Fred's Mountain at Targhee

Hiked up...rode the lift down for the novelty....beautiful! The Dream Catcher terminates at the top of what is known as Fred's Mountain, an easy few minutes on the lift. But a hike to the top is an awesome experience. An easy class 1 hike if you follow the cat track. A pause at the saddle between Mary's and Fred's is a great place for lunch. The views over into S Leigh Creek and Granite Basin are outstanding, not to mention the Tetons.

McLeod Lake / Corner Peak

So, Tate and I are camped out over in Wyoming Friday night, got a nice secluded spot, no noise other than the distant sound of the creek flowing and other typical sounds of the forest. Got a big day the next day, longish hike with some killer views (we hope).

About 3 am I awake with a start. Something disturbed my deep sleep, but I am unsure what it was. Tate snoring? I think maybe that is what it was and I start to doze off again. Then - Whooooooooooosh! The sound of a large animal exhaling out it's nose, followed quickly by the sound of it taking a few steps.... clop....clop....clop.... clop, you know, the sound a moose would make. Again. And again. It gets closer, very close. It moves off, a 100 yards or so. I relax a little. No need to wake Tate, I am sure he doesn't want to lie there in terror while some hairy beast circles the tent.

Then 10 minutes later it is back, close. My tent has one window and it is facing the wrong way, and it is closed.

I nudge Tate. I whisper "Listen".

He whispers back "What the hell is that?"

"I don't know, but I think it is a moose"

He mutters "Oh hell...."

"Get ready to make a break for it."

I unzip the door and look outside. Fog. Thick fog. Even though it is close to a full moon, I can see nothing. I grab the lantern and light it. I hold it up. I can see nothing. Tate crawls out and we get in our outfit. I start it, turn on the lights.....and nothing. I crank the wheel and make a small circle in the sagebrush. Nothing. Damn. I shut off the vehicle, open the door and stand outside to see if I can hear anything. Nothing.

Beats me all to hell what it was. I am not easily scared, and have slept out under the stars (alone) a few times. In some remote areas. Got me.....

Spent the rest of the night in the Durango, comfortable enough. We woke and were hiking by 6 am with some acquaintances. Good times.



The rest of the day consisted of green meadows, awesome granite cliffs, amazing sights, hail, lightning, flooded trail....




A memorable weekend!

Box Canyon

A beautiful day deep in the heart of the Wyoming Range. Box Canyon is not far from the highest point in the range, just a mile or so north of it. A nice trail takes one to the divide and one can continue over into Lunch Creek, or take the Wyoming Range Trail to the north, or to the south! .... Acme Map!

One thing I noticed - Lots of butterflies. Lots. So many that I spent a lot of time trying to photograph them. Burned a lot of time and paid for it with a ride home in the dark, on my scooter, with tinted goggles.....



Top it off with some damn delicious thimble berries and killer views!





Did I mention the cool waterfall?


It was a great trip and can't wait to do some additional exploring this summer. Coffin & Virginia Peaks are on the menu!

Gilmore Peak 2006

It looked like the weather was going to be great for the upcoming weekend so I decided mid-week to make some plans. I invited my boys to come along but the eldest had to work on Saturday and the two youngest had football practice. They sadly declined and said perhaps next time! I saw the opportunity to get out by myself with no restrictions as to where to go and how long to stay. Cool!



No problem, I like to get out on my own, and do so about 30% of the time. I chose Gilmore Peak in the Lemhi Range of Idaho. I was somewhat familiar with the area, fairly close (by Idaho standards) and I have wanted to climb this one for years.

I got a few things done around the house Saturday AM and then loaded up and headed out just after noon. I had all afternoon to get up there, the weather was good, the tunes were good, life was good!

Once past Mud Lake the traffic thinned (as if it was heavy before) and I set the cruise control at about 70 mph. I decided I had plenty of time to mess around so I checked out Skull Canyon and then the Charcoal Kilns – again. Pretty cool places.

Pre-Historic Man had occupied this valley as far back as 10,000 years. Skull Canyon was supposedly used by Native Americans for “burials”. I don’t know if that is true or not. I have heard that early settlers found skeletons in some of the many caves that are around here.

Charcoal Kilns
Sixteen kilns were built in 1866 to make charcoal for the smelter at Nicholia. Operations ceased in 1888 and the kilns were left to the elements. Over the years most of the kilns were torn down and the bricks used for other structures. Four kilns are still standing and some work has been done to preserve them.



I drive further up the valley enjoying the view, mountains on both sides towering into the evening sky. I find a place about a quarter mile off the main road and settle in for the night. I spent the rest of the evening taking time exposures of the night sky – very clear here, and watching a DVD of Lewis and Clark. Kind of cool that they crossed the continental divide (Lemhi Pass) just a few miles from where I was.



The next morning I wake early and drive the few miles to the trailhead. Located at the Meadow Lake Campground I find everyone still asleep. Very quietly I check my daypack for all necessary goods and head up the trail. A very peaceful morning it is and a promise of a great day ahead.

The trail is easy to follow and I soon find myself at the Lemhi Divide, elevation 10,200 feet. The trail forks here, straight over the saddle and down into upper Mill Creek, to the right which will take you to the top of Portland Mountain, or to the left up a ridge that curves around to the east. This is the path I follow. I look ahead and the terrain looks very rugged. I have some doubts but keep on heading up. There were some obstacles, but nothing all that serious. It looked way worse than it really was. I wouldn’t get grandma up there but any serious scrambler will have no trouble reaching the top.



Now as I am eating my lunch I look down the ridge leading to the east. It looks shorter than going back the way I came. I debate with myself for a few minutes whether to try it or not, and then decide to give it a go.

I should have gone back the same way, but I wanted to explore a new route. There is a reason why no one goes this way. There is no easy way off in this direction, at least for a practical return to the campground / trail head.



The last half mile was a bear. Very steep and very loose rock. Left some skin on this peak! I made such a racket coming down through the rock that I was sure that everyone in the campground below must surely be looking up wondering what the heck was going on. Well after much thrashing around I finally make it down to less steep terrain. Twenty minutes later I find myself crossing the lake’s outlet on some logs and then I walk up the lakeshore where I find a guy sitting in a lawn chair with a fishing pole in hand. I asked him how the fishing was, he said so-so. He asked me what I was doing and when I told him he said “No kidding? That's pretty crazy!” I asked “Did you not hear me coming off the top?” He said he didn’t hear a thing. That was fine with me, no one heard the ruckus. I was back at my outfit in a couple of minutes where my cold beverage and sandwich were waiting.

On the way back down the road I stopped and checked out some of the old cabins at Gilmore. One in particular we call the Rat Palace. Used to stay in it when I was much younger – with the rats. It is still standing after close to a hundred years – cool. The rest of the drive home was uneventful, and that was ok, I already had enough excitement for one day!

Route
This is an easy one to find, though a place or two require some concentration. The trail to the Lemhi Crest starts at the NW end of Meadow Lake, follow it to the divide and then follow the north ridge around to the double summits of Gilmore. There is some elevation loss between the two, but nothing too terrible.

Triple Peak

I usually reserve my weekends for scrambling peaks here in Idaho, or lately in Wyoming. I have been concentrating on the Wyoming Range for some reason, perhaps because this area sees so few people. The peaks are outstanding for a scrambler like me, and my boys have expressed interest in keeping dad company for the last several weekends. I love it when they come with me, a special bond is created that forms in no other way. The last weekend of June rolled around and I was not feeling so swell, my wife was convinced I had kidney stones, and I exhibited very minor symptoms of that ailment. Bummer. So I stayed home and tinkered around the house, fully expecting to be in agony at any moment.

Well the weekend went by with no "incident" and Monday found me feeling pretty darn good. I planned to use the 4th of July to make up for the lost weekend but one problem arose.....all my boys had to work on that day, along with rising early and putting up a 100 or so flags for Scouting.


In case I have not mentioned it, Triple Peak was my destination for this trip. A fairly prominent peak in the Wyoming Range. I have had my eye on this one for a couple of years and today was the day. The temps were forecast to be very hot, near or at record, but for now it was very comfortable. No wind, no bugs (yet) and not a cloud in the sky. Perfect. I gathered my daypack and set off down the path.



The route soon entered the timber and I was reminded of areas of northern Idaho, green, lush, damp. I soon came to the old Smith Cabin. Who was Smith? A trapper? Miner? Sheepherder? No one seemed to know, but his old cabin was long past usefulness, a large tree had fallen on it many years ago making for quite a sight.



Soon the base of the long north ridge was in front of me. Game trails crisscrossed the very lower slope and I took one that looked promising. It turned out to be adequate for my needs and I made pretty good time. The trees kept me cool, but the mosquitoes tormented me. Time for some OFF. As much as I hate the stuff, it is better than the horrible whine and bite of these nasty bugs.



The terrain started to change a little, the trees shorter and spread out. The dirt turning to rocks, more sun and less bugs. The views were opening up and I decided to angle towards the cliff that this peak is known for. Footing was not the best near the edge and I made no attempt to get too close, but what a sight!

I could see the Wind River Range but the air was full of smoke from the Horse Creek fire, still burning more than two weeks later when I was in the area. It made for a distant spectacle, small from where I was, but someone was on the ground over there fighting flames in this heat……….I felt sorry for those men and women.

I was making pretty good time, the several peaks in prior weekends helped with my conditioning and I was still feeling fairly fresh. Looking up I could see two points that I knew were not the summit, but I was going to have to go right over the top of both to get to my goal. They ended up being easier than they looked, the second point being tougher than the first. The rounded top of the next "point" just ahead, but first I have to lose a couple of hundred feet.....bummer.



I soon stroll across the top. A small cairn and several poles lying on the ground greet me, along with thousands of ladybugs and butterflies; so many that standing there was unpleasant. I moved off the very top and found a place to sit and rest.



I normally don’t bring my iPod, but I found my little Shuffle in my pocket. I turned it on and listened to Lucky Man by The Verve

Happiness
More or less
It's just a change in me
Something in my liberty
Oh, my, my
Happiness
Coming and going
I watch you look at me
Watch my fever growing
I know just where I am

What a great song! I seldom have felt more content than at that moment.

Time to go, finished my snack and drank some more water and headed down, but I had to climb back up over that "false" summit. I hate it when that happens. Soon it is all downhill and I am pretty good at that!

I see a deer ahead, just where the trees begin again. I think little of it, deer are everywhere in this area. Then out of no where a fawn jumps up from under my feet and takes off running, fast too! Not often do I get to see baby deer, complete with spots and all!



More downhill. I am back in the trees, off route just a bit. I have this bad habit of getting a bit off course, always to the left. No matter, just a bit of adjustment and again off in the right direction. Just a bit of rough terrain to negotiate, downed trees, rocky outcrops and then it happened….I slipped and fell on my backside and slide off a small drop-off (5 feet) and directly into a bear’s den. A large hole, dug almost straight down for around +- 8 feet. I stop myself from going any further and I am able to pop out just as fast as I went in. I am stunned. I cannot believe what has just happened. I had been thinking about bears after passing some shallow “caves” in the rocks above and now this! Unbelievable! I am so shocked that I hardly have the presence of mind to realize that the den is empty. I am just shaking as I stand there.

It takes me a minute or two to calm down and start making my way off this mountain again. I get a couple of hundred yards downhill and realize I did not take a photo of the den….I always take photos, of everything! Well today I just did not have it in me climb back up there. I will have to make another trip up there and go check it out when I have time. I sure regret not taking the time to snap a few shots when I had the chance.

Soon after I make it back to my car where some cool drinks and food are there to greet me. Life is good, real good!

I made it home in time to help my boys take the flags down before dark. What about the Kidney Stones? Well... who knows, that may come back to haunt me at some later date!