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Base Camp
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- Statistics:
- Date Hiked: July 28, 2007
- Miles Hiked: 8.0
- Elevation Gain: 2,403'
- Hiking Partner(s): None
- Description:
- After climbing Pyramid Peak in the morning, I had to drive back down
Highway 95 and up Pack River Road to approach Harrison Peak from the
south since I had found out that Myrtle Creek Road was closed. I
got 13 miles up Pack River Road and I couldn't believe what I saw.
This road was also closed. A line of cars had accumulated, but
most of them had bike racks so I assumed they were biking the road with
a few simply hiking on the road. However, the actual trailhead was
still 7 miles away, so there was no way I was going to climb Harrison
Peak. It was now approaching 1:00 pm
and both roads to Harrison Peak were closed. I pulled out my map
and looked for something in the area. The best thing I could come
up with was Bottleneck Peak. However, this meant driving back down
Pack River Road and back towards Naples and Bonners Ferry. I was
getting really sick of road closures and driving, but I didn't want to
waste the afternoon so I continued on.
- I made Bottleneck Lake in less than an hour. Rich Landers only
briefly mentions a climb to Bottleneck Peak in his "100 Hikes" book, but
it was enough information to get me there. I circled around the
southeast side of the lake for 20 to 30 minutes of nasty bushwhacking.
When I reached a large boulder field, the fun began. This
particular boulder field was longer than the one on Pyramid Peak earlier
in the morning but it comprised very similar rock. As I reached the base of the mountain, I felt that
I was going to cliff out; however, just at the last moment a small chute
appears to climbers left that allows access to Bottleneck's more exposed
northeast ridge. This chute is the ridge's weakness and isn't
visible until you are nearly to the base of the cliffs. After
gaining the ridge, it is a steep 800' scramble to the summit. As
Landers mentions, there are a couple of exposed moves and the climbing
is steep which makes this last 800' go quickly. Since it was
getting late, I didn't stay on the summit long and worked my way back
down to Bottleneck Lake. The trail is relatively flat so I
alternated between hiking and jogging on the way out. My round
trip time was 4 hours and 15 minutes.
- 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.
- Photographs:
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