One of a couple Squaw Butte's in Idaho, this one near Emmett Idaho was activated on a pleasant Spring day. Heading North out of Emmett Idaho, you can connect to a dirt road that leads you to the top of "Squaw Butte". However, the highpoint is about a 2 mile hike from where most passenger cars will need to park.
This was the first activation of "Peak 4700" off Hwy21 on the way to Idaho City from Boise. The peak rises right from the hwy, but access is from the opposite (South) side. This was my second attempt at the peak as an impromptu mountain bike attempt late in 2015 was thwarted by snow.
Peak 5180 (one of four with the same name in Idaho) appeared to be a relatively accessible summit off Blacks Creek Rd, SE of Boise Idaho. After some discussions with a co-worker (AKA Erik the Mountain Goat) I learned that there was a developing trail around the base of Peak 5180. It's a 16 mile adventurous Mtn bike trail. Erik had also hiked this peak during the winter using a drirect route up the ridge (see links below). After a study of Google earth, I decided to take this trail for a mile or so and then turn up onto one of the ridges leading to the summit.
We spent the weekend climbing and camping at the nearby Spring Mountain climbing area. This is a great climbing area with nearby camping. Just a short distance away is Sugarloaf Mountain. It looked much forested and the road/trail access was questionable, but a previous activation said it was doable.
Granite Mountain presented itself as a welcome relief to a string of unsuccessful summit attempts! The road access to long, but smooth. The trail is rocky, but passable. The summit is a double, but the views as quadruple! This was also the first activation of W7I/SR-038.
With a clear weather window during a wet week, my wife and I decided we should go hike/run up Lucky Peak. The trail head is only a couple miles from our house so we spend quite a bit of time on the first few miles of the trail. This would be our second time hiking all the way to the top. It would be the first time hiking/running the peak with the SOTA gear on my back though!
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Stack Rock has become more accessible over the last few years due to private land being converted to public access. A private donation made it possible for the Land Trust of the Treasure Valley to purchase private land around and on the way to Stack Rock. More information here at this LINK. The trail is widely used by hikers, mountain bikers and is now used by those that have drank the SOTA Kool-Aid!
Attempt #1:
The rough road up to Kepros Mountain is only open during the fall hunting season. I had concidered attempting this peak with a friend who has one of those cool RZR 4x4's. However, that trip early last winter was called on account of bad weather. So I waited until Spring to make the first real attempt.