Since your web browser does not support JavaScript,
here is a non-JavaScript version of the trip report. NOTE: the slideshow above with not work with JavaScript disabled. Sitting around my
parent's house around 4 pm I decided we should cruise to Idaho
that night and take on Mount Borah the next day. It was a fast
trip up to Pinedale to get our gear and hit the road to Idaho. We
got to the trailhead 105 miles outside of Idaho Falls at around
11:30 pm. We piled everything into the front seat of the Jeep and
slept in the back until around 5:30 am. Although I didn't get
much sleep with my knees bent up in the air.
July 29, 2001
We got up at 5:30
am and had a quick snack for breakfast and got our gear ready. It
was still pretty dark and very cold. Once we were ready to go at
6 am the sun was coming up and it was very light out. Three guys
left a half hour in front of us who also slept in their minivan
at the trailhead. The first section of trail up the canyon isn't
that bad. After a half mile or so you make it to the top of a
hill where the trail continues straight up another slope. This
section is much steeper and towards the top of this hill you come
out above timberline. There are several ridges blocking your view
of what's to come ahead but the trail is very obvious so it is
just a steep chug upward and onward. Below we are making her way
up a steep section of the ridge right before the dreaded
"Chicken-Out-Ridge".
You eventually
come out onto a flat section of ridge which allows you to see the
summit across a deep canyon to your left and your first views of
"Chicken-out-Ridge". The ridge looks very bad from this
perspective and almost makes you want to turn around before you
even get to it. We caught up to the 3 guys in front of us scaling
over the spine of the ridge as we where approaching. We when got
under the ridge they were climbing back down(in the picture
below) rather shaken up by what they seen on the other side. They
were on a quest for all the 50 high points and had completed
about 45 of them so far. One guy "chickened out" and
headed back down the to the trailhead. Not having seen what was
on the other side of the spine they had us really concerned with
all of their paranoia. Deciding to at least have a look we
pressed on and scale over the spine and followed the top of it
for a very short distance until we found the trail again on the
other side. The trail traverses the north side of the ridge and
involves some scrambling and basic rock climbing but isn't as bad
as most people make it out to be.
After we passed
the ridge we thought the worst was still to come. Two guys were
coming off the summit so we asked them how
"Chicken-out-Ridge" was, thinking it was still ahead.
We were relieved to find out we had already make it over the
ridge. The photo below is taken beyond the ridge right below the
final 800 foot slope to the summit. From here it was just a steep
trail but nothing to worry about. The snow in the photo below
must be the part where they recommend your ice ax but it was
completely melted off the trail this late in the year.
Finally made it to the top
around 11:30 am. There was a small box for a register but nothing
great. The views were impressive and several lakes could be seen
in the next photo below. I shared the summit with 5 people, 2
from New Jersey, Jack from Colorado, and 2 others from Missouri.
The photo below is taken
from the summit looking west and shows the route from the base of
the summit back across "Chicken-out-Ridge". The trail
is much easier to find across the ridge on the way down and
offers a better traverse of the ridge than the route we took on
the way up.
I finally reached the
trailhead again about 3 pm with some very sore feet and joints.
You don't realize how far up you have climbed until you go back
down.
