I was out chasing doves and quail for the opener, and you can read about it Thursday, but I was curious how the chukar population looked after a couple of poor seasons. The initial word is encouraging.

I got first-hand reports from three hardcore chukar hunters who hit different parts of Southwest Idaho. Two reported limits and the other reported seeing more birds than last year. Granted, these guys know where to find birds and have excellent dogs. They also aren't afraid to stomp the terra. They're the silhouettes you see on ridgetops and folks who will spend all day following birds.

A public workshop on the future management of the City of Rocks National Reserve, south of Burley, will be 7 to 9 p.m. Sept. 23 at the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation headquarters, 5657 Warm Springs Ave., in Boise.

If you're thinking of taking a camping road trip across the Northwest and to the coast, you probably won't have any trouble finding a campsite.

We just got back from a trip through Oregon's Blue Mountains, over to Washington's Wenatchee National Forest, up to the San Juan Islands and back through the North Cascades.

Times change, but the salmon steelhead debate on the Columbia/Snake River is like the military in the 1990s training to fight Cold War enemies despite the fact the Soviet Union had crumbled.

It's an unfair comparison because the military has changed with the times, but those mired in the conflict over salmon and steelhead seem hopelessly stuck in the past.

My shoulder is purple this morning from sighting in my .270 and .30-06 rifles on Sunday. I shot a few good groups and a few awful ones, and also misjudged my bullet drop at 300 yards and kicked up dust instead of punching holes in paper.

I make no excuses for that stupid mistake. I actually knew my bullets would drop about 8 inches at 300 yards, and I was firing up hill, so I figured I would be hitting the bottom of the target if I aimed center bulls eye. Only one shot in six even touched the paper because I had a target board set on the ground so the wind wouldn't blow it over.

I've long joked we need to extend October because there's so much good stuff going that you can't fit it all into four weekends.

I kind of took my own advice and my October now starts in mid September. That's when I start shifting into high gear for all the prime hunting and fishing seasons.

This weekend will be a breather before the flurry of activity starting with the opening of quail and chukar seasons, the arrival of steelhead, duck opener, deer opener, more steelhead fishing, and possibly some trout fishing in between.

The approach of fall is like a roller-coaster ride for anyone who enjoys the outdoors.

Think about steelhead fishing and sorting through lures. Is the .270 sighted in yet? Are the decoys ready to go? Where's the upland vest? Is the dog really in shape for the hunting season?

And, to top it all off, there's still plenty of hiking, mountain biking, camping and floating left.

I'm an outdoors gear nut and there's plenty of gear out there.

I was out looking for gear for Idaho Outdoors when I came across the No Knot Rope Lok. It's a rope tie-down with a plastic lock on the rope. The lock is attached to one end of a 8- or 15-foot rope and you slip the other end through a hole on the lock.

The Boise River's flow was down to about 760 cfs over the weekend but it was still OK for floating.

It can be a little bumpy going over the diversions. You've got to pick the right slot where most of the water is going. The third diversion down from Barber Park can be pretty gnarly on the left side. The run in low water is definitely center right where there's still a V-looking chute.

It's a busy time for the outdoors between hunting and fishing and everything else.

Here a recreation outlook for the weekend and beyond:

FISHING AT CASCADE RESERVOIR

It looks like trout fishing at Cascade Reservoir turned on the last few weeks with anglers picking up some nice trout while trolling with Beer Cans and Ford Fenders. Usually the reservoir is slow fishing this time of the summer. The news is a pleasant surprise.

Anglers are trailing Wedding Ring spinners with a piece of worm on the trolling gear.