Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Wheat farming on the Camus Prairie

Love that country, killed alotta bucks up there over the years

I know.....there's a lot of history in those trestles
Hell there's a lot of history in the whole area....that's why I need to get off of my dead ass and spend a day or two following those tracks but the Ground Squirrels, Coyotes, and Pheasants keep distracting me.

If you get a chance, and if the road is still driveable, take a jaunt up to Buffalo Hump. Even 20 years ago, there was nothing much left to see, but at one time during the gold rush up there, it was one of the biggest towns in Idaho.

How far north of Grangeville?

Idaho tends to be underrated for whitetails. Everyone seems to think it's all mulie country but I've seen some real dandies in the north half of the state.

That is some crazy country to be farming!

My first cross-country motorcycle ride was 32 years ago; 2,100 miles from College Station TX to Moscow ID in 2 1/2 days in August, on an unfaired 550cc Yamaha no less. Didn't know about earplugs back then, when I finally lay my head in Moscow that night I could still hear the motor running Phenomenal ride.

First day across Texas and up onto the Panhandle; slept out on the ground outside of Clayton, NM.

Second day; Raton Pass over the top of Monarch Pass and down to the Great Basin. The climb to Monarch Pass reeked of anti-freeze on account of all the vehicles nearly overheating and my wrist got sore from cranking the throttle and clutch so much while passing them. Utah down around Green River looked like a moonscape compared to where I'd been. The crowd at a McDonald's in Provo looked like an episode of the Stepford Wives. Finally I was so tired running through Salt Lake that night I was seeing double. Seen trucks off the highway, thought it was a truck stop, it wasn't, it was a big motel parking lot. Drove to the very back, lay down on a sidewalk next to the motorcycle, threw a groundsheet over me with my feet sticking out and fell asleep instantly.

Got woken up three hours later by someone kicking my right boot. It was the Cops, someone had reported me as a dead body. Left Salt Lake 4am, saw a tremendous meteor burn up overhead near Snowville. Then hung a left towards Boise, north of Boise the McCall country was so winding I figured motorcyclists there wear the outside of their tires out first before the middle. Long afternoon rolling north through Idaho.....

...and why this is relevant here.....

I was blown away by the golden wheat fields in the rolling Nez Perce country, it was like the friggin' Promised Land

After that the long, long hill climbing out of Lewiston going north, I do believe that was the longest, steepest hill I have ever encountered, even my motorcycle was struggling.

The cause of that epic ride of course was a woman, it was worth it. A week later I had to get back to Grad School. Left Moscow at noontime on Saturday after changing the oil, this time I stopped in on the way back to see good friends in Capitan NM. Slept a couple of hours Saturday night in a motel somewhere in Southern Idaho, by Sunday morning i was rolling through Salt Lake traffic, seen the golden-roofed temple from Interstate, down past Arches and Coronado (??) that afternoon, past Durango, Silverton (??) and Taos, lost daylight at Espaniola NM, rolled into Capitan late Sunday night after a few hours playing mule deer roulette along the highway.

Monday night back in College Station it was time to change the oil again, 2,500 miles later.

I remember the same thing back when I was growing up in Pullman in the 70's.
My Dad remembers when they used horses...

"...After that the long, long hill climbing out of Lewiston going north, I do believe that was the longest, steepest hill I have ever encountered, even my motorcycle was struggling..."

I used to run that grade on a KZ440 in the early 80's , I am sure you know we were both running the new Lewiston grade, there is an even older worse one that had been blocked off for a very long time. I used to note the substantial temperature change from bottom to top in the winter. In summer it was reversed but not as noticable.

[edit: you were definitely on the "old grade", my trips were on the "new grade" although I did drive the old grade occasionally. wageslave's correction a few posts down put my memory-fault in evidence.}

For clarification,
6 miles long
7% @ its steepest.

The old road has not been blocked........ever.

Until the early 70's, there were 3 infamous hills between Boise and Moscow, Horseshoe Bend, Whitebird, and Lewiston. Whitebird was the worst with something like 21 switchbacks where you'd slow down to about 25 mph. Through the 70's, they rebuilt all 3 which cut over an hour off the 300 mile trip north. I think Lewiston was the steepest. Now you can go over all 3 at 70 if you have the power to do it...and a good enough radiator to keep the engine cool.
Lawyers Canyon, in the middle of the Camas Prairie, was pretty bad, too, but not from being so steep. It was narrow, winding, and often fogged in during the winter. There was always the danger of hitting deer there, too. Now there's a bridge over the canyon and the entire highway is up on top. MUCH faster. Is that the same canyon in the OP photo? Looks like it.

Once in a while I go up the old Whitebird Grade......

just to relive old times.

It's hard to believe that erosion isn't an issue but the ground obviously can handle it. That wouldn't work here!


Is most of the spraying done by plane? I bet it would be a real treat to run a ground sprayer over those hills. They must have uber baffles in the tanks.

Lots of them self propelled, auto steered sprayers now.
Planes do a lot of work, too.

Thanks for the correction, memory failed..
Birdwatcher must have been on the old grade after all.

Erosion is an issue.....
What makes all them deep draws???

They have come along way in that regard, though.

And, as has been stated, continuous cropping helps with that.
If there is fallow now, most is "chemfallow".

Sam, I have experienced Hi-Line soil......wet and dry......
That stuff would definitely NOT work here.

This is an interesting thread.

A little farther north, in the Palouse, erosion has been a major problem for many years. I'm not up there much any more to see the latest. Maybe they've figured out ways to slow it down.