Moose Creek Idaho (A Backcountry Wilderness Adventure)
(Photos shot on Fuji Superia 400 film and Digital — Canon 6D)
Moose Creek Idaho
Last summer I had the chance to fly to Moose Creek, Idaho in a Cessna 182 for an overnight camping trip at the camping site of the Moose Creek USFS Airstrip (1U1)
- Departure Location: Boundary County Airport (Bonners Ferry, ID, USA)
- Destination: Moose Creek USFS Airport Airstrip
It is one of the best places I have ever been.
Moose Creek Landing Strip
The Moose Creek landing strip is in the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness area of Idaho. At the confluence of Moose Creek and the Selway River, there is a small slice of land tucked in between the mountains with enough flat space to accommodate two intersecting grass airstrips.
The minute your plane touches the grass of the runway, you are 25 miles from the nearest road, and closer to paradise than you’ve ever been.
It is one of the most incredible little gems of the west.
Fly In Camping
If you want to see video of the flight-in before you finish reading, than can go to my Instagram profile and open the story highlight titled Moose Creek. (It will open in a new tab, and it is the 2nd to last story highlight)
I took the photo above as we were on our way south from Boundary County Airport just after sunrise. The sun had just peaked over the eastern horizon as we flew past Lake Pend Oreille in Sandpoint, Idaho.
If you viewed my Instagram highlights, respond to one of the stories with a DM letting me know you saw this here on my blog.
It will give you a quick overview and live feel to the photos you will see below. (Moose Creek Instagram Story)
The skies were smoky from nearby forest fires, and the temperatures were scorching. We left early to avoid the heat of the afternoon, and to get on the ground before the currents made a descent in the mountains dangerous.
In this photo, if you look closely (or pinch to zoom) you can see a fire tower on the peak in the distance. For years these towers were manned, and some still are, before modern technology allowed fire crews to monitor fires remotely.
Imagine waking up morning after morning on the peak of a mountain, alone with your thoughts, the mountain, and the weather.
As we flew on, across thousands of acres of mountain wilderness, this little meadow (below) caught my eye. It is located high on the side of a mountain and likely kept green by a small spring.
I like to imagine that it’s a routine morning stop for a few deer and elk who call this home. The single tree in the center stands as a little marker for this small peaceful meadow in the middle of a vast forest.
Moose Creek Ranger Station
This location is sometimes heralded as a Pilot’s Getaway and for excellent reason. It’s beauty that very few get to experience.
The history of this camp and airfield is rich and full of intriguing details. In the early 1900’s, the first forest rangers came here to survey and get a lay of the land. The first buildings were built in the 1920’s and are still standing today on the end of the shorter airstrip.
In modern years the station is manned by a single volunteer during the late spring and summer months. The volunteer is flown in by the Forest Service and stays for a term of up to eight weeks. Duties include basic maintainence such as keeping the grass around the buildings watered and cutting a supply of firewood. Also, important to the well-being of the station, is a daily checking-in with the next station down the river.
The lifestyle is almost idyllic, although the work is hard and the labor is all manual. Becaue it is located in a National Wilderness Area there can be no use of mechanized tools or equipment. Even the airstrip is mowed by a team of mules, with an old fashioned sickle mower.
It’s truly a paradise, lost in the wilderness!
Selway River, Idaho
Refer to the Moose Creek Ranger Station map (below) as a reference for the following photos.
In the evening, I hiked from our campsite, to the rustic wooden bridge over the Selway River (see the Selway River map above).
It was very dusk by the time I got down there and to save weight had not brought a tripod on the plane. For the next couple photos below, I carefully handheld each of them at anywhere between 1/30th of a second to 1/4 sec.
Although not technically perfect, they serve as an authentic reminder to the rustic beauty.
It’s incredible to think this bridge and others like it on the Selway, were constructed with materials and tools that would’ve all had to be flown in packed by a mule.
The nearest road is 25 miles from this bridge on the Selway River.
Film Photography
Each of the film photos in this post were shot on Fuji Superia 400 with my Pentax KX and lightly edited in Lightroom CC Classic. The Pentax KX is a 1970’s era SLR that is more compact and includes an improved light meter from popular Pentax K1000. It is a solid camera, and well deserving of a place in my bag.
At first I felt like it was “cheating” somehow to edit film photos digitally. However, the minute you scan them to a digital file you are essentially taking a digital photograph of the negative and editing it, thereby kind of losing whatever mystical idea we might have about film being the pure medium. All that to say, I edit my film shots.
I think they turned out great and are a beautiful part of the memories that were made on this trip.
Idaho Backcountry Flying
The wildfire smoke was really thick the morning we left and cast a dirty haze over the mountains. Nonetheless the scenery was breathtaking, and the smoke created depth in the layers of ridges that stretched to the horizons.
This trip taught me to appreciate the west more than I already did. There are vast amounts of land out here. Land where almost no one walks on, touches, or lives. It’s home to the animals, the trees and the water.
Idaho’s Wilderness Is Inspiring!
Idaho Wildfires
The end of August is often the peak wildfire season in Idaho. On our way back to Bonners Ferry, the skies became increasingly hazy and clouded with smoke.
I shot the photo below with a 135mm prime lens on my Canon 6D. I thought that the moody atmosphere and abstract quality of this photo make it look like a cinematic scene from a movie.
What do you think?
The father north we went, the thicker the smoke became. The landscape became cast in a dirty color. The sky was muted, and the sun turned a dull orange.
I was equipped for most of the flight back with my 135mm lens, which helped me capture the magnitude of these peaks and ridgelines. The smoke added a dark, almost ominous feel to some of these photos.
We flew past ridges and mountain sides that had burned in previous seasons.
Wildfires are a two-edged sword.
As much as we (myself included) don’t like fires, especially when they threaten people, homes and livelihoods, the forests rely on the regenerative properties of wildfires, and benefit from renewed ecosystems and watersheds.
Some areas were really scorched however, and will take years to fully recover as seen in the photo below.
Idaho Backcountry
I hope you enjoyed this essay: the photos, the story, the location, and perhaps the inspiration to enjoy and appreciate this beautiful earth just a little bit more.
If you have any questions about this location, the flight, or my photography please respond below!
It’s been a pleasure sharing this story with you.
Let’s keep in touch!
You can purchase many of the photos in this post at Stocksy United: Stocksy United — Justin Mullet
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