An early spring had started in the lower elevations of Idaho and the surrounding states. I was itching to get out and do some hiking. I hadn't been out with the Fadgens for a while, so John and I started discussing areas. I threw out some options to John and he picked what turned out to be a really interesting area... climbing The Yellow Jacket in the Leslie Gulch area in Oregon.

With our wives coming along, I was a little nervous about the route, as it looked very steep. The night before, I remembered that a new guidebook of mine had some hikes in the Leslie Gulch area. Low and behold, the book had the very hike in it I had proposed to John. Not only that, it mentioned a trail... dang near to the top! I was excited, as this meant a more leisurely experience the next day.

On Sunday morning we headed out to find the trailhead. The mileages are kind of off in either the book or John's vehicle, but it isn't that hard to find Leslie Gulch or the Juniper Gulch trailhead.

We read the instructions for the hike one last time and then were off. The initial hike is through a sandy wash along towering rock formations. This hiking is really cool, as the rock has holes in it, has multiple colored layers, etc.

After about .6 miles, you want to make sure you get into the left fork of Juniper Gulch. Your end goal is the saddle between The Yellow Jacket and Peak 4791. There is a trail that will take you there, though it is a bit hard to find now and then.

Once at the saddle we took a break and then decided to climb Peak 4791 first. John struck out and headed straight up the west face, while I took the ladies up a easier route up the north ridge.

On top of 4791, we spotted someone on top of The Yellow Jacket. I mentioned to the group it was probably Brett, Exflatlander on ListsOfJohn.

We descended back to the saddle and then followed a climbers trail up to the north ridge of The Yellow Jacket. While hiking the ridge, we ran into the person coming down from The Yellow Jacket. Sure enough, it was Brett. We talked for a bit and he decided to join us for the climb up The Yellow Jacket.

A few minutes later, we finished the short final scramble on The Yellow Jacket and were enjoying fine views of the incredible area. We could see Owyhee Reservoir, Three Fingers Rock, and a host of cool canyons and neat rock formations from the summit.

The day had grown cloudy and windy after a warm and sunny start, so it was time to head down. We simply reversed our route and headed back down the trail, rather than end the day descending the steep south side of The Yellow Jacket.

It turned out to be an incredible day in the mountains with great friends. I highly recommend this area!!!

Take US 95 south from it's junction with ID-55. Follow this road 19.1 miles and turn right (left) at a sign indicating Leslie Gulch. There are numerous turns, but all our signed to Leslie Gulch.

Park at the Juniper Gulch trailhead on the right hand side of Leslie Gulch Road.

For turn-by-turn directions from Marsing, here is a link:
https://goo.gl/maps/4JvmQHduZyv

From the Juniper Gulch trailhead, drop down the embankment and cross the creek (usually dry, even for us in February of a wet winter). Follow the trail up the wash for about .6 miles. At .6 miles, enter the left for of Juniper Gulch, following the trail that is headed to the saddle between Peak 4791 and The Yellow Jacket.