We stopped and hiked out to the Devils Chair rock formation. After driving for about 2 hours, we began seeing signs of a heavy rain - debris washed down from burned areas, etc. This started about Cayuse Junction. After another 2 hours we rejoined hwy 12 at Powell ID and had a nice lunch at the lodge there. Then over Lolo Pass and down the Bitterroot Valley to Hamilton MT where we filled up with gas. Then on to Darby MT and turned off onto road 473 (?). Down 473 to the turnoff to the Magruder Road. Camped at Fales Flat on the Montana side of the pass. Big black cloud headed our way so we setup the tents and a tarp. The black cloud just slid by us but a grey wall of rain was right behind it. it rained until about 10 PM but were we warm and dry under the tarp and in our tents.

Notes: We met a guy on the road that recommended the 4x4 drive out to Horseshoe Lake and the viewpoint. The takeoff is at Howard Camp.

There is no camp at the Saddle Camp junction.

Nice camp at the junction with road 566.

Highway 12 ? 11:22am 38.5 miles from 12 Mile Saddle. 2.6 hr driving time. 13.2 avg. mph.

Continued in part 2

[Steve]

Great information. Do you have any photos of the trip?

Steve

[Jerry]

We drove the Magruder and Lolo Roads a couple of years ago with the Backroad Drivers Northwest group, but we started in Elk City, Idaho and drove east to Darby, Montana. The next day we drove the Lolo Road from Lolo Pass to Kamiah, Idaho, just the reverse of your trip. But, ours was in the snow! Here is our trip report including a few pictures for the Magruder Road trip:

The Magruder Road Corridor
September 24, 2005

Some of us arrived early in Elk City, Idaho so we could spend a
little extra time exploring some northern Idaho backroads before our
official trip on Saturday. Since we were heading through Clarkston,
home town to charter Backroad Drivers List members Charlie & Cheryl,
we decided to meet there for lunch. Charlie & Cheryl couldn't make
the Magruder trip, but they did join us at the restaurant.

In addition to Charlie & Cheryl were Rich & Jan from Beaverton
driving their Jeep Grand Cherokee, Randy from Meacham and myself,
Jerry from Yakima, both of us riding in my Ford F150 4x4 pickup.
After lunch we drove through Lewiston and south on Highway 95 to
Grangeville and on to our destination of Elk City.

Elk City is quite remote even today, but back in its gold mining
heyday it was a two to five day trip for the wagons delivering
freight out of Grangeville. The Elk City Wagon Road, used from 1895
to 1932, was the major link to the outside world for much of
north-central Idaho. Prior to the Wagon Road the path was used by
the Nez Perce Indians and is known as the Southern Nez Perce Trail.

We drove the wagon road from Elk City to Harpster. It was a neat
drive through the mountains and we even found a little snow at about
6,000 feet. The day was cloudy with a bit of rain so when we
encountered snow on the Wagon Road we had to wonder what lay in store
for us on the Magruder Road the next day.

Friday afternoon found us driving south of Elk City to explore the
community of Dixie. As we were cresting a high point we were snowed
on again. It wasn't sticking to the road, but it gave us pause about
the advisability of driving the Magruder Road to elevations above
8,000 feet. By the way, Dixie is a neat little place.

At six o' clock Saturday morning we met for breakfast at Carol and
Val's Convenience Store-Gas Station-Napa Parts Store and Cafe in
Elk City. In addition to yesterday's clan were Rob & Kathy from
Yakima who had come in late Friday night in Rob's Ford F150 4x4
pickup.

It was pouring down rain and it had been coming down in buckets all
night. As we discussed what we might encounter on the heights of the
Magruder Road the rain turned to snow in the valley. None of us
would have given a plug nickel that we could ever make it to the top
of the first mountain let alone across the 100 mile dirt road to
Darby, Montana, but we decided to give it a try anyway.

A few miles out of town our road turned south to the beginning of the
Magruder Road. Built by the CCC's, the Magruder Road is mostly
primitive and narrow. The base is dirt, gravel and bedrock with
several sluffed rocks off the hillsides above the roadway. The road
parallels the Southern Nez Perce Trail, but does not cross or cover
it. The original trail was built by miners trekking between the gold
fields of western Montana and those of north-central Idaho.

Our goal was to make it from Elk City to Darby, Montana in one day
and given the heavy snow at the beginning of the road our goal was
becoming less and less obtainable. We hit snow as soon as we turned
onto the Magruder Road. The road started climbing immediately and
leveled off at around 6,000 feet. There was only two or three inches
of snow on the road at the top of the first hill so things were
looking better. Low laying clouds and fog obscured the wonderful
mountain scenery, but was replaced with a winter wonderland of snow
covered pines and firs all around us.

The road soon entered the narrow corridor between two huge wilderness
areas and our elevations were hitting heights up to 7,000 feet.
There was still only three inches of snow on the road and much of the
time we were following other tire tracks. It was hunting season in
Idaho so we passed several elk camps, but only one oncoming vehicle.
There were times when we had to break snow as the first vehicle, but
it was an easy job in the thin layer of white stuff.

The corridor offers several campgrounds and rest stops for coffee
drinkers and we did take advantage. As we traveled along the snow
covered roadway, keeping track of our whereabouts on the Forest
Service map, we realized we were actually making good time. It may
have been because the snow cushioned our ride over the rocks and
washboard, but whatever the reason it was okay with us.


Randy clearing a small tree from the roadway




The Forest Service suggested we carry a chain saw for blow down

At about four hours into the drive we hit our highest elevation at
8,200 feet. We picked up a little bit more snow at that point, but
only about an inch more than the lower elevations. Snow was no
problem, but where it melted in the lower dips and valleys it had
turned the dirt road to mud and that gooey stuff was more of a
problem than the snow.

At about five hours into the trip we stopped at Magruder Crossing, a
small campground named for a bridge across the Selway River. Here we
had lunch and discussed just how lucky we were to have come that far
in such a short time. By then the road had descended below the snow
line and the sun started poking through the clouds. After lunch we
picked up speed on the smooth road and soon hit pavement right there
in the middle of the mountains. The pavement continued until we
crossed Nez Perce Pass at the Montana border and soon gave way to
another long stretch of gravel.


Lunch at Magruder Crossing

We made it to Darby before two o' clock and our elapsed time by my
calculator was only six-and-a-half hours...in the snow...with a lunch
stop. Of course our original idea was to experience the majestic
mountain views from the many viewpoints along the corridor, not to
set speed records. But, with the cloud cover we couldn't see anything other
than the snow immediately surrounding us and that allowed extra time for
driving.

We all had a good time and a very unusual experience considering such
a long drive through the snow. I think we would do it again if given
the opportunity, but maybe next time can we have some sunshine?

Jerry from Yakima