I went on a fun hike today in the Boise National Forest to Pilot Peak. It stands at approximately 8,158 feet just below the lookout tower. Getting to the trailhead is easy. Take the Ponderosa Pine Scenic Highway from Boise past Idaho City and prepare to turn off immediately upon reaching Mores Summit. There is a large parking lot available and there are Vault Toilets. It’s a long trip, who can’t appreciate those?

You will set off for the Sumit traveling North-East. Travel is via a forest service road which is in pretty rough shape. While on this hike was passed (very slowly) by a couple 4×4 trucks and at least 10 ATVs which had no trouble with this road. There is very little water available on this hike due to the creek being far below the road. There are a couple stream crossings, though they are supposed to be going under the road.

The most memorable part of the actual hike was the typical 15%-20% grade you fight the entire way up. The climb (according to the new Garmin) is just shy of 3,000 feet gain over only 4 miles to the top. No wonder I am so tired!

Eventually I reached the top. There is a lookout tower on this peak, covered in solar panels. It appears to be unstaffed, with only video cameras mounted around the roofline. The view did not disappoint, though the haze and cloudcover did affect my ability to take great photos.

After a quick 10 minute rest to take photos and enjoy the wildflowers, I took off back to the trailhead. I advise taking it slow though, plenty of opportunity to trip You will set off for the Sumit travelingon the many rocks sticking up through the road surface.

From the parking lot, you can head the other direction to Sunset Mountain lookout. There is even more gain on that one, due to the up and down over the terrain, so that is best to wait for a second trip. I expect to have fun with that one in another week or two. I need to take the motorcycle on that one though. Such nice twisties on that road!

Tjd

Okay, I admit that my blog updates have been pretty few and far between as of late. I have been neglecting my WordPress blog in favor of updating Facebook. I want to mend my ways.

I am now using the WordPress app on my iPhone along with some great new photo programs on my iPhone and feel I can now post meaningful content on the run.

This photo is a sample panorama I created using Autostitch. It really is amazing that you can actually stitch photos together on your phone, no need to upload them to the computer for post processing work. In addition to the Panorama software, I am using another helpful tool called Photogene on the iPhone. Photogene allows me to crop my video, adjust levels and add cool frame affects. I finally have a complete photo suite, gps tracker, blogger on the iPhone I take everywhere. What a great platform! I send my Apple-love to all my readers!

Tjd

I am so fortunate that I live in Boise and have so many beautiful destinations within such easy reach of the city. Today I decided to visit Mores Mountain which stands beside Shafer Butte, our local ski mountain.

Getting to the trailhead is very straight-forward. Head North from Boise to Bogas Basin Road. You will continue up the mountain until you arrive at the lower lodge of Bogus Basin Ski Resort. Continue past the first parking lot until you see signs leading to the Pioneer Lodge. Take a hard right turn and park near the Upper Lodge. My hike began here.

Now I would classify this as a moderate hike based on my particular fitness level. There are steep portions which will have your breath a bit more labored, however take it slow and enjoy yourself. Initially, you hike up the West side of Shafer Butte to meet up with the saddle to Mores Mountain. At this junction, take a left and follow the trail to the picnic and camping area. You have a choice at this point. If you follow the trail Left, you make your way down the road to the South side of the mountain. The was the way I took in order to maximize the time I was in te shade of Mores Mountain.

When I made my way to the West side of the mountain (still following the dirt road) I started observing the many granite spires this hike showcases. Kids will be amazed at these giant rocks projecting up through the Earth. If you go this way, keep a lookout for the sign leading to the trail. It’s easy to miss unless you are looking for it (or have downloaded my GPS track).

Once on the trail, I proceeded North-East where I was treated to an unobstructed view of the Boise National Forest. Through some haze I was able to make out some snowy peaks in the distance. More granite, a few lizzards and wildflowers were everywhere as I continued my journey on the trail.

Eventually the trail ended as it met up with the campground. At this junction I made my way back to the saddle to Shafer Butte and back-tracked to the trail head. If you still have enough energy after you make it back to Shafer Butte I recommend taking a quick side track to summit and check out the view from the lookout tower. It’s worth the small climb another few hundred feet. You can see those stats in my blog entry for the Bogus Basin Mega Hike being posted soon.

Tjd

– Post From My iPhone

Sturgill Peak was the destination of the first official peak hike in 2009 for the IMR club. The original plan had been to go out on June 6th, hike, then come back and camp for the night. Unfortunately, the weather had other plans. There was a brief break in the weather for Sunday, so we headed out for just a day hike.

Before leaving for the hike Frog (our trip organizer) had scouted out conditions and let us in on the fact that a week earlier there was an infestation of Mormon Crickets. This presents a problem to enjoyable hiking in that the keep moving and can cover the path in front of you. It’s not the most beautiful sound, crunching under your feet. Thankfully, none came out to play while we were there. The hike started out ahead of the old campground along Mann’s Creek. The forest service road is the direct route and was a bit on the moist side thanks to the week of rain. As we followed the road there were plenty of wildflowers to photograph and enjoy.

Once we passed the halfway point, the road became much more steep and we had a great view of Hitt Mountain. Hitt Mountain was previously a ski area, but there were no signs it was still open. Finally we came around that last corner and the lookout tower at Sturgill Peak came into view. We gathered that last burst of energy to summit that challenging last 400 feet to the top. Once there, the view was worth the effort.

Sturgill Peak watch tower sits at an altitude of 7589 feet above sea level. We had hiked 7 miles and a total gain of 3000 feet, so we took this chance to rest and have some lunch. Well, I didn’t eat, I had photos to take! The temperature was a comfortable 55 at the top, and a bit windy. There are plenty of radio towers as well, though clearly none were intended to give a good cell signal. Oh well, it’s nice to unplug from time to time (so I hear).

After about 30 minutes we set off to get back to the base. The descent took just shy of two hours. The sun had come out and the heating had begun. When we reached the truck and started for home, guess what we saw? Mormon Crickets in the streets. So glad they were napping earler! I will be back, next time with more friends and a tent.

Tjd
– Post From My iPhone

Trailhead to Dry Creek

I love hiking. It’s a wonderful way to see things you may pass by every day without a second look. Most of my hikes are within an hours drive of Boise, and this is no exception.

Dry Creek hiking begins a few miles up Bogus Basin Road, at a turnout prior to the switchbacks in the road. There is limited room to park, which explains why this hike was not particularly crowded.

You will hike up for a short bit on the single track until you are pretty high above the creek below. About a mile into the hike, the path leads you down to the creek where you can now enjoy year round running water, and you come to one of your first of many creek crossings.

Creekside - "Dry" Creek

You follow the path up, staying with the creek through several more creek crossings, until the half-way mark when you again separate from Dry Creek. Soon, I was starting to see more pine and less sagebrush, and the hike began to take on more of the forest hike I love. At this point, roughly 6 miles up, I was in the forest complete with birds singing and smell of Pine.

With the last couple of miles comes the climb to the summit and the more challenging part of the hike. Eventually, I made it up out of the trees and was treated to a beautiful view of the valley. Rain clouds were approaching from the West, and from the North, so I decided to turn around and back-track to where I parked.

Treasure Valley View

The trek down was pretty quick, downhill the entire way. Only people I ran into were on horseback and a couple of mountain bikers. Trekking poles can be pretty useful on the way down to keep you balance, I highly recommend them. I have to admit, the trip down felt like it took twice as long as the trip up, but it could be because I was pretty excited to get home and crack open a cool one. It is a beautiful day-hike, and worth your time again and again. It’s among my favorite nearby hikes, and will quickly become one of yours as well. Please enjoy the album, and I will be uploading the movie of this hike as soon as I get it edited. I will also include my trail from the EveryTrail site, where I track all my favorite hikes for you.

Dry Creek – Out and Back Full at EveryTrail

Map created by EveryTrail: Travel Community

Trailhead to Dry Creek

Creekside – “Dry” Creek

Treasure Valley View

TJD