A Saturday wedding limited weekend plans, but I was able to sneak out Sunday with John. I had mentioned Council Mountain to him and he was also interested in that peak. Since it was a dog friendly trip, Shadow came along for the ride.

We left Boise at 6am. The weather was a little soupy with monsoonal moisture in the air. As the skies lightened and we neared the McCall area, we noticed haze in the air.

Following directions from previous trip reports, we were able to get to the proposed start of the hike. Then we got lucky... the gate that forces you to hike 1 mile on a road was open (previous trip reports indicated it was closed). Well, that saves us some time!

We then found the trailhead and parked. The weather was a bit iffy with clouds and distant thunder.

We headed up the trail as it criss-crossed old logging roads. The trail is through forest, with huckleberry patches (and they were ripe) alongside. We eventually crossed Granite Creek and then started up a steep section of trail to a junction 2 miles in. After a quick break it was on to more open slopes as the trees thinned a bit and views opened up.

This was also when the sky opened up a bit, giving us a 10 minute rain shower. I actually thought the rain cleared some of the haze out of the air, but it certainly didn't cool things off much.

We then entered Granite Basin. Previous trip reports had mentioned following the Council Mountain trail up and over Point 7923, but we spied a trail to the saddle between Council and Point 7923 that would save us 200 feet of gain. Sure enough, the trail worked and we were finally on the Council Mountain summit ridge.

From here, we left the trail and followed the northwest ridge directly to the top of the peak.

Views were a bit hazy on top, but hey, the storms had moved off and we had made our objective. We found the summit register and noted that it had been signed by legendary peak bagger Bob Packard... who was probably the individual we had seen atop Granite Basin Peak to the northeast of us a few minutes earlier.

After a break and some summit selfies, we decided we had legs left to climb Granite Basin Peak, so we dropped down to the saddle between it and Council and climbed the 400 feet to the top.

After Granite Basin Peak, we followed a cow trail into Granite Basin. Instead of being disciplined and climbing up the 200 feet to our original trail, we followed a trail heading down Granite Creek. Eventually it died and we faced cliffs and had to hike up 400 feet of steep brushy terrain to regain the trail. Not a big deal, but it was sweltering and we had already put in over 7 miles.

The rest of the hike was uneventful. It was great to re-enter the huckleberry area and be able to grab fresh snacks every couple of feet.

All-in-all a nice day in the mountains.

A few tidbits: Bring a map... there are un-marked trails and roads all over the area.

Take Idaho 55 to Donnelly, Idaho. Turn west onto Roseberry Road toward Tamarack Resort. In just under 2 miles, turn right on West Mountain Road after crossing the Cascade Reservoir. Follow West Mountain Road for about 1.2 miles, then head left uphill into to forest on the signed road leading to No Business Saddle. Once at the saddle, continue on the road most traveled (FS-186) for about 2.5 miles, and then turn right onto FS-245. From there, drive uphill for a mile or so, watching for the short road to the trailhead on the left. We found the gate just after the turn-off open and were able to follow this road for another mile to the "trail" sign.

Follow FST-210 through forest as it crosses old logging roads. You will come to several junctions, stay on FST-210 (there are an abundance of trail signs and markers). Eventually you will be on a ridge above Granite Basin where several trails meet/start. Here, there is a sign for Council Mountain Trail, which follows the ridge in front of you and then swings up and over Point 7923. You can follow that to reach the peak. Instead, we just crossed Granite Basin on a trail, which eventually led to the saddle between Council Mountain and Point 7923. This saves you a few hundred feet of climbing and still keeps you on a good trail.