Boundary County Highpoint Trip Report

Date: May 27-28, 2005
Author: Tyler Nimke

We had a very weak snow year in northern Idaho this last winter, so I decided to climb this highpoint early in the season. I camped at the bottom of the gated Forest Service road that goes up Owl Creek on May 27th and hit the trail early the next day.

I didn't hit snow until about the 6,500 foot mark. There were patches of snow a couple feet deep all the way to 7,400 feet where the trail crosses to the north side of the ridge. From here, I side-hilled west to just above the saddle between Point 7,680+ feet and 7,709 feet. In this saddle there was a few feet of snow and at times I wished I had brought snowshoes. The scramble from the saddle to the top of the 7,709-foot spot was easy.

I found the register here and signed it. From what I could tell I am the only person who has been up here this May. I walked south on the ridge a couple hundred yards to the next highpoint inside the same contour. I would have to agree that this point is a few feet higher than the point at 7,709 feet and both are higher than point 7,680+ across the saddle to the northeast. This southernmost point was under a few feet of snow so I didn't find the register here.

On the way back I climbed to point 7,680+, then glissaded down the rockslide to the east back to the trail. It was a perfectly sunny, warm day with no sign of another person.