Camas County High Point Trip Report
Date: July 20, 2001
Author: Dan Robbins
Directions: From Ketchum, drive north on ID-75 for 20.5 miles and look for the Owl Creek turnoff on the
west side of the road. Immediately after the turnoff, the Owl Creek Road crosses the Big Wood river. I
stewed over whether or not to cross the 20 foot wide, 3 foot deep river for quite a while, then decided to
park it and walk the 3 miles to the end of Owl Creek road. The road is in excellent shape, except for 3 spots
(including the river crossing) that will require high clearance.
From the end of Owl Creek road, I started southwest across a stream and into a forested area. Once above
the trees, I continued my side hill advance until I wound up on a bench overlooking the Owl Creek drainage.
From here, I followed this bench to a gully that runs on the north side of Point 9616. Follow the gully up to
a spectacular cirque between the Camas County highpoint and Peak 10,441 (Saviers Peak). I crossed
through the low point (the map shows at intermittent creek starting here) and up a steep pitch on talus to a
bowl at the base of Point 10,337. The going is easy from here, pick any route and head up to the ridge to
your south.
Once on top, I could not decide which was higher, point 10,337, the middle bump on the ridge, or spot
elevation 10,360+. Both the map and GPS agree that it is 10,360+, but the GPS only showed 4 feet
difference, not the expected 23+ feet one would expect. In any case, I built a small rock cairn on the
highpoint and left a note.
Trip Statistics: round-trip distance 10 miles; 3,400 foot elevation gain; duration 7 hours 30 minutes
P.S. When I arrived back at the start of the road, an elderly man in a Ford Expedition whipped off the
highway and blew through the river going about 30 miles an hour. Nothing like hiking 6 miles for nothing.