19 minute read
Shear Delight
Ketchum, Idaho’s Trailing of the Sheep Festival celebrates the art, culture and joy of sheep herding
Story by KRIS GRANT
Photographs by KRIS GRANT and CAROL WALLER
The Trailing of the Sheep Festival is one of the best annual community celebrations I’ve ever attended and I’m so pleased to share it with you this month. It takes place in Ketchum, Idaho, the city right next to Sun Valley Resort, the first ski resort built in the United States, back in 1936. I included Sun Valley in my holiday getaway ideas in our last issue, and there’s still time to get up there this month.
But today I’m talking sheep and a festival that honors these gentle woolly beasts and the heritage of the ranchers and herders that care for them. They include the Scots, who bred and trained border collies, and proud Basques who emigrated from southern France and northern Spain. Today’s sheep ranch owners are mostly second or third generation Basques, while most herders are Peruvian, who work seasonally through a special immigrant visa program for agricultural workers. Sheepherders live a solitary life on the Idaho mountain pastures, lodged mostly in curved sheep wagons and generally earning $1,250 a month, a goodly sum in their native country.
The six-day festival, held each October, grew out of a misunderstanding.
In Blaine County, Idaho, sheep are led on a path through the small communities of Hailey, Bellevue and Ketchum to spend the summers grazing in the mountains just above the Wood River Valley. In early October, just before the first snow falls, the sheep use the same path to trail back down.
In the mid-1980s, things began to change. As the West began experiencing exponential growth, farms and ranches in Idaho were increasingly being lost to development.
Beginning in 1986, the Blaine County Recreation District began work on the Wood River Trail System, a paved trail that ran largely along the abandoned Union Pacific Railroad line. When some missing pieces of right-of-way were
needed to complete the trail, the county asked local sheep ranchers if they would allow use of some of their sheep migration trails that had been dedicated in the early 1900s. The ranchers graciously agreed.
But after the paths were paved and the sheep came trailing down as they had for the past 150 years, often leaving, shall we say, “evidence” in their wake, bikers and hikers became upset, not understanding why sheep were allowed on what they considered “their” path.
That’s when third-generation Blaine County sheep rancher John Peavey and his wife Diane stepped up to tell the story of sheepherding to newcomers in the valley. The Peaveys began holding “coffee chats” at a local café to share
stories of the rich history and heritage of sheep ranching in the valley. Diane also hosted a show on public radio for several years, documenting the daily activities of her life on a sheep ranch.
People loved the chats and after a few years, the Peaveys met with representatives of the Sun Valley/Ketchum Chamber and Visitor Bureau to discuss the idea of creating an annual event based around the sheep trailing.
“The bike path wouldn’t be there if the sheep ranchers didn’t allow it to be built on the sheep right-of-way,” said Carol Waller, who led the Ketchum/Sun Valley Chamber in 1997 and helped the Peaveys get the festival up on its hooves.
This year’s 28th annual festival honored the memory of John Peavey, who passed away in June at age 90. It was through his unique approach to conflict resolution that the festival was born.
As my jet crossed over the Idaho plains and I gazed down on endless crop circles, I grew sleepy, so I closed my eyes and rested. I was roused when the captain announced our approach to Sun Valley Airport. A few minutes later as I again glanced out the window, I was startled to see mountains rising above the side of the runway. We were at the gateway to the scenic Sawtooth Mountain Range.
Tony, my “Limelight Hotel Shuttle” driver, greeted me and we were soon on our way through Hailey, a city of just under 10,000 people, up to Ketchum, with its population of 3,600 folks. In fact, all of the Wood River Valley, including the towns of Hailey, Ketchum, Bellevue and Sun Valley, has a population of just under 25,000.
Tony pointed out an area where elk gather each evening to cross the highway, and each morning, cross back to the Big Wood River side of the road. That very morning an elk had collided with a car, he reported. “The driver wasn’t injured,” he said. “But her car was totaled.” He said that shortly after the accident, an alert local motorist pulled up and called Fish & Game, telling them he would harvest the elk. “You mean he cut up the elk right there on the road?” I asked, rather incredulous. “Oh, yes,” he said, noting that it was a frequent occurrence that freed highway maintenance crew from the task of disposing of the carcass while benefitting the guy who claimed the elk. “How much is the meat of one elk worth?” I asked. “At least $2,000,” Tony said.
We soon entered Ketchum, an attractive town with some rustic touches, including the circa-1887 Lane Mercantile Building, once the hub for local sheep ranchers, herders and lamb buyers. In the first two decades of the 20th century, more lamb was shipped from Ketchum than anywhere else in the country. Today, the building houses Enoteca Restaurant and the Pioneer Saloon, and I recommend both for some mighty fine food and atmosphere.
The Limelight Hotel is in the center of Ketchum, on Main Street, which the following Sunday would be the setting of the Big Sheep Parade, the culmination of the festival, when the sheep would trail down from the mountains and head for their warmer winter digs.
Idaho has a long history of sheepherding. Back in the 1900s, more than a million sheep populated the state and sheep vastly outnumbered people in the area. Today with just over 210,000 head, Idaho still ranks in the top ten states in the nation for sheep and lamb production.
Sheep are shorn for their thick, fluffy fleece, which can be spun into yarn and woven into textiles. Sheep also provide milk, cheese, lanolin, and most notably, lamb. A sheep that is less than one year old is classified as a lamb; most lamb meat that you find in stores is approximately seven or eight months old.
Shortly after settling into my room at the Limelight, a hip resort-style property built six years ago, my tour guide for the next four days, Carol Waller, picked me up for my first festival activity, a cooking class at Ramen Cowboy.
Yes, it’s the same Carol Waller who was a driving force in initiating the festival 28 years ago. I met Carol last May in Cody, Wyoming, where we both attended the western conference of SATW (Society of American Travel Writers). It was Carol who came up with the idea of parading the sheep down Main Street, deviating just slightly from the sheep’s traditional route on the outskirts of Ketchum.
Two hours after the cooking class, where I enjoyed every last bite of my lamb ramen, with chunks of lamb, a rich broth and homemade noodles, it was – uh oh! – time for a Farm-to-Table dinner, one of three Farm-to-Table dinners held on consecutive nights at Ketchum’s Mountain Humane complex. This remarkable 30,000 square-foot facility opened in 2019, and has since become a community hub. The state-of-the-art ‘no-kill” facility for dogs and cats includes 47 kennels, an outdoor play area and a splash park for summer play, veterinary services, and such programs as temporary housing of pets when owners are sick or called away. It was funded almost entirely by donations including an anonymous gift of its 20-acre site in a valley surrounded by rolling hills on the outskirts of Hailey. “People really love their pets here,” Carol shared. This night’s dinner honored the late John Peavey, whose entire family was in attendance. The four-course dinner was prepared by Al’s Wood River Sustainability Center with all courses featuring locally produced agricultural products and the Peavey family donated handpicked lambs from their final band of sheep. The family now raises just cattle; alas, a sign that sheep ranching is becoming as rare in Idaho as a black sheep in a flock (generally, one in one hundred).
At the Community Library, four longtime sheep ranchers told us stories about their lives and livelihoods.
Darby Northcott got into raising sheep when she was five years old when she adopted bum lambs. (Bum or bummer lambs are rejected by their mother for various reasons and must be cared for, much like an infant, to survive.) At age eight, Darby became active in 4-H Club and soon had her own flock. In the early days of the festival, Darby was invited to lead the Big Sheep Parade, with her lambs on a tether. She has led the parade ever since, now accompanied by her lambs and her young daughter.
Henry Etcheverry told us about his father, Jean Pierre Etcheverry, who arrived in America in 1929 at age 16 from the French Basque country. He made his way from New York City to Nevada where he worked as a herder for $40 a month. Then he and his wife moved to Pocatello, Idaho, and operated a boarding house. “It was a Basque employment agency of sorts,” said Henry. His parents also bought their first band of 1,200 sheep. Today, Henry operates a lambing shed, and each August sends lambs that are seven to eight months old to Colorado for harvesting. His wool is sent to Pendleton Mills in Oregon.
Cindy Siddoway is a fourth generation sheep rancher who, with her husband Jeff, also raises elk and bison. She is proud to have been the first woman president of the American Sheep Industry and to have grandchildren who are involved in the business. “We provide the best products: food and fiber,’ she said. “And we do it without harming the environment at all.”
Dennis Burke’s grandfather started in sheep ranching in 1933. As he led his band of sheep down Main Street at the first festival, CBS Sunday Morning correspondent Bill Geist interviewed him. The segment, quite hilarious, brought national attention to the festival.
Ketchum’s Community Library is a 100 percent donation-funded library – all the services you’d expect to find (and more) of a city-run library, but without taxpayer dollars. It began in 1955 when 17 women founded The Community Library Association and at the same time opened the Gold Mine Thrift Store in a one-room log cabin to provide funding. Today the library has grown to 28,000 square feet. It also operates the Wood River Museum of History and Culture, and in 2017 acquired the historic Hemingway House and Preserve,
where author Ernest Hemingway once lived, and now is the site of Writers-inResidence retreats, offered by invitation only.
I also shopped at the much-expanded Gold Mine Thrift store and it’s definitely the place to buy your winter sweaters, boots, parkas and ski gear. There is much more … books and furniture and home goods.
Ewe will love the Sheep Folklife Fair
At the third annual Trailing of the Sheep Festival, a Folk Arts Fair was added, featuring entertainment, food trucks offering succulent lamb dishes and also desserts, and booths selling sheep-related products from yarns to cheese.
Throughout each day, dancers and musicians representing the heritage countries of sheepherders joyfully performed on a giant outdoor lawn, with dancers often pulling in members of the audience. Among the dancers were Peruvian musicians and dancers; Oinkari Basque Dancers and Musicians from Boise, the Boise Highlanders bagpipe band; and the Siumni Polish Highlanders from Chicago.
Antique sheep wagons, similar to pioneer’s covered wagons, were on display, and various heritage sheep were on hand to entertain small fry.
I marveled at the sheep shearing demonstration by Cody Cowdrey, an Oregon-based shearer who travels the western northwest states in his mobile sheep-shearing van.
It was easy to see where Cody got his well muscled physique, as he deftly lifted a sheep out of a chute, set it on its rump and braced it upright against his body. Then he reached for his 13-bladed
shears and got to work, running the shears down the compliant sheep’s belly, then the legs, while his wife Amanda narrated the process for the audience. It seemed to me that the sheep actually enjoyed the process, even seeming to smile at the audience. While that’s not quite the case, the sheep do benefit from being sheared. Typically done before they head to warmer climates, removing their winter coast helps keep the sheep cooler and comfortable. They also become familiar with the process over time, with most ewes making the trailing expedition annually for up to six years.
Most sheep’s fleece was about five inches deep and quite dirty after six months on the mountains. The clipped sheep sported closely cropped fleece that made them appear snowy white. I wondered if they knew how pretty they were and if they felt lighter.
Cody told me that the going rate for shearing a sheep is about $5. That didn’t seem like much, but then he got to work. He could sheer one animal in three or four minutes. His record is about 400 sheep in a single day. Not baaa-ad at all.
“For the Love of Lamb” taste tour
Similar to “A Taste of Coronado,” the “For the Love of Lamb” taste tour featured small bites at tables set up outside Ketchum restaurants; the public buys a “Passport” for $25 with many bites equivalent to full-size entrees. In the course of two hours, I savored an array of exceptional lamb dishes that showcased the meat in diverse and delicious forms. Standouts included Lebanese Lamb and Hummus, Japanese Lamb Curry, Mini Lamb Wellingtons with Rosemary and
Horseradish Cream Sauce, Lamb Sliders Topped with Arugula and Whipped Feta, Lamb Kofta, and Lamb Stew with Whipped Garlic Mash.
I came home with a commemorative Trailing of the Sheep Festival Cookbook, (thanks, Carol!) and can tell you that when it’s my turn to host the Women, Wine and Words book club dinner, I’ll be featuring a number of these lamb recipes. And I’ll be sure it’s American lamb.
Here come the sheep!
The culmination of the festival is the Big Sheep Parade that begins promptly at 1 p.m on Sunday.
A couple of hours before the parade start time, Carol and I drove over to the north end of town where she pointed up to the mountainside. At first, I thought I was looking at boulders, but on closer inspection, I noticed those boulders were moving and munching. The sheep had been herded down the mountain and were being held here until post time.
Back on the parade route, we watched as many of the Folklife Fair entertainers – the bagpipers, dancers and bands, plus sheep wagons – paraded down the street.
Then the announcer alerted us that the sheep were just around the bend.
The pastor of the local Episcopalian Church soon took his position in the middle of the street (previous years have included priests and rabbis) to bless the sheep as they passed by.
We were warned to be quiet, to stay on the sidewalks, lest a single sheep were to become spooked and take off down a side street.
I’m pleased to tell you that we spectators remained on our best behavior, as did the 1,500 sheep that trailed happily down to their summer pastures.
IF YOU GO…
Getting There
You can fly from San Diego to Sun Valley Airport on either Delta or United airlines, both making one stop along the way. If you choose to drive, it’s roughly a 14-hour trip of 911 miles, up I-15 through Las Vegas, over to US 93 through Ely, Nevada and Twin Falls, Idaho and on to Ketchum.
Trailing of the Sheep Festival Dates for the 2025 festival are Oct. 8 – 12. Don’t be sheepish – put it on your calendar today. www.trailingofthesheep.org
Valley Chamber: Discover the Wood River Valley Covering Sun Valley, Ketchum, Hailey and Bellevue, Idaho www.valleychamber.org
Recommended Hotels
Limelight Hotel
Your stay includes an excellent full breakfast buffet. 151 Main Street S. www.limelighthotels>ketchum
Sun Valley Resort
Year-round pools are kept at 98 degrees; year-round ice-skating rink. 1 Sun Valley Road www.sunvalley.com
Hotel Ketchum
Don’t miss the pasture filled with artistic sheep 600 North Main Street www.hotelketchum.com
For Hemingway Fans
Ernest Hemingway Memorial
About 1.5 miles north of Sun Valley Resort, off of Trail Creek Road. A peaceful spot, with a plaque and bust of the author overlooking Trail Creek. www.visitsunvalley.com>todo>ernest-hemingway
Ketchum Cemetery
Hemingway’s grave is centrally located, under large evergreen trees, with family and friends buried around him. 1026 N. Main Street www.ketchumcemetery.org
Attractions
Wood River Trail
This 20+ mile paved, multi-use, year-round path provides a non-motorized connection between the Wood River Valley communities of Bellevue, Hailey, Ketchum and Sun Valley. It is operated by he Blaine County Recreation District (BCRD) www.bcrd.org
Wood River Museum of History and Culture 580 Fourth Street E. www.comlib.org>museum
The Harriman Trail
This 18 mile non-motorized gravel pathway stretches north of Ketchum between Galena Lodge and the Sawtooth NRA Headquarters. www.bcrd.org
Sawtooth Botanical Garden
Exhibits feature plant communities from the Sagebrush, Steppe, Lava, Alpine and Riparian biomes of southern Idaho, as well as perennial gardens that thrive in the local climate. It had closed for the season when I visited; next time! Open Memorial Day – first Sunday in October. 11 Gimlet Road, Ketchum www.sbgarden.org
The Community Library
415 Spruce Avenue www.comlib.org
Sawtooth National Recreation Area
The Sawtooth’s 700 miles of trails, 40 peaks rising over 10,000 feet and some 300 alpine lakes create spectacular scenery and vistas, all making perfect spots for RV and tent camping, hiking, backpacking, fishing, boating/kayaking/ canoeing, photography and bicycling. In addition to fee campgrounds, you’ll find several no-fee dispersed camping sites with beautiful views in the Sawtooth National Recreation area just north of Ketchum. www.fs.usda.gov
The Goldmine Thrift Store
Supports the Community Library 331 Walnut Avenue www.comlib.org.gold-mine-stores
Restaurants
Still hungry after all that festival fare?Here are my favorite Ketchum culinary stops:
Enoteca Restaurant & Wine Bar
I adored my Teton Valley Lamb Loin Chops with smashed potatoes, summer squash and mint hazelnut pesto, encircled with a huckleberry reduction.
300 N. Main Street www.ketchum-enoteca.com
The Pioneer Saloon
Natural woods, mounted game and period firearms will take you back to an earlier time. Known for perfectly aged and flavorful beef and huge Idaho baked potatoes. 320 N. Main Street www.pioneersaloon.com
Rasberrys
Down-home cooking with a Tex-Mex vibe 411 5th Street www.rasberrys.net
The Sawtooth Club
All types of steaks and rack of lamb, but just go with the signature French Dip. 231 N. Main Street www.sawttoothclub.com
Ramen Cowboy
Specializes in 18-hour Tonkotsu (pork bone) broth and house-made noodles. 640 N. Main Street www.ramen-cowboy.com
Whiskeys on Main
Quite an extensive menu for a sports bar; Saturday and Sunday brunch menu. 251 N. Main Street www.whiskeysonmain.com
Sun Valley Culinary
Cooking school with exhibition kitchen, restaurant and bar. Classes are listed online. 231 N. Main Street www.sunvalleyculinary.org
