Author: Don Otis 12,236' Mt. Adams is the second largest peak in the Northwest behind Mt. Rainier. Although it is not a technical peak it is 6800' of vertical gain from the trailhead. Landon Otis, Jeff Beeman, Ken Emerson, and I reached the summit on a near perfect May 2 day with clear skies. The […]
Author: Don Otis The Shepherd Pass Trail on the eastern escarpment of California's Sierra Nevada is not for the faint of heart. The trail winds through three climatic zones off the desert floor at 6,500' and up to Shepherd Pass at 12,000' in the alpine zone. Ken Emerson and I made our way up the […]
Author: Don Otis White Mountain on the border of California and Nevada is 14,252'. It has the highest research station in the U.S. -- the Barcroft Station. The climb starts high and stays high (12,000'). The trail is an easy class 1 walk covering 14 miles all above timberline. The views are terrific on a […]
Author: Don Otis Mt. Sill is in the eastern Sierras near Big Pine on the North and South Forth trailheads. It is 14,162' one of the 12 ranked 14,000' peaks in California. I headed up Fathers Day Weekend in 2015 making easy time. We reached the Palisade glacier and began to traverse it to the […]
Star Peak is a mere 6,167’ but a whopping 4,000’ vertical from the start of the #998 trailhead. This is an easy one to reach – just off highway 2 before you get to Big Eddy Campground just outside of Heron, Montana. The Friends of Scotchman’s Peaks Wilderness (see ScotchmanPeaks.org) had eight hikers, all who […]
The high point in Idaho’s Cabinet Mountains is just outside of Clark Fork (see previous descriptions to the trailhead). The mid April ascent was a mixture of cold weather, blowing clouds, and icy conditions on the summit ridge. We used crampons and ice axes for the final 500’ of elevation. There is new snow but […]
Elevation: 7,009’ The highest peak in North Idaho is well worth the effort – even in early spring. The road into the trailhead was passable without 4WD. From Clark Fork, Trailhead 65 is 6.2 miles. The last section of the road (2.2 miles) is the muddiest. An early start is always best but Scotchman’s can […]
The last day of January in North Idaho is not the time of the year one expects to be hiking high into the Cabinet Mountains near Montana. In spite of a less-than-stellar forecast we set out for the Scotchman’s Peak trailhead. We managed to get within several miles before getting two Jeeps stuck in the […]
Star Peak is just east of the Idaho border and starts just off the road before you get to Big Eddy Campground. If you reach the campground coming from Clark Fork, you have gone about a quarter of a mile too far. The trailhead for the Big Eddy Trail and Starr Peak is 100 yards […]
Nestled on the North end of Sandpoint, the Mickinnick Trailhead is just off Woodland Drive. Take Highway 95 North and turn left toward Schweitzer Mountain Resort. Woodland Drive is a quarter mile past the railroad tracks. Turn left and cross the small bridge over Sand Creek. Follow the dirt road half a mile. This leads […]