Black Friday Snowshoeing

For the second year in a row, I used the Black Friday occasion to do some snowshoeing. Due to a week of winter weather and cold temperatures, the Boise foothills had a good covering of snow so I kept the trip local. I opted to visit two minor summits in different parts of foothills - Peak 4375 near Highland Valley Summit and Peak 3793 off of Bogus Basin Rd (aka the Kristin Armstrong Bikeway).

I first climbed Peak 4375, starting from Highland Valley Summit near the Kodiak Grill (a restaurant featured on "Triple D"). I actually didn't even use my snowshoes on this climb, although it would have helped a little bit on the steeper parts. The snow was mostly ankle depth and quite powdery - rare snow conditions for the foothills! From the highway it is a fairly short up-and-down hike across multiple drainages to the summit. The peak has pretty good views of the surrounding area and there were lots of deer seen on the trip!

Peak 3793 is a much shorter climb and I took snowshoes on this one since it promised to be a little bit steeper. This was a good decision and it was easy climbing straight up the peak. This peak also had good views of a part of the foothills I rarely visit.

In short, it was a well-spent Black Friday. The downside is that this trip aggravated a minor case of tendonitis (achilles) and I ended up limping around the house by the evening. So I had to make a weekend shopping trip to get some new shoes and insoles... now I just have to hope it goes away!

Trip statistics (total): 2.5 hours, 3.75 miles, 1350' elevation gain

Black Friday Snowshoeing Pictures!