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Base Camp
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- Statistics:
- Date Hiked: August 25,
2000
- Miles Hiked: 7.0
- Elevation Gain: 2,800'
- Hiking Partner(s): Chuck
Bauman
- Description:
- I have to thank Chuck for lining
this hike up and getting me above 10,000' for the first
time. On our way back from the coast Becky, Taylor, and I decided
to swing by Boise so I could get another hike in and Becky could go to
Old Navy. This was exceptional hike in the Boulder Mountains of south
central Idaho approximately 15 miles north of Sun Valley (ID).
- Although this hike was mentioned in a few of Chuck's hiking
books and we did start out at the trailhead, we actually saw very little of the trail and spent most of the
day bushwacking. After about a mile of minimal elevation gain, I
looked up to see Chuck a little perplexed as to where the trail
was. We caught a glimse of it every now and then, but when it came
down to it, we discovered that this section of the hike was not
maintained and hardly even existed.
- From this point, we simply
scrambled up the creek bed climbing over downed logs and rock debris
that had built up in the stream. This lasted for about two miles
before we saw the saddle separating two peaks. When we reached the
pass, Chuck took a few minutes to put his new GPS down and congratulate
me on making it over 10,000', but the fun had just begun.
- We decided to make the hike a
little more adventurous and head up a very narrow ridge to the summit of
an unnamed peak at 10,598'. Along with hiking up the creek bed,
this was also a very fun and exciting part of the hike. Several
sections of the ridge to the top were very narrow allowing only a
minimal margin for error. By the time we got over the loose shale,
we had to scramble over several rock walls using our limited rock
climbing skills. The mountain provided a lot of holds and neither
one of us felt we were ever in any real danger.
- After taking photos and video of
each other climbing through the rock, we made it to the summit after a
very fun climb. We took in the views of the White Cloud Mountains
to the northwest, the Big Lost River Range to the east, and of course
the Boulder Mountains that surrounded us. In an effort to shorten
the hike and try to get back to Boise (ID) by the deadline set by our
wives, we decided to do some more off trail hiking and head down another
creek to the southeast of the peak we were on. Little did we know
that this section was also very steep and difficult to descend, but it
really didn't matter because we were having a blast. On our way
down we even ran into an elk which we got some video of.
- We picked up the trail about a
half a mile from the pickup and drove back down to "Yuppieville",
before returning to Boise. On the way back we observed hundreds of
acres of burned high desert land and we also saw the enormous smoke
plume from the forest fire near Atlanta (ID). This was another
great hike that will certainly be a highlight of the 2000 hiking season.
- Maps:
- Both maps face north.
You can see in the maps where the actual trail just circled around the
two peaks in the center going up one draw and coming down the other.
- Click here to view a 2D map of
the area where this hike is located.
- Click here to view a
second 2D map of
the area where this hike is located.
- Click here to view a
3D map of
the area where this hike is located.
- Photographs:
- This photo was taken from the road of the
two peaks the trail circles around. We
climbed to the top of the one on the left.
- Here I am standing on
the summit. I was pretty happy to finally get above 10,000'.
- In this picture, Chuck
is maneuvering
through a tricky section of the scramble. I was impressed to see
how quickly he made it past this dangerous obstacle without any chalk or
ropes.
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