Everyone was up and moving relatively early, and we packed up gear to get us through three days in the field with potential for frost and rain. We took two rigs on the road to the North Fork Wilderness, one ranger per artist/photographer. We made stops at Stoneman Creek, Cottonwood Creek, a river viewpoint, the North Fork Campground, around South Mountain, and eventually the wilderness border at the north end, near the start of the Owyhee North Fork. There was a lot of time in the truck today, travelling here is slow and meandering, but gorgeous. With all our time driving, ranger E.E. Worthington and I had plenty of time to talk and philosophize about art, wilderness, and the world's problems.

We stopped at an intersection of several roads near a sign and map. Here we dropped south toward the wilderness boundary and parked just outside, then set out for an evening hike. Expecting a very cold night, we planned to be back to camp in time to have dinner and set up camp a short ways into the boundary before nightfall. This area has ridges, drainages, creeks, boulders, and copious junipers. We had fun poking around, finding interesting trees, root structures, rocks, and vistas to photograph.

After returning to camp and setting up for the night, we cooked our meals, then relaxed and enjoyed the sunset with cookies. Ranger C. Steenhoven had recently taken a class on painting with light (night photography using a flashlight) and was keen to see if we could get some shots of a tent lit up from inside. The other photographer, S. Hart, had much better luck than I, and I think much more experience. We had a blast trying to get a shot to look right. Eventually I shifted to capturing the stars, and when I noticed ursa major framed in by trees, I had the guys stand together in the clearing underneath. We probably spent an hour playing with photography, and surprisingly the air stayed warm despite this night being forecast to drop near freezing. The moon was bright, though not yet full, and cast strong shadows. It was perfect weather for a night hike, and we all set out together down an old roadway into the wilderness. A spectacular end to a very good day.

Beaver dam, Stoneman Creek.

Stoneman Creek.

Last night was very cold, the frost lingers in the shadows.

Frosted tips of grasses shorn by bovine teeth.

Stoneman Creek, frosted shadows.

Cottonwood Creek.

Juniper laden with lichen above Cottonwood Creek.

Looking into Cottonwood Creek.

Mud Flat Road with our rigs.

A mole or vole trail.

Overview of the Owyhee North Fork.

Closeup of the rocks along the canyon walls.

Two wilderness rangers at rest, waiting for the artists to finish arting about.

Juniper and lichen.

A nice example of old growth juniper.

Owyhee North Fork, coming up on the camp ground.

The fall colors were glowing today.

Owyhee North Fork, a Wild and Scenic River.

Looking the other direction down the river.

The crew, eating lunch.

Back on the road, headed north and east around South Mountain.

Driving around South Mountain.

The clouds moved in, but the colors of the aspen were still bright.

A very photogenic grasshopper, he sat very patiently while I got closer and closer.

On our evening hike.

Atop the next ridge over, looking back, you can see the trucks.

There are various, myriad rock forms and boulders to discover here.

Preserved flowers.

A dried out puffball mushroom.

Poking around a drainage.

There are so many attractive junipers. Here is yet another.

Looks like this coyote may have had an interesting meal. The coloring of these feathers is incredible.

And another twisted, gnarly juniper.

Two wilderness rangers, in their prime, scouting out the terrain.

When you're the only two wilderness rangers in the state, it's best to become good friends.

More dried flowers.

Finding interesting roots is addicting.

My camping Taj Mahal. I brought a tiny backpacking tent like the others did, but I also brought this 3-person monstrosity in there interest of warmth and comfort. What can I say, we had two rigs, and plenty of room for tent options.

Almost sunset...

There she goes.

Night shot with tent.

Ursa Major and tree line.

Ursa Major and rangers.

Playing around with night photography, the moon and a juniper.

Moon and juniper.

We were up early this morning and arrived at the BLM's Boise District Office around 8:30 to meet the other wilderness ranger, the photographer, the management staff, and to fill out some paperwork. By about 10:30 we were on the road to the Owyhee Canyonlands area, a two hour drive. The forecast called for clear skies today, but there were sprinkles along our drive, particularly after we passed Grand View. It is a gorgeous drive once you leave the freeway, and especially once you hit the gravel of Mud Flat Road. We stopped at the duty station at Mud Flat Spring to drop off our gear and pare down to the basics for a day of driving, hiking, and photographing. The plan was to return here for the night.

The rest of the day was spent traveling along Mud Flat Road and stopping for hikes and views in the wilderness areas and between. The weather and skies were beautiful. We drove up Juniper Mountain and to Trout Springs, staying at a stand of snags for sunset before returning to the duty station. Everyone cooked their own dinner, then we had tea and discussed the day and the possibilities for the next couple days of exploring. It was a marvelous first day out in the field.