State representative hiking Centennial Trail
<p>State Rep. Mat Erpelding, D-Boise, is hiking the Idaho Centennial Trail, which stretches the length of Idaho from the Canadian border to the Nevada border. He is raising awareness for the Redside Foundation.</p>
MULLAN - As of last Friday, State Rep. Mat Erpelding had logged 220 miles in 10 days of hiking along Idaho's Centennial Trail.
No. Not the paved Centennial Trail that runs along I-90.
Erpelding is hiking the other Centennial Trail, which stretches the length of Idaho from the Upper Priest Lake Falls near the Canadian border to Murphy Hot Springs on the Nevada border.
It's a trip that normally takes about 70 days, he said.
"The record is 59 days," Erpelding said, during a stopover in Mullan, where he took a rest day last Friday. "I am going to try and do it in 40 days."
Erpelding is a professional mountain guide, and he is making the hike to build awareness for the Redside Foundation, which provides mental health and substance abuse support for outfitters in Idaho.
"I also want to raise awareness of the importance of Idaho's public lands," he said, adding that there are legislators in the state that want to take over the federal lands in Idaho.
He opposes that effort because the cost to do that would be astronomical.
On Friday, Erpelding took the day off to rest a strained leg muscle. It put him one day behind, but he still anticipates that he can make that up.
He plans to finish in Murphy Hot Springs on Oct. 1. He is currently hiking south to Stanley, and will hit caches he has set up along the way. He stopped at his first one on Hoodoo Pass on Tuesday for another rest.
"That's where I pick up my food and a clean pair of socks," he said.
So far, he said he hasn't had any encounters with animals, but he did have an occasion to pull out his bear spray.
"There was one incident in the Cabinets when I got my bear spray out," he said, adding he could hear a large animal but never actually saw it.
"I suspect when I approach the Frank Church Wilderness Area, I may encounter more wildlife," he said.
So far, he said the Sawtooth Mountains have been the highlight of the hike.
"I love that area," he said. "It's an interesting change to be in the timber lands of Idaho as opposed to the desert."
He said if anyone is interested they can follow his trip on Facebook, where you can find more information on how to donate to the Redside Foundation.