The last few weeks have been hiking light as I allow my foot to heal a little. I might have plantar fasciitis and it has not been fun. I have been rolling a frozen golf ball in the arch of my foot as well as doing some heel stretches to help alleviate the pain. Voltaren three to four times a day on the heel and arch is also helping a great deal. Hopefully we will be back to hiking and camping in about a week.

In the meantime, Memorial weekend seemed a great time to do some riding. I had encountered the Mount Margaret Trail Head signage on ID Hwy 6 a few times in the past and I discovered that it is an ORV trail. With Rebecca gone this weekend, I decided it was a great time to explore this trail a little more fully. The Ruby Creek road, or FR1442, is just about 1.5 miles east of Harvard, ID. After turning off the highway, take the first right hand road and just follow that all the way to the trailhead. The road becomes gravel just off the highway, but the potholes have been refilled and the road is much smoother than it was the first time I traveled it in November of 2023. Pretty much any car can make it to the trailhead if proper care is taken.

The trail has a gate which theoretically establishes the size of vehicle allowed on the trail. The trail starts as a dual track trail, but there were some points where the trail was almost gone from the grasses growing up over them. I found this trail to be a fun track to travel, but there were a few times where I wished that I was on a bike about 200 pounds lighter and was most thankful that I was not fully geared for camping. There are portions of the trail that are not in national forest, so it would be quite useful to have some maps on hand to ensure you are in national forest before setting up a dispersed camp.

There are a huge amount of trails in this area, and I think one could spend a full day riding and still not fully explore everything. I missed Ruby Creek as I made a wrong turn somewhere, but I still got to ride on some high ridges and was treated to some amazing views. It was also very secluded out there. While I did see some tracks from other people taking advantage of the trail, I did not see another person the whole time I was out. I would highly recommend having maps so that you do not get lost amongst all the different trails. I did not do this, and that is why I did not find the creek or the path to Bald Mountain lookout. While it was a good time, it did make me realize that perhaps I need to plan a little better in the future.

While I have mentioned riding this trail, I see absolutely no reason that it could not be enjoyed on foot. In fact, it was easier to find information on the trail through AllTrails than it was through various other websites, like the Idaho Forest Service. OnX maps had some useful information as well, but most of my queries led me to a Ruby Trail in Washington that I guess I need to explore in the future. If you do decide to hike this trail, I did not see a lot of water available and there are not restrooms at the trailhead. Bring some maps so you know you are in forest and not private property, and have a good time hiking and taking in the views.

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