Andrew Mackey was glassing for mule deer on the steep, tawny slopes of the Snake River breaks on the Craig Mountain Wildlife Management Area south of Lewiston when he spotted the remnants of an old trail.
After the hunt, he consulted some old timers and learned there was once a trail that circumnavigated much of the 124,000-acre area that occupies a triangle of wrinkled, game-rich land between the Snake River in Hells Canyon and the lower Salmon River gorge.
The ghost path winding through bunch grass and stringers of timbers got Mackey thinking. The Idaho Fish and Game wildlife biologist wondered if it would be possible to revamp the trail and connect it with sections of old road to provide a unique experience for hunters and others who could use it to access the harder-to-reach areas of the wildlife area as well as the agency’s six public-use cabins scattered throughout the property.