BOISE, Idaho — Idaho is a paradise for year-round recreation as sports seamlessly transition from one activity to another whether it is skiing, mountain biking, kayaking or fishing.
We have a unique perspective to shine a light on some of the amazing accomplishments of people in these sports and 2022 did not disappoint, so here are some of our favorite adventures from this past year that we showcases on Idaho Backroads.
The skill level in mountain biking is off the charts in Idaho and that was on display when professional mountain biker Braydon Bringhurst attempted to ride up the iconic Whole Enchilada Trail in Moab, Utah.
Braydon debuted a film called 8,600 feet at the Egyptian Theater, not only did it sell out, but it has 631,000 views on YouTube where it can be viewed for free.
"There is a lot of crazy aspects to it and I tried to stay away from all the details of the riding and focus more on the mental component," said Bringhurst.
The mental component is critical to action adventure sports and we saw that in water sports whether it was a hard charging group of local firefighters finishing off a complete descent of the North Fork of the Payette, or an Army veteran paralyzed from the waist down taking on Howard's Plunge with Team River Runner or Hayden Voorhees reaching a life-long dream of winning the North Fork Championship, one of the most extreme races in kayaking.
"It's the first time either of us have won it," said Hayden referring to himself and his brother Alec who has raced in the North Fork Championship every year with several top five finishes. "It has been our goal since we started kayaking and I finally did it."
There are also people who think outside the box like Justin "Juice" Kennedy who grew up skiing at Bogus Basin, Juice and the Onslaught Crew showed us a different way to shred when they debuted their new ski film, they will be at the Idaho Potato Drop on New Year's Eve showcasing urban air.
But you don't have to be an elite athlete to enjoy the Idaho Backroads and all the different landscapes that provide opportunities to see wildlife, soak in hot springs, hike, camp, hunt and fish.
So many local organizations also do their part to protect public lands, create recreational opportunities and educate the public on how to be stewards of the environment.
It was a record breaking year for anglers as the largest sturgeon and blue catfish were both caught at CJ Strike Reservoir, Paul Newman of Fruitland landed the 42.5 inch catfish when he went out fishing with Hammett Valley Fishing Adventures, they let the fish go.
"It wasn’t worth it, that fish was so majestic and such a beautiful fish," said John Parrish of Hammett Valley Fishing Adventures. "We got our measurements really quick, revived it and put in the water for someone else to catch."
We can't wait to see what 2023 has in store and if you have an adventure you want documented send me an email, steve.dent@kivitv.com. I'd love to get out and do some ice fishing, or go snowmobiling or get more into hunting, Idaho Backroads airs every Thursday.
