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Base Camp
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- Statistics:
- Date Hiked: July 28, 2003
- Miles Hiked: 13.0
- Elevation Gain: 4,700'
- Hiking Partner(s): None
- Description:
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I hadn’t been in the Sawtooth Mountains since
last July, so I decided it was time to return for a hike.
I had a great time in the northern part of the range on a
beautiful day with the mountains to myself.
McGown Peak, one of the most photographed peaks in Idaho, is 2
miles south of Stanley Lake and stands 9,860’ tall.
Peak 9820 is McGown’s twin to the southeast and is 40’
shorter at 9,820’. Peak
9709 falls 151’ short of McGown and sits 1 mile south of that peak
along the main crest of the Sawtooth Mountains.
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I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to make
it to the summit of all three peaks, but I had visions of grandeur and
decided to give it a shot. I
was simply going to play it by ear and see how I felt as the day went
on. Making your way to the
McGown cirque requires a bit of stamina and some route finding skills.
I left Boise at 5:00 am and was on the trail by 8:00 am.
An earlier start would have been nice considering the long day.
This would have easily been possible given the well-defined trail
that you are on for the first few miles which eliminates any route
finding problems the dark might cause.
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The large trailhead parking lot is located just
northwest of Stanley Lake which is about 4 miles off of Highway 21. After
signing the trail register, I started off to the west on a flat trail.
After approximately 1 mile, you make a sharp left onto the Alpine
Way Trail and head directly south into the Sawtooth Wilderness.
You should be due north of McGown Peak.
Once you approach the base of the mountain, the trail turns left
again as you head towards the east.
At this point you actually start gaining some elevation. Until now, the trail is completely flat which skews the
statistics for the grade of this hike.
By eliminating the 4 flat miles of the trail (2 in/2 out) the
grade is almost 20%. I
would recommend biking this section if possible to save time.
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Once you approach a creek, you head back south for
a while, cross the creek, and then slowly climb the west facing slope of
Point 7925 as the trail eventually turns permanently south.
Continue south until you reach a small pass to the southwest of
Point 7899. From here, you
leave the trail heading west and climb steeply up to a ridge.
Follow this ridge until it intersects with a creek flowing out of
Lake 8609 at approximately 8,200’.
It was here were I stashed a quart of water and some extra
clothing that I didn’t feel was necessary to pack along.
Depending on the line you choose, this short ridge can be a
little tricky. I opted to
stay directly on top of the ridgeline and had a couple of short sections
of class 3 scrambling to contend with.
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At this point, I followed the creek up to the lakes
that sit in the McGown cirque. Although
the topographic map only indicates two lakes, there are actually a
couple of other bodies of water standing in the area.
I worked my way between the two primary lakes to the east rib on
the south end of McGown’s east face.
The pace slowed considerably as this portion of the hike became
extremely steep. I
basically climbed slightly to the left of the rib utilizing trees and
large rocks as safe havens from exposure.
I don’t know if this was the best route, and I found myself on
pebble scree quite a bit rather than solid rock.
-
From the base of the summit block, I circled around
to the right on several shelves and ledges to gain the summit from the
northeast. There was an
excellent summit register in a metal canister, although I got the
impression from the log that McGown Peak isn’t frequently climbed. The views on
top were great with a blue sky and no smoke.
The only thing I had to do now was figure out what I was going to
do next.
-
I decided to make my way over to the saddle at
9,200’ between Point 9604 and Peak 9820 where I would settle on how to
proceed. In order to avoid
losing significant elevation and dropping all the way down to Lake 8609,
I opted to try and negotiate McGown’s south ridge.
The going was fine at first, but I quickly ran up against several
towers and pinnacles that exceeded any low class 4 climbing I was
willing to attempt. I was
required to drop as much as 200’ or more off the ridge to the east in
order to make it past these areas.
Because of the jagged ridge, I ended up traversing around the
west side of Lake 8609 and descended to around 9,000’ to steer clear
of technical climbing. Although
I couldn’t stay directly on top of the ridge, I did save myself around
400’ of reclimbing.
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After making it to the saddle, I looked south at
Peak 9709 and east to Peak 9820. I
felt pretty good so I continued on. The ridge between Point 9604 and Peak 9709 is much more
manageable than what I previously encountered, so I regained the ridge
to the south of Point 9604 and started up again.
It didn’t take long to reach the summit of Peak 9709 on good
footing and relatively solid rock.
There was a small cairn on top but no summit register.
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I quickly descended from Peak 9709, crossed a
permanent snowfield, and traversed back to the saddle at 9,200’.
I was pretty spent at this point, but realized I would be
disappointed if I didn’t finish with Peak 9820.
The climbing was straightforward, and I was on the top after
being frustrated by a couple of false summits.
From each peak I took photos of the other two and simply enjoyed
my time in the mountains. There was a tiny metal canister on top of Peak 9820 with one
sheet of paper in it. There
were two signatures on the paper from the 90’s, one being Tom Lopez on
October 2, 1994.
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Looking south at the rugged Sawtooth Range is truly
amazing as you see so much more than you can from Stanley or the
highway. I came back down
Peak 9820’s west ridge and followed a gully back to my water stash
which was needed at this point. I
made it back down to the trail and returned the way I came in.
About two miles from the trailhead, I bonked and had to stop and
finish my peanut butter & jelly sandwiches.
I regained some strength and finished my walk out.
- Time Statistics
- Trailhead - McGown Peak 3:25
- McGown Summit Time 0:25
- McGown Peak - Peak 9709 1:15
- Peak 9709 Summit Time 0:15
- Peak 9709 - Peak 9820 0:45
- Peak 9820 Summit Time 0:25
- Peak 9820 - Trailhead 2:40
- Total Trail Time 9:10
- I was basically out from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. To bad all our
work days couldn't be like this. Although Mount Timpanogos was about the same distance with a
bit more elevation gain, I actually completed that hike quicker than
McGown Peak. This is
primarily the result of a significant portion of the McGown hike being
off trail. It is remarkable
how much route finding and bushwhacking can slow your progress.
- Maps:
- Click here to view a 2D map of
the area where this hike is located. I kind of made a loop out of
the hike.
- Photographs:
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