From high atop Freezeout Ridge, a broad expanse of the Clearwater Mountains stretches out through Idaho's national forestlands, creating a rippling sea of green. The Clearwater National Forest covers the land in red cedar, white and tamarack pine, and hemlock. This area lies in a geological zone characterized by metamorphic rock. The term, metamorphism, refers to a type of rock that's been recycled, under the earth's surface. Underground, intense pressures and heat exist, and transform sedimentary rock into exotics, such as strongly foliated rock of gneiss, schists and sometimes transparent garnets. Garnet gemstones, such as the famous Idaho Star, have lead to the state's nickname, the Gem State.
     Taking Forest Road #301 out of Clarkia, it's a 13 mile, steep climb to the trailhead at Freezeout Saddle. This area, commonly called the Great Wild, is only an hour and a half from Moscow. The Clearwater Mountain region covers almost 26 million acres and reaches southward to the Sawtooth Mountains.