Shephard Peak/Silver Mountain Hike

Matt and I were interested in a hike Saturday but we only had a half-day to work with - Matt because of school and myself because of work (I was at work until 1:30am Friday night). We settled upon a plan to climb Shephard Peak (apologies to all members of the Shepherd family reading this) and Silver Mountain in the Boise Mountains. These peaks require a serious 4WD vehicle to access - fortunately Matt volunteered to drive his Ford Ranger. We met at 12:30pm and were off!

After enduring the rough road through Trapper Flat and toward the North Fork of the Boise River, we were hiking at 3:30pm. We had both never visited this area and were quite impressed with the rugged terrain! It only took us about an hour to reach the summit of Shephard Peak, which has a great views of the area and a perspective on the surrounding area we had not experienced. From there we headed toward Silver Mountain, a much lower peak but which had better views of the North Fork area. Since darkness was a concern, we couldn't spend too long on either summit - on the way back we actually dropped down to the closed road so we would have easier terrain to hike in the twilight.

It was nearly dark when we got back to the vehicle and Matt had the unenviable task of driving the rough road at night. Other than having to be extra careful, this wasn't an issue and we returned home, happy to have had a productive half-day of hiking!

Trip statistics: 5.12 miles, 2345' elevation gain, 3:43h

Shephard Peak/Silver Mountain Pictures!
GPS Track

Trinity Mountains Hike

I hadn't been in the mountains since Labor Day weekend so I decided to embark on a Sunday solo trip in the Trinity Mountains near Boise. Despite being close to town, getting there requires quite a bit of driving on dirt roads. I took a different route each way and concluded the fastest (but most fatiguing) way was via Blacks Creek Road and the town of Prairie.

I left the house around 8:30am and was headed up the first peak just after 11am. My first ascent was up Peak 9037' - a very nice peak with good views of the area - including quite a few lakes! From there I headed over to Fiddler's Perch - a slightly higher peak whose most distinctive feature is the pair of cairns on the summit.

My final ascent was to be Peak 8889', however upon reaching the summit block it became apparent that the final 30' or so is a rock climbing challenge. After trying to find a suitable weakness, I gave up and took a short break before heading back to the vehicle. Some gray clouds hung around all day but the weather fortunately held. Lots of hunters were in this area too!

Trip statistics: 5.77 miles, 2369' elevation gain, 3:57 hours

Trinity Mountains Hike Pictures!
GPS Track