Hannah and Dan Roam in Idaho and Hike the Gibson Jack Trail

Hannah and Dan Roam in Idaho and Hike the Gibson Jack Trail

When we travel to the Mountain States, we love to explore Western towns, often they are the biggest thing for miles around.  Some of our favorites are Flagstaff and Prescott, Arizona, Lander, Wyoming, Bozeman, Montana, and Panguitch and Moab, Utah.   It’s Big Sky Country at its finest.  Unable to visit the Grand Teton or Yellowstone National Parks because even the lower lake trails had 2-4 feet of snow in early June, we venture due north from Salt Lake City to Pocatello, Idaho.

Do you ever want to be more than just a tourist when you travel?  You know, just immerse yourself in the community?   If so, I got an inspired idea for you.  It’s really cool.  On the first Sunday of our hiking vacation, we seek out the local Congregational Church (UCC) in Pocatello (http://www.uccpocatello.org/), which I had googled the week before.  Deep in Mormon Country (Latter Day Saints), we find a welcoming congregation with 28 members in attendance this early June morning.  In this college town (Idaho State University), we find an outpost of conversation, engagement, and connection with these folks.  When they turn and welcome each other at the service, they turn and welcome everyone individually!  It is very cool.  As a member of such a church, I can imagine you would feel known and vital to the church’s success.  With the nearest UCC church 110 miles away in Ogden, UT, you are a pioneer if you are a member of the Congregational Church here.  And more amazing, in the middle of Republican Red country, this church is an open and affirming UCC church (http://www.ucc.org/lgbt/ona.html), which means they embrace all gender orientations.  

After church, we head south to the edge of town for a favorite local trail.  We dig popular trails.  Loving the chance to interact with others, Hannah and I are no solitary John Muirs or Henry David Thoreaus or Hermit D. Wildernesses.  We are energized by the stories of others.  From the southwest of Pocatello, we go south on Bannock Highway to Gibson Jack Road, turn right for 3.2 miles to the trailhead where there is parking for twenty cars.  Sunny and 80 degrees on this late spring day, I lather on the sunscreen, slap on my fanny pack, and immediately start steadily climbing on a rocky trail with sage, juniper, and some pines, seemingly unaffected by the nearly 5000 feet of elevation. 

After 45 minutes through mountain meadows of grass, we hit a fork in the trail and choose to cross right over a wooden bridge of planks.  Unfortunately today we lack a map so we are giving it our best guess.  Not always a winning strategy.  Without a map, we can go up and back on most any trail with a high degree of confidence, but today’s trail is a loop trail, the Gibson Jack Loop.  Here in the Targhee National Forest the signage is poor.  That’s no excuse for not having a map, but what we need is the absolutely terrific signage typically found in National Parks.  Aspens bracket the trail with leaves that are immature and not fully leafed.  Mountain snow rivulets whisk by us.  After an hour we see no other hikers, but do see a distant mountain and wonder if that’s part of the loop.  We are again reminded that not having a map is a major bummer.  We look for a sign. I mean an omen-type sign.  If we see another hiker on the trail whose advice we have a high degree of confidence in, we’ll continue on.  If not, we’ll head back the way we came.

The mountain ascent is steep and rocky and makes us wonder, should we go any further? Now five miles into the wilderness, we feel we are out of options and don’t want this late afternoon to be spelled L-O-S-T.  We see no one and turn back.  Denied, we had no idea that if we had continued to that mountain top, we would have had just 2.3 miles to go.  By turning back we did five more miles.  We say we like exercise and we got it today.  

Satisfied three and half hours later, we drive back to our Super 8 motel in Pocatello a mere ten miles away.  A shower awaits, and then a chance to toast the Blackfoot Mountains as the sun sets after nine PM in this part of the northern Rockies.

Gibson Jack Hike – Challenging with a steep ascent to the mountain top but doable and enjoyable.   As always when hiking, know thyself, thy limits, and the conditions.  Be prepared.