First Jedediah Smith Trail 1822 — 1824

Day 29: September 13th, 2009 Idaho Falls (Craters of the Moon NM)

Map Idaho Falls to Craters of the Moon NM

Today I totally sleep in. It is already eight in the morning when I wake up. Because it is already so extremely late, I drive to the restaurant just below the motel. Then I don’t need to walk back. The breakfast is very good. First, I am wondering why there is only one slice of toast on my plate. But then I realize, that it is almost twice as thick as a regular slice of toast.

BUS15/Highway 20/W Broadway St, Idaho Falls, ID

Around half past ten I drive over to the next gas station. Then I am ready to leave town, once again way too late.

Highway 20/Medal of Honor Hwy, ID

Highway 20/Medal of Honor Hwy, ID

Highway 20/Medal of Honor Hwy, ID

Highway 20/Medal of Honor Hwy, ID

Highway 20/26/Medal of Honor Hwy, ID

First, I take Highway 20/26 to the west.

Highway 20/26/S Front St, Arco, ID

Highway 20/26/93/W Grand Ave, Arco, ID

At Arco, Highway 93 unites with my highway and I continue on Highway 20/26/93 to the southwest.

Highway 20/26/93/Medal of Honor Hwy, ID

Highway 20/26/93/Medal of Honor Hwy, ID

It is not before noon when I arrive at the Craters of the Moon National Monument. First, I visit the Visitor Center.

Loop Rd, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Loop Rd, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Loop Rd, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Loop Rd, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Then I drive over to the park entrance, where they charge the $8 entrance fee. Now I am taking the Loop Road, which can only be driven in one direction. Therefore I must drive my planned trip through the park in the other direction.

Spatter Cones, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Spatter Cones, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Snow Cone, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Spatter Cones, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Spatter Cones, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Snow Cone, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Snow Cone, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

North Crater Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

North Crater Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

North Crater Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Big Craters, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Big Craters, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Big Craters, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Big Craters, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

North Crater Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Big Craters, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

North Crater Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Big Craters, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

North Crater Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Big Craters, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

North Crater Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

North Crater Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

North Crater Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Big Craters, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

North Crater Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

North Crater Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

North Crater Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

I start with the Spatter Cones and Snow Cone. Then I hike the North Crater Trail for a while, which takes me along the rim of these two giant craters, the Big Craters. There you have great views into the crater and also the bizarre lava landscape around. This hike was not planned, but definitely worth it!

Loop Rd, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Loop Rd, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Loop Rd, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Loop Rd, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Then I continue on Loop Road to the Tree Molds Trail trailhead.

Tree Molds Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Tree Molds Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Tree Molds Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Tree Molds Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Tree Molds Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Tree Molds Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Tree Molds Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Tree Molds Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Tree Molds Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Tree Molds Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Tree Molds Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Tree Molds Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Tree Molds Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Tree Molds Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Tree Molds Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Tree Molds Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Tree Molds Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Tree Molds Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

There, you hike first through a lava field and then out in the open prairie. Again and again, you pass small craters until you arrive at the lava trees. These are petrified remnants of trees. From there, the trail continues for quite a while. But I finish my hike at the Echo Crater. Against my expectation, there are no signs or markers like at the Lava Trees. But the two hikers I meet here have been following the trail for a long distance and there was nothing else showing up. And the hill looks like a crater — and there is even an echo. Therefore they defined it as the Echo Crater, sounds good to me.

Tree Molds Trail End, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Tree Molds Trail End, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Tree Molds Trail End, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Tree Molds Trail End, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Tree Molds Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Tree Molds Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Tree Molds Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Mountain Chickadee, Tree Molds Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Tree Molds Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Tree Molds Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Tree Molds Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Tree Molds Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Tree Molds Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Tree Molds Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Tree Molds Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Tree Molds Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Tree Molds Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Tree Molds Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Tree Molds Trail, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

I follow their definition and hike up to the crater rim, like the other two guys. There, I take some pictures. Then I start my hike back. Slowly, some dark clouds start to grow in the mountains and I slowly start to wonder if I will make it really dry back to my car. But it looks like it will work out. The trail is really long. It was a quarter to three when I left my car and around a quarter past six I am back. All the time, the wind was really blowing. Especially when I hiked the North Crater Trail up to the rim. There, I have been almost blown away. And my camera was sometimes shaking quite a bit. It was necessary to hold on to my tripod that it will not fall into the crater!

Then I drive back to the Loop Road.

Loop Rd, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Loop Rd, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Loop Rd, Craters of the Moon NM, ID

Highway 20/26/93/Medal of Honor Hwy, ID

Highway 20/26/93/Medal of Honor Hwy, ID

Highway 20/26/93/Medal of Honor Hwy, ID

Highway 20/26/93/Medal of Honor Hwy, ID

On Loop Road I continue in direction of the park exit. Because it is already so late, I skip my other planned trail hikes. I am on my way back to my motel in Idaho Falls.

Again, I drive through Arco in Idaho.

Highway 20/26/Medal of Honor Hwy, ID

Highway 20/26/Medal of Honor Hwy, ID

Highway 20/26/Medal of Honor Hwy, ID

Highway 20/26/Medal of Honor Hwy, ID

Sunset, Highway 20/26/Medal of Honor Hwy, ID

Sunset, Highway 20/26/Medal of Honor Hwy, ID

On my way back I listen to a bad weather warning from the National Weather Service on my CB radio. There are heavy thunderstorms at Pocatello with wind gusts up to 60mph. The bad weather continues to the northeast. This should not be in my direction. But the wind is still blowing here. It almost blows me from the road. Always when I drive in the wind shadow of a hill, I realize how much I must turn the steering to stay in my lane, unbelievable!

But I make it back to my motel safely. Also here the wind is blowing extremely. But it is not raining. It is already a quarter past eight now. Therefore I hurry up to pack my stuff together and walk up to my room. There I quickly wash myself before I leave for the Outback Steakhouse. This time I take a seat at the lounge area. But there you must pick a seat by yourself. Also my server is not really great, whereas the service is okay all in all. However, he asks me for the desert while I am still working on my dinner and immediately put the check on the counter. This almost feels like being thrown out.

I pay and walk outside. There I realize that I was probably the last guest. It seems like they also close earlier if they have no more guests. Great, if someone should really show up later, he will find a closed door. So much for the service theme. Let’s see, if I have enough time tomorrow I will drive over to the Texas Roadhouse. This year, I haven’t been there yet.

After dinner I drive over to Walmart. Around a quarter past nine I arrive there. But it seems like they are closing at ten, so it is not a 24h shop. Therefore I must hurry up. First I get some DV tapes. At least they have my Panasonic tapes. Hopefully, eight of them will be sufficient. Then I loot again the CD department. However, I am not sure with a couple of CDs if they are really good. Therefore I skip them. But the one from Gloriana, which is a new group and is currently climbing up the charts and played everywhere, is available for just $10. This one I must take with me.

Around ten I am driving back to my motel. There I do my bookkeeping first and throw in another CD which I haven’t listened to yet. Then I write my diary. Because I don’t need new GPS waypoints tomorrow, I can skip this task. Finally, it is already half past eleven when I have finished everything and have put in the ear plugs in my ear…

The next day is in preparation…