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Idaho Centennial Trail LbNA #29529

Owner:Adoptable
Plant date:Mar 24, 2007
Location:
City:Murphy Hot Spring
County:Owyhee
State:Idaho
Boxes:1
Planted by:Detamores
Found by: Not yet found!
Last found:N/A
Last edited:Mar 24, 2007
Idaho Centennial Trail
Clue Difficulty: Easy Terrain Difficulty: Easy
Wheelchair Accessible: Only off-trail chairs
Child & Pet Friendly: Yes
Number of Boxes: 1
Hand Carved Stamps: Yes
First Finder Certificate: No

The idea for the Idaho Centennial Trail [ICT] was borne in the early 80’s by two hikers. The men had traversed Idaho from west to east, decided it was so cool; they went on to backpack south-north, as well. It took them three months to backpack the entire length of Idaho from Nevada to Canada, with friends and wives providing support and resupply as they crossed roads at various places. The men proposed their idea for an official trail system to various state agencies, and ultimately the 1,200 mile ICT was initiated in 1990, during the Idaho Centennial celebrations.

The trail provides something for everyone. There are sections purely for backpacking through the Sawtooth wilderness. There are single-track trails in forest service lands that one can hike or mountain bike. There even are portions where ATV and motorbike use is permitted.

To find this box, you should do your research as if you are going to start the trail on the Idaho/Nevada border. PLEASE research the area well, as it is quite isolated. Open, High-Desert could be considered an understatement!

We did an overnight stay in a wonderful primitive campground just north of “Murphy Hot Springs” [And, yes, there is a hot spring in Murphy!]. One could also camp just about anywhere on the BLM lands surrounding the area. We brought food/water and were completely self-sufficient, as there are no public amenities [other than the hot spring] available.

To find the box:
The drive is roughly two hours southwest of Twin Falls (we went down hwy 93). We drove through Rogerson, crossed over an old dam (circa 100 B.C., it looked like) which holds back Salmon Falls Creek Reservoir. We continued on through Three Creek (don’t be confused, it doesn’t look like a town as on the map!).
We finally arrived at a place just east of Murphy that has a large pullout/parking/RV camping (no hook-ups) area on the North side of the road. This is appx. 50 yards after the pavement ends. You will know you are there because there is an information kiosk that is titled “Owyhee Canyonlands”. Good job! Get out and stretch your legs! Enjoy the view.
The ICT passes right across Three Creek Road here. Look back across the dirt road to your east and notice the farm-stuff that looks like where cattle would be herded to. There are 2 flexible white trail markers between the dirt road and a gate/fence system set back from the road. Head on Over!

You are now on the official Idaho Centennial Trail! From where a primitive trail/road crosses through the gate, proceed east 9 paces. Look to your right and you ought to notice some out-of-place flat river rocks. The Idaho Centennial Trail stamp is resting underneath.

Be stealthy and please re-hide well as this area gets lots of traffic…. Kidding.

Extra notes: We cannot emphasize enough that this is an isolated yet gorgeous high-desert plain. Please do your research before going down to the ICT trailhead. Bring your bikes! Bring your motorcycles! Bring a picnic or camp overnight. Once you go that far, you might as well stay a while and enjoy. We mountain biked to the Nevada border (2 miles south) and continued for a while. On our return, a motorbiker was heading up the same trail. There were also 2 RV’s camped at the pull-out, which has a great view of expanse. Nice place to view clouds, on-coming storm systems, and night stars….