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Base Camp
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- Statistics:
- Date Hiked: October 26, 2002
- Miles Hiked: 5.1
- Elevation Gain: 2,590'
- Hiking Partner(s): None
- Description:
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The Snowslide Lake/Peak trailhead is located
approximately 13 miles northeast of McCall on Lick Creek Road. It is about 1 mile past the Box Lake trailhead.
The road is in relatively good shape with the exception of a few
washboard areas. This was
the first time I had been hiking in this area.
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It was my intention to get an easy late season
trail hike in before the snow started to fall, and although this was a
short hike, it wasn’t that easy and there wasn’t a trail the entire
way either. With the
exception of a portion of the Thompson Peak and She Devil hikes, I
haven’t seen a true hiking trail since May of this year.
I essentially spent the summer bushwhacking, scrambling, and
climbing rather than trail hiking.
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There was a trail to Snowslide Peak and up to
Snowslide Summit, but from there you were on your own. The
northeast ridge to the peak was class 3 if you stay right on the
ridge. It is possible to stay on the southeast side for easier
hiking and then find a gulley to the ridge, but the rock was very solid
and it was a fun scramble along the top of the ridge. The mountain
dropped several hundred feet on the north side of the ridge. It
took me 45 minutes to get to the lake, another 30 minutes to the saddle,
and an additional 35 to the summit for a total of 1 hour and 50 minutes.
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I spent 20 minutes on top where you could see
Snowslide Lake, Maki Lake, and the Cascade Reservoir. There was no
summit register. After taking a look at the terrain to the west, I
decided to make a small loop and descend down the northwest ridge to a
small unnamed pond and back to the lake where I picked up the
trail. This route seemed to be much shorter and less technical
than the way I came up, however, the brush and bushwhacking was much
more difficult from the pond to the lake. I imagine that going up
this section might be a lot harder than coming down.
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Anyway, I was down to the lake in 45 minutes and
back at the trailhead in another 35. Another option on this hike
would be to go north at Snowslide Summit and climb Sawtooth Peak.
Since it is relatively late in the year and I didn't leave Boise until
noon, I didn't have time to make it to Sawtooth Peak. I would
suggest starting early in the day and bagging them both.
- Maps:
- Click here to view a 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. This map faces south
and has my route drawn on it.
- Photographs:
- Here is the north face of Snowslide Peak
taken from the northwest ridge. The northeast ridge is more narrow
and much more fun to scramble than the unexposed northwest ridge.
- This is Snowslide Lake from the top of
Snowslide Peak. You can also see the area where the trailhead is
located in the bottom of the valley.
- The northwest ridge from the top of Snowslide.
I worked my way down to the small pond in this photo and then
bushwhacked back to the lake.
- This was supposed to be a picture of the northeast
ridge I came up and Snowslide Pass. It didn't turn out too well,
but I though it was neat how my shadow was cast.
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