With our route changes, we ended up close to 1400 miles on back country from Porthill to Northern Utah!
We took in 1 section of Montana BDR and 1 section of the Utah BDR as part of our route around hundreds of fallen trees and avoiding extreme heat by going east to higher elevation.
Above all I really enjoyed the brotherhood and the scenery. Knowing each day all I had to do is wake up and ride my bike all day! Removed so much stress!
It rained lightly a few times and I really loved the cooler temperatures and less dust!
But mostly it was too hot! and I got good at finding water to soak my shirt by finding boat ramps to zip closer to the water to speed the stop.
I got a flat tire and almost ran over a skunk and badger. My buddy Eric had a few close calls with bike drops and sliding for a cliff. But other than those it was no drama!
ROUTE DESC: Idaho BDR July 16-26, 2026
RECAP/SUMMARY/Ride Reflections:
Riding in the wilderness and seeing the majestic beauty of this world was very therapeutic for me to unwind and process stress, loss and hurt. I remember the Idaho BDR from 2020 and the big rivers and big trees/mountains called to me. This time, I road with 3 of my close brothers and we were such a great team. Good solid riders, bikes squared away and our gear was all within the same ballpark of skill.
Some cherished memories:
We prayed each morning, rotating so each person got a chance to pray. I recall praying for being grateful that brother Eric didn’t get hurt when he and his bike almost went over the cliff!
RATING THIS TRAIL: Easy with a Tenere 700. We did do bald fire lookout and that part is “experts only”.
Idaho BDR Points of Interest
- Moto Museum near Clark Fork ID8. Contact on FB. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1116222521912279/search/?q=musuem
- red river hotsprings, shower/pool/food (ID5)
- 45.78750, -115.19966
- North to South 50″ ATV track to Red River Lodge Hotsprings pool https://www.gaiagps.com/map/?loc=13.0/-115.2306/45.7026&pubLink=vfWpPRsoJVXz1NcFRTV8u6Zk&routeId=92e9d56d-70e1-49b4-b9e5-fb41569ce5b5
- expert only ride up to Burnt knob lookout (ID5) 45.70278, -114.99133
- nice place to dunk in creek or campground 45.72278, -115.03441 (ID5)
- ID6 nice place to camp near bitteroot/Florance MT 46.61404, -114.13838
DAY1/July 16 Travel From Lehi UT to PortHill Idaho (border “town”)
Waiting to go on this epic ride was so hard! I was packed and ready to go a week before we left!
I put new chain/sprockets, new tires/tubes, new battery, new rear brake pads, new rear bearings, new levers, new air filter, and oil change.
With a few stops for gas, food bio-breaks, it took us about 14 hours to get to PortHill Idaho.
Clint’s dad dropped us off at the border and headed home the next day for $265 in gas/expenses each. What a deal! Crazy it would take us a week to do what we did in a truck in one day! I had thought we should get a hotel on the way, in case plans changed (I’ve been burned a few times on hotel reservations). I had three hotel numbers in Bonners Ferry and all 3 were full because of a fire nearby. So we found an airbnb for $191. They said the door was open, but it wasn’t open. We tried to get ahold of the host, but after almost an hour, one of my buddies jimmied the door and we went inside and it was HOT! Before we got into the airbnb, the bugs were biting us a ton, I had wanted to gift something to my riding buddies and I had a few extra head-nets, so I gave them to them and they loved the gift. Only Eric Raff had brought one and the bugs where BAD! The Airbnb host came by and told us we booked for the NEXT night 🙁 woops! He would have cooled the place down for us, but we booked the wrong day 🙁
I was too tall for the twin bed, it had wood in the way where my feet would go. My room had two windows and I opened them as it was cooler outside than inside. I pointed the fan towards my head on the bed and it pulled cool air all night.
We stopped by klim and they put new visor gears in my helmet, I think this is the 4th time they have done that with this krios pro.
I’m glad my driving was on the freeway, it would have been stressful on the twisty roads and back roads of Idaho.
DAY2: PortHill ID to Wallace Id (Section 9 & 8):
We all wanted to try the alt difficult/hard section of 9. I think there was 15 minutes of “somewhat hard section” where you wanted to be on your feet and needed some off road skills to go down…mostly. A little sand and lots of rolly rocks with some ruts and a tighter two track. In the morning we saw 4 bald eagles and several deer. The roads were super-highway fast. Day2 we went 250 miles on the bikes. We saw a private moto museum and I was the first to donate some money and sign his guest book. He took my FoxyMotoAdv stickers and put one on his door and kept the other. It was hot and we dunked our heads in rivers/hoses along the way. There was a major washout that I guess everyone but us knew about and so we had to go back, but it was worth it to see the look out tower for fires. I forgot to fill up my gas tank, I figured I’d go lighter for the trailer and then grab gas before going out on the trail, but then didn’t hit the gas station…so Clint lent me some gas and I had .5 liter from my multi-gas stove. I got back to town and put 3.7 gallons in, so I was real low even with the borrowed gas. I filled up Clints bike as a thank you for lending me gas in the wilderness.
When we got to wallace, the only place to eat that was still open was a bar and they had super loud music. I got a $20 chili hotdog 🙁 filled up my water and we headed out of town to look for a campsite. I had looked online before the trip and had a place, but it was a parking lot with gov-thunder boxes. So we continued, we were all very tired…250 miles of dirt and blacktop is a long ways in one day! We found a gate, that our bikes could go around and I could see a trail on the map with a dirtbike symbol on it so went in and soon found a loop. We almost parked in the meadow, but I could see a retaining wall for a road so I suggested we go out of site of the road. It was very very wet and there was a stream nearby. We setup our tents in the dark and went to bed. Next morning Clint and I were up and ready to go. We waited for Eric and Brent. I decided I wanted to use a toilet and get a coke, so Clint and I zipped into town and told them to meetup at the gas station. I saw an older couple in a kit’d out toyota 4×4 that were doing the BDR…from Oregon. I asked them if it was nice to get away from the socialist hell hole and they kind of laughed and said yes, we are enjoying Idaho.
Day3 July 18/ Wallace ID to StevensVille MT section 7 and reroute from Downed trees.
I was in charge of primary navigator for Section7 and Eric was my wingman. We found on Facebook that a 60mph wind put hundreds of trees on the ground and so we rerouted and did part of the Montana BDR.
We hit a grocery store and I bought 4 steaks and 5 brauts to cook on my campfire grill.
The other guys found a nice camp spot and I picked up some firewood I found along the trail.
I toasted the tortillas and we enjoyed the steaks.
We went about 215 miles this day!
I loved the rivers, mountains and beauty. I got my drone out for the bridges and tunnels. I got the bridge video, but I must not have turned off the drone properly cuz I didn’t get any tunnel video. It was waiting for me in the tunnel and it said it was too dark to fly 🙁
We got into a lot of rivers to cool off, it was high 90s degrees and with moto gear on, it was super hot!
Day4 July 19 – half rest day. Stevensville MT to Red River Idaho. 122 miles.
After 250 and then 215 miles on BDR, we were pretty tired. We had planned to do a half day on Sunday and go “easy”. I slept in maybe 30 minutes and then got up and used the bushes 😉 walked around and got photos, then cooked the brauts. We were all excited for the Magurder corridor. Its WAY longer and bigger than it looks on the map. This was NOT a “rest day”. Sometimes I get a bug that I want to ride solo so I forged on ahead and didn’t see the guys for a long time. I radioed them and at the top rested and ate my jerky and then started off again.
There was a long dry stretch and I finally found a spring and waited there 20-30 minutes eating snacks and dunking my stuff in the water to cool off. They got there and then we headed out together, we wanted to do the lookout towers. Burnt Knob lookout is “experts only”. I was 4th and Eric was 3rd. He dropped his bike and I went by him and got to a better place to stop/start. I asked several times if I could come back and help him. After ¼ mile, we were all breathing hard and thinking, this was stupid! Some jeepers helped Eric pick up his bike. I took my saddle bags off and put on my knee braces. I got almost to the very top without putting a foot down/dab. But near the top, it was very chewed up from 4×4, off camber, loose, big rocks and very steep. Without my experience of keep going and keep enough speed to keep balance, I would not have made it. I was worried about going down and being able to break enough, but it wasn’t too bad going down. We all prayed for the Lord to save us from our stupidity and it worked! We were all sweating and worn out afterwards. Within 10-15 minutes we found a campground with a nice creek and we dunked in there and ate our snacks.
We took the divide trail to red river lodge and hotsprings pool. It was really cool trail and a good challenge from the superhighway dirt roads nearby. It was $21 to swim and about $20 for cheeseburger…they were cleaned out and split the onion rings between the 4 of us. Great to shower and spend time in the pool. I was the first one in swimming suit and shower and got right in.
We got to Eric’s sisters Cabin nearby and it was like a dream come true. I would love to have a little ranch in the woods like this. They had a pond and a couple of cabins. No electricity. We all did laundry in the sink and used my laundry line on the porch.
I didn’t fit on the twin bed and asked Brent to trade beds, he was a little grumpy about the swap but was super kind about it the next day.
I made everyone jam/honey toasted tortillas for breakfast.
I suggested we donate some money to Eric’s sister cabin fund. We would have been happy to setup tents, but this was our first “bed” in a while.
The sunset with the ranch and pasture was amazing!
Day5/July 20/ Elk City/Red River area to Rattlesnake peak/Elk Creek Road
205 miles.
In grangville ID, I ran out of gas again 3.7 miles from the gasstation, so I used my cooking stove fuel again 🙂 I was going to buy some bolts for my kickstand extension foot, but it fell off and was lost forever.
It was cold and dark going from Red River to Garangville and the road reminded me of the road on the way to Elk city in 2020. I’m glad I didn’t do the river crossing I wanted to 🙂
I had a nice visit with the Honda dealer, sounds like if you call him with a broken down bike, he can come rescue you. We exchanged stickers and I put one on my crash bar.
We stopped by the Florence cemetary. I know those miners had a hard life. One of them was the first buried w/o their boots on.
We ate snacks nearby. When we did the alt-hard section in section 9, all 3 of the guys passed the turn off. I tried radio and then called the primary navigator. Similar to this turn off for this one too. DMD2 blinks with RED that you are off trail. If that lasts longer than a few minutes, you are off trail. Sometimes the GPS location isn’t perfect so I get those from time to time, but if it lasts 3 minutes I know I’m off trail pretty quickly.
Coming down into the Salmon River was HOT and hundreds of switch backs. I stopped and got a few blackberrys! We decided to push on and try to make Yellow Pine, but first we dunked in the river. I taught the guys to use the boat ramps, quick to the water to soak.
I tried to talk a couple of people into a boat ride. Karl said he was too busy, but his wife Rochelle said they had time and strong armed Karl into taking us on a wild river ride up the rapids. His boat was amazing and I could tell his skill was excellent! She loved my wet hat I lent her cuz she was very hot. I was a bit nervous to go up the massive rapids, but no big deal for Karl and his boat. The guys were amazed that I could talk strangers into giving us a ride. I tried to buy their lunch, they said no thank you, I tried to pay them, they would not take it. I did text them a bunch of cool photos. They suggested Summerville Pizza in Riggins and we went there. Knowing we would never make Yellow Pine. The pizza place was “custom” slow. Being wet, we were cold in the AC restaurant. We soaked again before we left and at the same watering hole we got the boat ride. It was close to 100 degrees!
We climbed and climbed and finally got the the lame school bus and got photos. There was a very large group of riders there.
I remember switch backs from 2020 and in the mud and being very careful passing oncoming UTVs.
Coming down into the rattlesnake peak area, Eric just about went off a 2000 foot cliff. It wasn’t 90 degrees down, but closer to 70, but we would have never gotten his bike back. It slid about 7’ and you could see the aluminum boxes dragging or his rear brake locking tire and him and his bike magically just stopped. No reason he would just stop there, other than angels watching over him. In the intercom, Brent and I heard Cliff “cus words” and thought Clint crashed, but it was Eric. I kicked on the go pro and got there in time to pull the bike back and help lift it back up. Eric seemed fine, but must have been shaken up!
I got separated from the group and made it to a small town with the “Baum Shelter” I went through the town looking for everyone and didn’t see anyone so I decided to use the bathroom and get a coke. I went back to the only restaurant there and it was called the Baum Shelter. Super nice folks. I got a coke and was about ready to leave when our team walked in. They did a side quest and I didn’t hear the we turned off here. They had shakes so I got one of those and it was nice and cool.
That night it was almost dark and so so hot, when we got to the bottom the the valley, we found a small bridge and a few houses/ranches and a camp ground with picnic tables and thunderbox.
My fav feature was a river nearby, so when Eric and Brent went to look for a better campground, I got in my swimming suit, I didn’t think they could find a better campground. There was a bathing area in the river someone built, like a little tub inside the river. I went in and it felt so so cold. I found 4 beers nearby too. I did several dips into the river that night to cool off. Having a wet shirt and wet swimming suit made it very nice!
Some bicyclists camped nearby and I took them the 4 beers and they didn’t drink beer either. So, I put them back in the river. One was LDS and the other an Auzzie. They are hard core bicyclists. They have been riding together for many years all over the world. They pack 1 pair of socks, one underwear, one shirt and one shorts. They can’t eat enough calories, they burn so so many and when they can’t find water to filter, they are in real trouble! We visited with them a bit that night and they bathed in our river tub too.
We found so many great camping spots along the trail. Idaho has so many wild and gov-campsites along the BDR.
Day6/July 21/ Rattle Snake Peak camp to Middle Fork Boise River (Shower Camp)
220 miles
Its a good thing we listened to Brent about not pushing forward to Yellow Pine. The switch backs were tight with 1000s of feet dropoffs and we would have missed the beauty in the dark. It took us 2-3 hours to get to yellow pine, so 9:30 would have been 10:30pm.
We stopped and got lunch at Yellow Pine. The CORNER was pricy! We should have gone to the other hamburger joint there. A burger and a bottle of water was $40! And the guy down the street with gas was $9 a gallon. We all got 2 gallons.
I think this is the part where I almost ran over a skunk! My front and rear ABS turned on, I was braking so hard. I went all the way to the left and the skunk was 2’ away and and “aimed” at me the whole time. Then it got in the middle of the road and then the far right of the road. When I thought it was safe I hit the gas and went by quickly. Later we meetup by a creek and dunked our heads and shirts in the water. Big trees and big rivers.
Clint raced ahead and missed a tower overlook. We couldn’t get him on the radio. He waited an hour at yellow pine and then came back looking for us.
I was really looking forward to a coke at yellow pine and got one.
I got to see a mama fox. She just stood there and let me watch her for awhile. Eric road up and I pointed the fox out to him. We took pictures and then showed Brent. I think she was leading us away from her pups. Brent watched her on the switchback for a while and then we took off.
Deadwood lake was BIG as I remember.
We got to pavement and the gas station was closed so we had to go down the road 10 miles or so and get gas and food. I got a nice fish and chips.
I love the switch backs and going up and over the mountains. Amazing how the forest redeems itself from fires 20 years ago. The creeks dry up and it takes a long time.
We got to shower camp and it was hot, so first thing I grabbed my swimming suit and headed down the the river. There was a natural “hole” and I got in, super cold at first but refreshing. Then I went and helped the guys repair the “shower” the hose clamp fell off.
Its a really great place to camp if the timing works out.
Two outside toilets and a mostly warm shower is pretty awesome!
I noticed Eric had another bruise. I guess he went down again. I think he dropped his bike 3-4 times on the trip.
Day7/July 22 Shower Camp to Craters of the Moon
202 miles
We planned to head east and higher elevation because of the heat.
So at featherville there was an unknown trail we were going to try, turns out my iphone had it 2019 IDBDR and it was really pleasant ride.
We got to Katchum for dinner and were very tired. Very pricy place.
We got into a ton of traffic from construction. We hammered it to Craters of the moon and Eric and I got a camp spot and I went out to the road and waited, then I called Clint and he said he was 20 minutes out. So I went and started setting up my tent and looking for a shower, no shower, but I got to wash my feet. The rocks were so so sharp!
I got a nail in my rear tire. Eric found it in seconds cuz it just happened to be at the right spot.
We took the RTW saddle bags off, found a big rock overhang by the trail and took the tire off.
I think it took us 30-40 mintues and that is waiting for the vulcanizing glue to dry and then put the patch on. I’m glad I took the brake pads off, super easy to get the T7 rear wheel on w/o the brake pads. Everyone chip’d in and helped fix the flat tire! Eric lent me his cheapo ground cover so I didn’t have to use my big agnes tent footprint (pricy!).
Once the sun went down it was pleasantly cool.
I thought we would hike the lava flow, but we just road around the park and headed to Rigby Idaho. We found a nice place to eat lunch at.
Day8 Craters of the Moon to Bear lake
We went to Rigby/Klim again. 2 trips and I didn’t buy anything! Wow!
We were going through starvalley so I stopped to see my Grandma house/ranch. My uncle Bryce was there. I got a photo of him and me in front of grandma’s house (he lives there now).
I droned the ranch and had the drone follow me on my bike. First settlement in starvalley (Freedom Wyo) and home of Freedom Arms, the finest revolvers in the world!
Lots of emotions and memories of my dad and visiting grandma there. I hope someday I can get a little piece of Freedom Wyo.
Near Afton, Eric and I split from Brent and Clint and went over to look at 5 acres Eric wants to buy. I said, I used to one property in Star valley, but 9 month winters and hard to get to from SLC area…and PRICY! I’d think again. We stopped at a few boat ramps to cool off. We got to Wes Thompson’s house in Bear Lake before Brent left the KTM dealer in Afton! We showered and went and got pizza, ate it and when they got there they ate real quick and then Wes took us on a nice boat ride.
Being in Bear Lake, thinking I”m 3-4 hours from home…but so worn out I couldn’t ride any more and it’d be dark soon.
Bear Lake was the busiest I’ve ever seen it. I texted Dan hoping to see him.
I asked Wes if we could put tents in his yard, he invited us to sleep in beds. We LOVED the showers! I did laundry cuz I didn’t have any clean underwear! I paid for the Pizza and put it in the spreadsheet to divide by 4.
Eric planned to go mirror highway to Kamas for a family reunion. I planned to do Bearlake to Eventson Wyo BDR and Clint said he’d like to come, but didn’t think they’d get going sooner than 7:30am. I said I prefer 7am, but will leave at 7:30 …no later.
Day 9 Bear Lake to Saratoga Springs via Utah BDR/Heber UT
I woke up at 5am and could sleep, so I packed up and ate cold pizza and a banana …and a few small donuts. Filled up my water and headed out. I texted everyone I was leaving solo and they responded early…about 5:30am, so Eric and Clint were up.
I left the Garden City gas station at 6am and headed out on the UT BDR.
I was expecting lots of traffic given the July 24th holiday, but didn’t see many on the gravel road. But lots of RVs. I saw many deer and almost ran over a badger! I don’t think I’ve seen a wild badger before.
Seeing Bear Lake from the top of the mountain was epic…as the sun came up.
It was a bit cold, but I refused to put on my jacket.
About 50 miles in, I stopped to rest/pee and eat a snack. First time in a long time I parked in the sun 🙂
I loved the hill climbs and switch backs. There was an unneeded water crossing under the highway, I’d rather gone across the highway vs under the highway…especailly solo and in a cold morning.
I was glad to hit the blacktop and get going to home. I got gas in Evenston Wyo and Heber. Soaked in the river on the way down into American Fork Canyon cuz I was behind a slow car.
Cascade Springs was FUN! I was flying! Fully loaded.
So good to get home to my wife and home. I showered 1st thing. Unpacked a few things and that evening washed my bike and boots.
So glad I got to do Idaho BDR with such great riding buddies. No dramas. Everyone was a solid good rider on/off road. Had their bikes well maintained and the right gear. We worked well as a team and buddy system! I asked each person to take a day for primary navigator and a wingman for each day and that went really well. This helps them be able to solo and not atrophy and just follow your buddy. I want people to know where they are coming from and going to, just in case. We used the FRS radios a few times, but mostly packtalks. If on the blacktop, we’d click to BT mode…not DMC mesh and listen to our audiobooks and then when we were on the trail or in town, we’d get on intercom.
Nice to re-do Idaho BDR, last time it rained for 5 days and we spent a lot of time going around mud and closed mountain passes from the snow!
I also never done the UT BDR from Bear Lake to Evanston Wyo, so I’m glad I got that done!
We did 1 section of Montana BDR so that was a nice taste of MTBDR and I hope I can do the rest in September!
As you know, I LOVE Foxes and I got to see three foxes on this trip! A very small one day 8 or day 9 on the side of the road, but that mama fox was huge! The skinny one at craters of the moon looked very hungry!
Two boat rides was super fun and unexpected!
After 1400 miles of dirt and about 2000 miles in total, I’m ready for a rest!
GEAR REVIEW:
I’m glad I took Klim Mojave pants, the mosko woodsman would have been way too hot, but I carried the woodsman around…forever and never used it.
My SG22 buckle strap broke on day 8. I guess I stressed it to much and it was flapping and I wondered when it would break.
I used my multi-fuel gas stove bottle TWICE!
I didn’t have a small punch for the rear brake pads, but the nippex cobra pliers was able to squeeze it enough to get the retaining pin in.
The DMD2 nav did awesome, but the controller sucked. I need to buy a new controller. I tried new firmware sunday morning…on rest day. But it still would not zoom in/out or allow me to control it other than change views.
I have 100 bug bites including a black wasp I smashed against my bike and it stung me through 3 layers of pants. I thought it was inside my pants and it was a scorpion or something. No wasp has ever stung me that bad before!
3” insect bite area on my inner thigh.
Being able to soak my klim aggressor -1 shirt, mosko workhorse jersey and neck gaiter was a life saver in so much heat! I would bring a coke plastic bottle and fill with river water for when I dried out and that was a lot of relief in order to make it to the next river for dunking!
My WLF enduro pack got heavy and I ended up strapping it to my drone box most of the time. If I was getting my drone out/in a lot or it was a more fun/challenging trail, I would wear my WLF enduro. I rig’d up side pouches with 1 liter drink hose and that was nice when I didn’t have my pack on me. But having two drink hoses and a water bottle was a bit bulky.
The tusk lens cleaner was super nice and compact.
My team loved my campfire grill. Clints airpump was awesome and small, I ordered one, but the best rest is still king given its tough and can plug into the bike battery.
