Big Horse Gap is one of the Northern entry points for Idaho’s Big Jacks Creek Wilderness which consists of rugged canyons, streams and plateaus. The gap is a wide canyon with a rough road through the center, accessed via Vaught Road off of Shoofly Road. The basin ranges in elevation from 2,808 to 5,872 feet and drains a sagebrush-covered plateau dissected by rugged, sheer-walled canyons that are as much as 650 feet deep.
Big Horse Gap is an amazing canyon, with tons of rocks walls to explore.
January through May you will commonly find me in the Owyhees and one of my favorite places to camp is in Big Horse Basin. Admittedly there is only one or two make-shift camping sites available in this area but I have never run into another camper in the gap. There are plenty of cliffs to block the wind, with meandering dry streams to follow and rock formations to scramble.
The Big Horse Gap is covered by big sagebrush, salt desert shrubs, loose rocks with sage grouse, bighorn sheep during the day and coyotes howling at night. There is no water, so I always load up before I go. This is true Idaho high desert and part of why I love this state.
“Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit.” ~Edward Abbey