Aprim Family Visit 2011!!

In the first weekend of August, we were lucky enough to have the Aprim family visit us from Vancouver! Ben, Megan, Emily & Matthew made the drive down (with no A/C, and almost 100*F weather in Boise), stopping overnight to camp & arriving on Friday night.
We spent Friday night hanging out & having dinner, and the kids enjoyed the free Water Park (aka our neighbors sprinklers!).
On Saturday, it was a scorcher of a day, so after a leisurely breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast & fruit, we headed out to Settler's Park. This park was pretty great - in addition to a water park, it also had a very cool Pirate Ship-themed playground, a rock-climbing area for kids, a fishing pond, baseball diamonds, soccer fields, tennis courts & horseshoe pits! The kids had a wonderful time running around on the playground & getting drenched at the water park!
After hanging out at the water park for the afternoon, we headed back to the house for dinner & the kids ran around in our backyard sprinklers - yay for our at-home water park!
Sunday was another low-key day. Megan & I did some shopping and Ben & Zach took the kids on a little shopping excursion of their own, to Wal-Mart & Fred Meyer. The kids got remote-controlled trucks that Zach & Ben had fun doing "quality control" on :-) We had home-made pizza for dinner, and tried to call it an early night, since the Aprims had to head out the next morning, and Zach & I had to go back to work.
On Monday, Megan, Ben & the kids left for their next adventure, in Bend, OR. We were sad to see them go, but had SUCH a great visit!! We're so glad they were able to make it down here & hang out with us for a few days! Thanks guys!! :-)
There are a couple of pictures below for everyone's viewing pleasure.
(PS: I promise that Megan & I didn't wear matching shirts on purpose!!)


The gang at Settler's Park


Playing with Legos on the patio

Also, as a teaser: We'll be finishing up the nursery soon & will post some pictures for everyone to see...and maybe I'll sneak in a picture of me looking (barely) pregnant (even with only 1 month to go!).
Have a great week, everyone!
Love,
Katie & Zach

Seven Year Anniversary!

Katie and I celebrated our seven year anniversary today! Mostly it was spent at work but in the evening we went to the Idaho Shakespeare Festival and watched their production of Cabaret (not a Shakespeare play, but that's how they roll). After a quick dinner at the cafe (which provides pretty good food and Table Rock beer) we settled in for the show in our lawn seats. It was a very memorable evening as it was the first time we've ever been to a play together! We both enjoyed the production and the outdoor theater by the river is outstanding. It makes me definitely want to go again and see another play!

Yay for seven years of marriage!

Texas Trip 2011

My parents arranged a trip to visit family in Texas so I decided to tag along. Katie didn't go because she is in the third trimester of baking Baby Vickery!

We coordinated our flights and I arrived on Friday the 29th and quickly met my parents at the airport. Pretty soon we had our car rented and were off to the hotel, the Comfort Suites in Grand Prairie. This hotel was memorable mainly for the softball tournament and baby shower it hosted while we were there. Oh, and the bed was really comfortable.

After meeting Teresa and Charles (and their new dog Rosie), we headed to Babe's Chicken in Arlington for a great family style dinner. The place was super popular as we had to wait close to an hour for our large group to be seated. Attending were myself, my parents, Aunt Teresa, Uncle Charles, my cousin Becky, her husband Kenny, their two children Brayden and Grace, my cousin Matt and his fiancee Kasey, Charles' parents Clint and Barbara, Grand-Aunt Joyce, cousin once removed Letitia and her husband Chip, cousin once removed Loretta and her husband Charlie. Suffice to say it was a big group but the restaurant was designed to handle it! The only sad part was that I didn't take any pictures...

A constant theme of the trip was Texas' epic heat wave and drought. As we arrived the Dallas area had experienced high temperatures above 100° for over 30 straight days! Combined with the fact that there had been no significant rain in two months, everything was super dry and brown looking. I'm trying my best rain dances to help but sadly they appear ineffective...

On Saturday we (myself, my parents, Teresa, and Charles) went to visit my Nana in Palestine. Before we got too far down the road we had a breakfast at the Cracker Barrel in Desoto. Along the way to Palestine we stopped at Teresa and Charles' lot where they plan to build a retirement home. It was in a very nice area along a reservoir with a nice clubhouse - sadly, my camera ate the pictures. After the stop, we continued to Palestine where my Nana is in the care of the Alzheimer's unit of the Cartmell Home. She is doing pretty well physically but Alzheimer's has definitely taken a toll on her mind - I think she only had a vague idea about who my parents were and I'm not sure she knew who I was at all. It was great to see Nana but of course very hard to see how much Alzheimer's had affected her. The facility was very nice and the staff in the Alzheimer's unit were impressive - that is one tough job! After we left the Cartmell Home, we had a late lunch at El Toro (yay for their green sauce) before making stops at Pilgrim Cemetery near Elkhart and Crawford Cemetery near Slocum. These two cemeteries are where many of my Vickery and Seymour relatives are buried, including my Papa Vickery. From there we headed home, getting back to the hotel late in the evening.

On Sunday my Mom and Teresa decided we should go to a giant flea market in Canton, which is a little ways east of the Dallas area. This flea market was massive, I would estimate a square mile in area, with countless open-air buildings, parking areas, and even one air-conditioned building. Upon getting there we proceeded to walk around the flea market in the triple digit heat. Both Dad and myself surrendered to the heat after awhile and just sat there drinking water. Teresa, Charles, and Mom did a better job staying at it but the heat eventually got to Mom. Of particular note were the eating establishments at this flea market, highlighted by the fried food emporium. I am proud to say I ate no food at the flea market! On the way back home we ate lunch at the Ranchero (a decent buffet) and stopped at an improbably placed bead store along I-20.

On Monday we went to Frisco to meet my Mom's former co-worker Kathy and her husband Lloyd at La Hacienda Ranch in Frisco. It was Kathy and Lloyd's anniversary so we all had a nice lunch to celebrate! The restaurant was really good and I really enjoyed my enchilada with chili on it. The restaurant was founded by the inventor of the frozen margarita machine which is an interesting bit of trivia. Afterwards Kathy, Mom, and Teresa wanted to go shopping at Sam Moon's and T.J. Maxx. I decided I would rather walk around the giant mall nearby so I did that. I was blown away when I saw that the mall had an ice rink in it. Combined with the Barnes & Noble and Chick-Fil-A, this was a pretty solid place to hang out.

On Tuesday we headed home. Once again we coordinated flights with both of us departing around 10:30am. For once our flights were in the same terminal so we were able to hang out at the gate until our flights were almost ready to board. We said our goodbyes with the memories of a great trip together!

Texas Trip 2011 Pictures!
Mom's Texas Pictures!

Observation Peak Hike

Last Sunday, I met Todd and Dan for a hike up Observation Peak in the Sawtooths. Also joining the party were Todd's two excellent hiking dogs Leo and Roxy. After meeting at 9am, we headed out around 9:15am. The drive was smooth and we were hiking just after 11:30am.

Observation Peak is the only Sawtooth peak with a trail to the top. Thus, the hike was unusually easy for the Sawtooths. However the typical long approach was still present. We spent most of our time hiking up the Trail Creek drainage which was scenic and enjoyable. The trail was well-graded but more overgrown than we expected. We also only saw two other people on the trail all day - pretty sparse for peak season. The creek crossings were a little bit high but the only risk was getting water in my boots. We had been in a mild burn area for much of the hike but once we got near Stanley Lake Creek it turned into total destruction with no vegetation anywhere. In this burn area we hit snow which was firm and supported us well. Soon we were on the summit, just over four hours in.

The summit was incredible with perfect temperatures, no wind, and outstanding views of the northern and western parts of the Sawtooth Range. We all enjoyed a nice leisurely break on top before heading back down. We made good time on the descent, highlighted by a nice glissade on the upper slopes of the peak. Upon arriving at the trailhead, we were deflated upon discovering Dan's vehicle has suffered a flat time. Fortunately the spare was in order and we were able to roll home on the doughnut - though we didn't get home until after 10pm!

Observation Peak Pictures!
GPS Track
Dan's Trip Report

Business Trip #3

Immediately after returning from our Vancouver trip, I had to get on a plane for a business trip to Covington, LA, where one of our offices is located. My day started with our arrival back from Vancouver just before 1am on Wednesday the 6th. After an abbreviated sleep, I woke up about 8am, went running, mowed the yard, fought fires at work, then went to the airport to fly to New Orleans. After a stop in San Francisco (a beautiful place to fly in and out of), the three of us arrived in the Crescent City at 12am Thursday morning. After arriving, we drove another 45 minutes across the Lake Ponchartrain Causeway (the second longest bridge in the world!), finally getting to the hotel just after 1am. Long day!!

Thursday was our meeting day where we had engineering discussions from roughly 8-5. Lunch was from McAlister's Deli, which I didn't know still existed. They used to be around Florida in the 1990's. After an evening tour of the lab, we went to Don's for dinner and drinks. The oysters were great and I discovered a new favorite beer, Jefferson Stout. The South apparently is milk stout central which makes it awesome!

Friday was a travel day but we had some time to spend before our afternoon departure. I had a quick breakfast at the Covington Chick-Fil-A which was celebrating Cow Appreciation Day. After breakfast, we were able to squeeze in a brief walking tour of the French Quarter before heading home. After a quick cruise through Jackson Square and along Bourbon Street, we grabbed a quick lunch before heading to the airport. The flight home was interesting because we ran into two other coworkers at the New Orleans airport (they were doing demos in New Iberia, LA) and one of our sales guys was on our final leg home from Denver. Clearly it was a busy week for office travel!

Business Trip Pictures!

Canada Trip 2011!!

2011 has been full of lots of great trips for Zach & I - highlights have included LA/Long Beach in January, our wonderful visit to Florida, and Portland at the end of May. This past long weekend was no different! We headed up to Vancouver to spend some time with the Shepherd/Aprim side of the family. We left Boise late in the day on Wednesday June 30, and drove all night, arriving in Vancouver around 11am on Thursday morning.

Thursday was a low-key day, since we were both pretty wiped out from pulling an all-night drive-a-thon, although luckily we had our Sirius XM Radio in the car, which kept the drive more interesting! Friday was Canada Day, and I spent some time in North Vancouver visiting with my friend Jenn, and then we had a lovely dinner at White Spot with my Mom, Dave & Greg.
On Saturday, I got together with my friend Linsie, and then Zach, Mom, Dave & I spent some time (DAAAAAAYS, if you ask Dave & Zach!) at IKEA, picking up a few things including our new light fixture for the nursery, which Zach is putting up this weekend.
Sunday was a beautiful day for a party, and we had a great one! Mom made delicious burgers, spinach salad & potato salad, Dave grilled the burgers & we enjoyed 2 fantastic dessert options - Pavlova with whipped cream & berries and blackberry pie (or galette, because we're fancy!), made with berries that were hand-picked by Auntie Margaret! YUM!! What wonderful spread of food! Along with Mom, Dave & Greg, we were also able to visit with Megan, Ben, Emily & Matthew, as well as Auntie Margaret, Auntie Maggie & Uncle Barry and Uncle Tom. It was SO nice to see everyone...thank you for the birthday gifts!
Sunday night took a turn for the worse when Greg, who was playing in a co-ed recreational soccer game, got tripped by an opponent & took a very bad fall. He ended up in Emergency, with a fractured pelvis (OUCH!!). He spent the night in Emergency, and was admitted on Monday so that he could have surgery done on Tuesday morning (the morning we left). He's now sporting 3 steel pins & a steel plate in his hip, so we can all call him Bionic Man! Greg, you have seriously been a trooper through all of this!!

Greg was able to come home on Friday, and has been settling in & adjusting to life on crutches. He'll likely be on the crutches for a couple of months, but who knows - he surprised the physio-therapists by dominating the crutches on Thursday, 2 days after surgery, which they weren't expecting! I'm sure he'll be back on the soccer field in no time! ;-)

So, apart from all that craziness, we had a great trip! Tuesday was spent driving home, and we got in around 1am...it was a loooong day, to say the least. Zach left on Wednesday afternoon for his business trip to Loooo-zianna, but he'll get to that in the next post!

Below are a few pictures from our party on Sunday. Enjoy!

Canada Trip 2011 Pictures!

Patio Upgrades

In March we had a patio cover installed by Affordable Patio Covers. In May there was finally enough decent weather to stain it. This month we finally got some patio furniture and a sun shade (thanks Costco!) so now the space is actually usable! We may put up one more shade (for the other side of the patio) but it is nice to now have an outdoor option for dinner and relaxation!

Buttercup Mountain Hike

Matt and I climbed Buttercup Mountain in the Smoky Mountains on the 18th. Since it was Katie's birthday, I was looking for a peak that wouldn't keep us out too late in the afternoon. This dovetailed nicely with the weather forecast, which predicted worsening weather later in the day.

We left Boise about 6:15am and had a quick and uneventful drive through Fairfield and up the Willow Creek Road. After being stopped by private property in the Cherry Creek area, we went part way up the road to Buttercup Mine and started our hike there. We parked around 6100' and quickly gained a ridge which contained an ATV trail for a short ways. Eventually the trail ended and we simply followed the occasionally steep ridge all the way to the summit. By the time we reached the top clouds were starting to envelop the surrounding high peaks and a few flurries were starting to fall. After a brief time on the summit, we retraced our path back to the vehicle. Fortunately, the weather held for us!

As we were heading home, we hit the rain around Corral and it never let up - I think Katie was surprised we actually had decent weather on our hike! Plus I was home in plenty of time for Katie's birthday dinner!

Buttercup Mountain Pictures!
GPS Track

Oregon Camping 2011

In the spirit of past MVP trips, once again we met Joey, Sam, Cecilia, Tracy, and Dan for a short (two night) camping trip. This year's destination was Deschutes State Park along the Columbia River just east of The Dalles, Oregon. We arrived on the afternoon of Friday the 10th and were the first to show up. We checked out the park and played some Scrabble (Katie won) before the Pilons arrived later in the afternoon. Our immediate observation was that the park was quite windy and it nearly blew away our Scrabble board! Fortunately it calmed down just after sundown and was pleasant during the rest of our stay. Another interesting feature we immediately observed was the horde of super-aggressive blackbirds that would swoop down on you, chirp incessantly, and poop in your general direction. Unfortunately, the birds never calmed down!

On Friday night we enjoyed a hot dog dinner and sat around the fire and waited for Tracy and Dan to arrive late in the evening - they made it just after dark. After hanging around the fire and chatting for a while, we retired for the night. Sadly, our sleep was interrupted by the Union Pacific trains rolling by the campground several times through the night - this wouldn't have been so bad if they didn't blow the horn roughly five times each time they passed the campground! Argh!!

Saturday was a great mix of eating, hiking, hanging out in the sun, napping (in between trains), and taking it easy. Just like camping should be! The hiking was spectacular and consisted of a nice trail paralleling the Deschutes River upstream. Sunday we spent the morning packing up and enjoying Katie's lovely bacon and french toast breakfast! After some group pictures, we were on the road just after noon for the long drive back to Boise.

I really liked the campsites and the hiking/biking options at this campground but the train noise was pretty bad. It quickly became pretty obvious why we were some of the few tenters in the whole campground! Even with that, it was a great weekend camping with friends!

Oregon Camping Pictures!

Katie's another year older!

As most of our loyal followers know, yesterday was my birthday - yep, I'm 24 - you guessed correctly! ;-) Zach left eaaaarly in the morning for a hike with his buddy Matt - he'll be posting separately about that, I'm sure. Matt's moving down to Salt Lake City to go to Grad School, so it was probably their last hike together.
I enjoyed a leisurely morning, complete with sleeping in & looking outside to realize that the weather was much poopier than anticipated! It was drizzly & icky...didn't the weatherman realize it was my birthday?! Anyway, my day was quiet - I talked to a couple of friends on the phone, and then headed over to Target to wander the aisles for awhile. I headed home, did some reading (I recently finished The Help, which was excellent, and am now working on A Recipe For Bees, which is also proving very good.
After a little TV watching, Zach came home & we headed out for a fantastic dinner at a local Italian restaurant called Gino's (I can't provide a link to their website, because they don't have one!). The food was wonderful - I had amazingly light, fluffy gnocchi in a cheese sauce, and Zach loved his Chicken Parmigiana...we also had some calamari that had a very light batter & were served with excellent marinara sauce. YUM!
After that deliciousness, we went to see the new Steven Spielberg movie, Super 8, which was quite good - it reminded me a lot of ET or The Goonies, from back in the 80's - a group of kids witness a train wreck & then spend the movie trying to figure out what happened.

So, that's the story of my 24th (!) birthday :-)
Happy Birthday (June 17th) to my Mother-In-Law, Jan!!

Love,
Katie

The (long-awaited) update on the baby!

Well, as Zach mentioned in his last post (was it really TWO WEEKS ago?!), we spent the Memorial Day long weekend (last weekend of May) in Portland, checking out some great restaurants & sights as well as wandering through IKEA!
The main purpose of our IKEA trip was to pick out & pick up furniture for the nursery, which was quite the experience...I had forgotten how exhausting it can be to spend 2.5 hrs in IKEA!
Here's a rundown of what we picked out (click on the link to see a picture!)

1) Crib (which converts into a toddler bed)
2) Dresser & removable Change Table top (so it can be a standard dress once the Change Table is no longer needed)
3) Wall Shelf/Hanger (to go over the change table)
4) Toy Box/Storage
5) Crazy Curtains!

Yes, the curtains are kind of bold, but we're going to paint the walls a light green (a little darker than celery, perhaps), and these curtains will add a punch of interest! We're going to paint the ceiling a sky blue color, and IKEA also has a very cute sunshine light fixture that we're thinking of getting when we're in Vancouver in a couple of weeks (or maybe Seattle, on the way home).

So, that's what we've got so far for the nursery. We also picked up a Playpen & Stroller/Carseat "Travel System" from Babies R Us, and recently registered there - Zach worked the scanner gun like a professional! I think it's funny that the stroller/car seat we picked is named Ben! :-) Aprims representing!
We also recently got a special delivery from the Vickery Grandparents - lots of awesome books, and a big box stuffed with a huuuuge assortment of fantastic clothes, blankets & other really fun stuff! Thank you very much, Jan & Ron!

In non-nursery news, we've started Childbirth Prep classes at the hospital where I'll be delivering. We've been to two classes so far, with two more to go, and it's been very interesting! The instructor seems to lean more towards natural, med-free childbirth, which is what I'm interested in (and I'm the only one in my class that wants to go natural!). A co-worker of mine (who had 2 c-sections, one of which was scheduled 4 months before she was due) told me yesterday that she'd "MUCH rather recover from a c-section than actually give birth" :-0 I was kind of shocked at that!
We'll also be taking a Hospital Tour, along with a Baby Care Basics Class, a Nursing class & a class specifically geared to Natural Childbirth...so hopefully we'll be as prepared as possible, at least in theory!

I've been feeling pretty good these days - lots of movement & kicks most days from the little one. Apart from slightly swollen ankles/feet, I haven't had many other complaints - we went camping last weekend & it was a success, which was a relief!

I think that covers everything, but I might be missing a few details - my brain is mush lately! We're going to try & relax this weekend, maybe start painting (!!) and go for an Italian dinner on Saturday night...apparently I'm going to be a year older or something - where did the time go?!

Also, big congratulations to my cousin Jason & his wife Susan, on the arrival (June 2nd) of their new little boy, Brandon Campbell Savage! He's adorable!!

We hope you're all doing well & enjoying these lovely June days!
Lots of love,
Katie & Zach

Portland Trip

Katie and I used Memorial Day weekend to check out Portland and most importantly to do some shopping for still-unnamed Baby Vickery. The drive from Boise is long and unexciting but fortunately we had a XM radio receiver to increase the entertainment factor. By far our biggest shopping commitment was at Ikea looking for nursery furniture and various other household items. That store is special because after 2+ hours of looking at stuff I was totally exhausted, particularly mentally. Too much discussion of household decor I think. At any rate, we picked up a few items for the nursery which Katie will be blogging about soon!

While in Portland, we ate at a few interesting restaurants. Upon arrival, the Deschutes Public House was our first stop and along with the top quality beer I really enjoyed my elk burger with a soft pretzel that we shared as an appetizer. We were both amazed that the place, despite being very large, had huge lines the entire time we were in the area. After our great meal, we walked around downtown and then spent some time in Powell's Books, easily the biggest bookstore I've ever been in. Their technical book selection is impressive and I ended up getting a book on functional programming. We also stopped by the Whole Foods before retiring for the night.

On Saturday we visited Pine State Biscuits for breakfast and had some amazing biscuits - our order included them with sausage, chicken, and jam/butter and every combination was outstanding! This nice repast was followed by marathon shopping and a side trip to see the Capitol at Salem. Dinner was at Dove Vivi, which featured some amazing pizza on a cornmeal crust like nothing either of us had ever experienced. Finally, I insisted on a brief stop at the Bridgeport Brewpub for a beer. The beer was definitely good and the menu looked comparable to Deschutes' offerings. It is definitely somewhere to go in the future! We had also hoped to attend a Portland Timbers MLS game on Saturday, but tickets started at $60 on the secondary market and that is just way to much for a soccer game!

On Monday we did some more shopping, visiting Katie's favorite store Trader Joe's and also the Uwajimaya where Katie found lots of exciting Udon noodle varieties. Before leaving town we had a quick lunch at Burgerville which is a pretty good quality fast food place in the greater Portland area.

Despite a lot of driving, it was a very enjoyable trip. I didn't know that much about Portland but I was definitely impressed with what we saw and Portland's beer options are the best of anywhere I've seen. Also, as of this past weekend, we've finally finished getting rid of excess furniture and we can now start the process of assembling all the new furniture we bought and setting up the nursery.

Oregon Pictures! (sorry, the only pictures we took were in Salem)

Spring Hikes - Cervidae Peak, Peak 4921', Mt. Heinen, Peak 5720'+

On consecutive weekends I hiked some local peaks near Boise. On the 14th I used a Saturday to complete my 5th ascent of Cervidae Peak - this time by the standard southeast ridge route. Sadly, no Cervidae were seen but I did have a brief encounter with a dusky grouse not unlike the one that harassed Dan and I on our recent hike to Hutton Peak. Afterwards, I decided to scout some alternate routes on Mt Heinen and visit Peak 4123' above Cottonwood Ranger Station. I climbed Peak 4123' from the ranger station and it was pretty much a steep hike straight to the summit. Views were pretty unremarkable as the peak is surrounded higher terrain.

On the 20th I decided to hike Mt. Heinen from the north. I last climbed this peak in 2008 via the arduous SSE ridge route and was looking for something different. Approaching from the north makes the ascent of the peak much easier, allows visiting obscure Peak 5720'+, and also lets me check out a new area. This was a really enjoyable hike, nearly all of which is on either a closed road (until June 15) or motorcycle trail. This terrain was fortuitous because once again I forgot my boots and had to hike in tennis shoes. The hike itself was pretty mellow except for the steep climb up Mt Heinen's north slopes. I didn't bring a map and as a result I only visited one of the two summits of Peak 5720', although I'm certain it was the higher one. Something to do when I return to this area!

Cervidae Peak/Peak 4123' Hike Pictures
GPS Track
Trip statistics: 5.52 miles, 2:43h, 2940' elevation gain

Mount Heinen/Peak 5720'+ Hike Pictures
GPS Track
Trip statistics: 9.86 miles, 4:09h, 2408' elevation gain

Peak 4973' (Little Charcoal Peak) Hike

My employer was kind enough to grant us Good Friday as a holiday. Being the non-religious person that I am, I opted to use the day to do some Spring hiking. It had stormed the previous day so I decided to choose a lower elevation peak that would hopefully avoid most of the snow and mud. I chose Peak 4973', an obscure peak near Lucky Peak Reservoir.  It is unofficially known as Little Charcoal Peak.

This peak can be climbed from several directions but I opted to hike from the saddle on Blacks Creek Rd. This route is interesting because the starting and ending elevations are almost the same! Despite my choice, conditions were quite soft and occasionally muddy on the shadier aspects, which is definitely unusual for late April. Above 5000' on the ridge, there were a few inches of fresh snow melting fast. Despite the sogginess, the hike was quite enjoyable as the ridge over to 4973' is seldom traveled and featured numerous deer, grouse, and raptor sightings. Hiking felt a little bit like cardio interval training as the ridge provides many ups and downs along the way.

The peak itself has a flat summit but with a great view of the surrounding foothills. After taking in the views, I proceeded to "descend" which actually involved about the same amount of work as the "ascent". Still a great day to be out hiking!

Trip statistics: 10.92 miles, 3013' elevation gain, 4:34h

Peak 4973' Pictures!
GPS Track

Spring Hikes: Big Foot Butte, Hutton Peak, Fiddler BM

For both of the past two weekends I've hiked in the area surrounding Boise to enjoy the milder weather that has finally arrived.

On the 3rd I went on a short hike to Big Foot Butte on the Snake River Plain. This unremarkable destination was chosen because it allowed me to become the first person to visit the nine summits of Ada County. Heady stuff I know. I could have driven closer to the top but instead I parked a little ways away to get an actual hiking experience. Despite the windy conditions, it was an enjoyable and relaxing hike with great 360° views of the mountains surrounding the plain. The "summit" of Big Foot Butte is very flat and a GPS is highly recommended to find the high ground.

An interesting thing about Big Foot Butte is that it is located adjacent to the Idaho National Guard's Orchard Training Area which makes for interesting scenery. The roads reaching the butte feature lots of range targets, lookout towers, junked cars, signs advising of unexploded ordnance, etc. While in the area I also visited the summits of Flagstaff Butte (a very short hike) and Little Joe Butte (a drive-up).

Last Sunday (the 10th), I planned on climbing Peak 4973' near Boise. After driving to the trailhead I was getting ready to hit the trail and Dan pulled up out of the blue. Coincidentally he was in the area at the same time and planning on climbing nearby Hutton Peak and Fiddler BM. After considering this alternative, I jumped in and we drove down the road to hike the two peaks together. As we were getting ready, an angry grouse confronted us and was following us around and even pecking at Dan. As we started our hike the grouse followed us for at least 5 minutes before it lost interest in us. Unsurprisingly, the same grouse was still on guard when we returned to the vehicle!

The hike up to Hutton Peak was straightforward and only took 90 minutes or so. We took a short break atop the peak and took in the very nice Spring scenery of the lower Boise Mountains. From Hutton Peak we hiked over to Fiddler BM along a well-defined motorcycle track which led us over a number of ups and downs on the ridge top. Fiddler BM is an unremarkable peak along a ridge leading to Danskin Peak but does have a good view of most of the Danskin range. We mostly retraced our steps on the way back but we did take a shortcut to descend to the car a little faster. We were both a little tired by the end as our bodies are clearly still in early season shape!

Big Foot Butte Pictures!
Big Foot Butte trip statistics: 4 miles, 400' elevation gain, 1:20h

Hutton Peak/Fiddler BM Pictures!
Hutton Peak/Fiddler BM GPS Track