I had last visited the Seven Devils 11 years ago. During that visit I summited 3 peaks, but missed the range highpoint of He Devil.

He Devil is range highpoint of the Seven Devils and has over 5,000 feet of prominence. In fact, it is one of only 57 peaks in the lower 48 with 5,000 feet or more of prominence.

For years I wanted to return. Finally that chance came along as several others planned to go. Eventually the date and group was set.

John F. and I left Boise at 4am and drove to McCall to pick-up John P. We then headed for the Seven Devils campground. We hit the trail around 8am.

We took the climber's trail over Goat Pass to He Devil. Once up high, we got a good look at the clouds and it looked like the 20% chance of rain might occur, but so far so good.

We dropped into Sheep Lake, then headed toward He Devil's northwest ridge. The route to the ridge had us go up the trail heading west from Sheep Lake up some switchbacks to a saddle. At the saddle we angled southwest across a boulder field and up onto the west ridge. Once on the ridge, we found cairns and a climbers trail. The route picks its way through terrain that looks like a technical climb, but is mostly 2nd class climbing with a little 3rd class toward the summit.

On top we celebrated and took in the incredible views... lakes everywhere around the base of the peak! The weather was holding and great for now.

It was also time to part ways. The John team was headed over to climb She Devil and Mount Baal; I was going down the way I came to relax and wait for them at Sheep Lake. Why you ask? Well, I didn't want to descend that really crappy gully between She and Baal again!!!

Once at the lake, the weather had improved. It was bright sunshine and blue skies! After an hour chilling at the lake and watching the Johns come down that aforementioned gully, the Johns rejoined me. They didn't enjoy the descent. We were re-united, but our work was not done, as we had to ascend another 700 feet to get back over to our trailhead.

We ran into several groups on the way out and saw the In the Wild Chef in the large group just before we made it back to the vehicle.

We had a beer and then it was off to McCall to drop of John and grab a hamburger. Great day with great friends!

About a mile before Riggins, Idaho (or after if coming from the north), look for a signed road heading west. The road is passable to passenger vehicles, but very steep. There are junctions, but always head for the signs saying "Seven Devils Campground". The road has been improved to remove the large rocks.

Follow the climber's trail that leaves the campground and leads to the saddle above Mirror Lake, then descends to Sheep Lake. This route is steep and loose in areas.