Recreation

Cabarton gets new boat ramp

Boaters on the North Fork Payette River will have an easier time getting on and off the river thanks to two new boat ramps at the Cabarton put-in.The put-in on Cabarton Road about eight miles south of Cascade is one of the busiest access points on the river.“The Cabarton put-in is a very busy launch site for folks going downstream to Smiths Ferry,” said Valley County Recreation Planner Dave Bingaman, adding that it is common to see 50 to 75 cars lining the road near the boat launch, not including the eight commercial outfitters that use the site.“It is also becoming a popular take out for folks coming down from Cascade,” Bingaman said.

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Mountaineers hockey back in McCall

Competitive, high-level hockey is back in McCall for another season, with the Mountaineers hosting the Park City Silver Kings on Friday and Saturday at the Manchester Ice and Events Centre.Puck drops at 7 p.m., with doors opening at 6:30 p.m.The Mountaineers, made up of former pros, college players and members of the Idaho Jr.

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McCall MTB team second at state

The McCall Area Composite Mountain Bike Team finished first at the state championship race on Saturday at Bogus Basin, despite fielding a third of the riders as the second-place Boise Brave team.The McCall team finished second out of 18 teams for the season, only 124 points behind the Boise team which won with a total of 21,046 points.“It is a 0.6% difference if you do the math,” said McCall Team Director Dean Cromwell.McCall racers notched three first place finishes, with Svea Eitel first in the sixth-grade race, Taylor Nalder first in the JV1 category and Payette Spangenberg winning varsity.Another standout performance was had by Max Coleman, who finished 28th in the sixth-grade race after his bike chain fell off several times on course.“After this happened a couple of times, he made the decision to run his bike in for the two-mile remainder of the course,” Cromwell said.

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Broken toe, unbroken spirit

A broken big toe was the last thing on Cole Pittman’s mind as he limped across the finish line to complete his first triathlon last Saturday near Yellow Pine.Pittman was among 23 people who competed in the first ever Idaho High Mountain Triathlon, which covered 32 miles from Warm Lake to Ice Hole Campground about six miles south of Yellow Pine on Johnson Creek Road.Pittman broke his big toe in a trampoline accident days before the race, but would not be denied the chance to compete in the first iteration of the triathlon with his 9-year-old son, Eli, spectating.“I couldn’t quit in front of my son,” said Pittman, 28, of Nampa.

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Recreation Briefs

The Payette Lakes Ski Swap will be held over the weekend of October 18 to 20 at Payette Lakes Middle School.Skiers and Snowboarders can drop off unneeded gear on Friday, Oct.

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