Trip Report
After the fall outing, I drove to Corral Creek Summit (an actual peak according to ListsofJohn). I had hoped to get there earlier and catch the sunset while listening to football on the radio and cooking up a nice steak. Well, the fall outing on Pavlos lasted longer than expected and I arrived in the dark. On the drive to the mountain, I dodged cows, horses, deer, and a fox on the road. The cows were the main issue as they are black and weren't moving out of the way like the other critters. I eventually made it to the summit and I still enjoyed my steak, albeit in the dark and a steady wind. It was neat looking 3000 feet below at the passing car lights.
The morning light woke me up just in time. This location is as advertised, with great views of the Lost River range and Lost River valley. After some photos and a quick breakfast, it was off the Corral Creek trailhead about 5 miles away to go after some 11,000-foot peaks in the White Knob range.
There are 5 11ers in the White Knob range and I was going after the last 3 on my list... North Cabin Mountain, Cabin Mountain, and Lime Mountain. In addition to being 11ers, all 3 peaks are ranked in the top 100 highest peaks in Idaho.
The morning was nice, not too cool and a touch of wind. I made my way down the 4x4 road shown on the topo (opposite side of the creek as the trail). After a mile, I gave up and parked as it was too rough for my liking and I could hike faster.
I headed across a sage brush flat and toward a forested ridge that would lead to the base of North Cabin, my first target of the day. The forested ridge was steep, but the footing was good. As I climbed, the wind increased. The ridge becomes nearly flat just before it joins into the slopes of North Cabin. On this flat section, the wind was roaring. I was still 600 feet from the treeline and knew it would get worse, so I bundled up for what was ahead.
I plodded up through the thinning trees, then above them, to a shoulder on the ridge to North Cabin at 10600. Here the wind was roaring. In fact, it was shoving me around during gusts. Luckily my head was away from it, so I was able to breath. I know wind isn't going to pick up a guy my size and blow him off the mountain, but it is still always intimidating to hike in a wind like that. I continued to fight the wind the final 500 feet and topped out. On the summit of North Cabin, I expected the wind to be worse than below. But I was in shock, as it was barely blowing... maybe 10mph. I took the opportunity to hydrate, eat, and warm up. I then set my sights on Cabin Mountain.
Cabin Mountain sits 3/4 of a mile south of North Cabin. The ridge is more challenging than the class 2 slopes to North Cabin. The wind came and went depending on location and was really bad on certain spots on the ridge. The final 100 feet to the summit of Cabin were a fun scramble. The top offered wonderful views on this gorgeous day. Copper Basin is perfectly situated below Cabin Mountain with the big Pioneers beyond it. The Lost Rivers, Lemhis, White Clouds, Boulders, and Salmon River ranges all visible. The Corral Creek drainage below the summit were great as well. I soaked in the sun and views, knowing in 1 or 2 days, a major storm will cover all this high country in snow and zap the warmth.
Despite it not even being noon and me wanting to head over to Lime Mountain, I really didn't want to risk going another mile away from the vehicle with the windy conditions. Had I brought something to insulate my legs I would have. Besides, George told me sleeping on Lime's summit is the way to go anyway! So I headed back, content with 2 11ers on this day.
Instead of messing around and trying to avoid elevation gain by traversing around North Cabin, I just re-climbed it. Like before, no wind on top, but as soon as I descended about 200 feet, I was blasted again. This aspect of the ridge, for whatever reason, was incredibly windy. Since I was heading down and only had 400 feet to the treeline, I wasn't bothered by it like before.
From there, it remained windy, but lessened to a breeze by the time I reached my vehicle. With the sun, scenery, and fall colors on display I sat and enjoyed it all while drinking a beer.
On the way out I went through Trail Creek. This was a great choice, as the meadows along the road are showing incredible fall colors. I saw 2 moose as well. It was a very pleasant end to a great weekend in the mountains.
|
|
