I was at Cascade Reservoir camping with family. I have always wanted to hike up to Tripod Lookout and knew it was a quick hike that I could do on a family trip and return in time to still participate in family activities.

My good friend John Platt lives in McCall, so I invited him. John told me to invite some other people, so I did. John and Tamara Fadgen accepted the invite.

We agreed to meet at ID-55 and Cabarton Road. Just after 7am we arrived and in a few minutes the Fadgens pulled up behind us. We bounced the 2 vehicles on the washboarded Snowbank Mountain Road to the Blue Lake trailhead.

We then hiked down to the lake, where numerous groups were backpacked. We headed around the east side of the lake and south of the lake, before climbing up a ramp in the rocky cliffs. This got us decent terrain which eventually led us to a saddle just south of Point 8099 on the main ridge of the West Mountains. Here we found a trail that led to Tripod Peak.

When we arrived at the lookout, it was manned. We chatted with the lookout for quite awhile and could see the Pioneer fire burning southeast of us near Idaho City. After some peak identification, hydration, and taking in the scenery we headed back down the trail.

Instead of the route on the way in, this time we stuck to the trail on the ridge. This popped us out on Snowbank Mountain Road a few miles past our trailhead. While the John's went and tagged the top of Granite Peak, Tamara and I headed down the road to the trailhead.

Despite such a quick trip, I was really impressed with this area. It is green, scenic, and very open which allows for easy travel. Couple that with hanging out with good friends and it made for a nice outing!

Take ID 55 north from Boise or south from Cascade. Near Clear Creek Station, turn west onto Cabarton Road. Follow this road approximately 2.6 miles, then just when the pavement ends, turn left onto Snowbank Mountain Road. Follow this road for about 8.6 miles, looking for the Blue Lake trailhead on the left side of the road.

This road is drive-able by sedans, though it can get rough when not graded recently.

See the GPS track above for details.

We hiked down to Blue Lake, then hiked around the east side of the lake. Once south of the lake, we traversed around Point 8009 and into the saddle on the crest of the ridge. Here we found the trail on the ridge and followed it south to Tripod Peak.

On return, we followed the trail on the ridge to Snowbank Mountain Road (popping out just below Granite Peak) and then walked the road back to the Blue Lake Trailhead.