After a quick back and forth of text messages, Dan and I chose to climb Jumbo Mountain near the South Fork of the Boise River. Dan had to be back in Boise by the evening so Jumbo's proximity to Boise and modest stats made it a good choice. We were on the road just after 7am and on the trail around 9:30am. On the way to the trailhead I had to take a few pictures at Anderson Ranch Reservoir since it was actually full and the views were incredible.
The trail started as an ATV track but shortly turned to decent singletrack. It climbed very steeply up the Jumbo Creek drainage and we were quickly to a nice meadow at 6000'. Instead of climbing to the ridge above Little Water Gulch we attempted to follow the abandoned trail along the upper reaches of Jumbo Creek. This trail proved to be non-existent so we gave up and just climbed the steep slopes to the ridge top west of the summit. From the ridge it was a very enjoyable hike to the summit through open terrain.
Despite not being very high, Jumbo Mountain has great views of the Soldier, Boise, and Smoky Mountains. The weather atop the peak was perfect - warm with a light breeze. After taking in the views we embarked on a direct but steep return to the car. On the way home we drove by the Castle Rocks since I'd never seen them before.
Trip statistics: 5.63 miles, 3335' elevation gain, 4:51h
Jumbo Mountain Pictures!
GPS Track
Dan's Trip Report
It looks like you had a great day for a hike. The terrain is certainly striking in your neck of the woods!
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