Note that the Forest Service is calling 168.775 "SOA." This is a Forest Service Intermountain Region net. I think there are some dedicated repeaters on it. The BLM district has a different frequency assigned for "SOA."
The Salmon-Challis is not really all that remote, at least where the Ranger Districts are located. The forest has a large portion of the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness, which is also contiguous with another wilderness area or two. The total contiguous designated wilderness is at about 2.3 million acres, the largest such area in the lower 48 states. I can see the second largest out my window,an area of 8 designated wilderness areas in the portion of the Sierra called the "High Sierra" and is 1.8 million acres in size. What a person finds rural or out in the boonies tends to vary depending on location and where they have lived in their life. I don't consider a town remote if you can buy gas, milk, eggs and milk in the town you are living in (or not living in) and have a post office as well. There are only 2-3 locations left in the U.S. Forest Service where the District Office is 50-70 miles past those services. The Moose Creek Ranger District, north of the Salmon Challis National Forest on the Nez Perce National Forest was located 25 miles inside the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness area. They flew everything (file cabinets, the wife and kids) out to the historical ranger station located at the confluence of Moose Creek and the Selway River. In the winter everything was carted back into Grangeville to the office located upstairs in the Post Office there. They don't do that anymore and we used to call such districts "in and outs." Out during summer and in for the winter. There is only one "in and out" left and it is on the Flathead NF in Montana west of Glacier National Park.
Now the Moose Creek District is in a great location far from the closest town at a very historical ranger station compound. Employees can live in the same location all year long.
**EDIT* Salmon, Idaho is not really that remote physically but culturally it is very remote. People seem to let their necks get very sunburned there, more so than remote locations in New Mexico.
