After the climb of Big Southern, Brian and I headed deeper into the wilds of Eastern Idaho.
The next morning we struck out to bag a couple of high points directly from camp.
As we climbed up, we spooked up a bunch of elk which you can clearly see on the sage brush ridge below…. As a landscape photographer, I do not carry lenses compatible with shooting wildlife so you will need to take my word for it.
As we climb out of Sawmill Canyon, the high peaks of the Lost River Range start peeking out.
Before we started to climb in earnest, we had to cross a couple of drainages.
On the flank of Peak 9188, we marveled at the clarity of the skies. On the far right, Mount Borah peaks over Bear Mountain. FYI, Mount Borah is the highest peak in Idaho at well over 12,000 feet.
Summit #1. Brian enjoys a moment on the top of Peak 9188. It will be a small appetizer for the day as you can see Sheep Mountain in the distance. It is almost 2000 feet above this peak.
We drop down into a small canyon and pick up this trail. Surely this goes directly back to camp and will make our return a walk in the park!
Up Up Up we go and soon we were above the tree line.
Brian grinds his way upward. Directly behind us is our last peak and to the right our camp sits at the valley floor.
It was nice to find a patch of snow to replenish our water supply and have a little lunch.
Talk about a gorgeous day! Almost no wind and cool temps. Behind Brian are the peaks of the North Lemhi Range. Some I climbed last fall, check it out here.
At the summit, incredible views of the Southern Lemhis.
Off to the east, you can just make out the peaks in Montana.
A view looking south with the highway far below.
Brian points out Mount Borah looking west to the Lost River Range.
After a moment at the summit it was time to make or way home.
Down lower, we found this stream coming directly out of the mountain. No filter required here!
Brian takes a moment to soak in Sheep Mountain just prior to the trail disappearing. What followed next was a couple hours of beat down rock traversing back to camp. In all, 12 milies, 8.5 hours and about 5000 feet of climb, a good day’s work.
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