Ascent of Cache Peak on 2017-09-04| Others in Party: | Sean Orth
| | Date: | Monday, September 4, 2017 | | Ascent Type: | Successful Summit Attained | | Motorized Transport to Trailhead: | 4x4 Vehicle | | Peak: | Cache Peak | | Location: | USA-Idaho | | Elevation: | 10339 ft / 3151 m |
Ascent Trip ReportThis was an unplanned spur of the moment trip. Weather was bad up north with predictions of thunderstorms, and my brother and I were being very indecisive the day before while trying to think of something to do. During the night it donned on me that Cache Peak was close and had not been explored yet by either of us. Weather looked good for southern Idaho as well. I called my brother early the next morning and he agreed this was a great idea. We didn't realize the drive was going to take so long from Jerome (him from Bliss), but we still made it to the trail head by 0830. We feared that it was going to start getting hot quick, so we didn't waste much time getting started up the hill. The City of Rocks came into view very quickly and I was not disappointed. It looked much smaller from that high, but was still quite the sight to see. We took the west ridge up and tried to make it more difficult than it had to be. This could easily be just a trivial class 1 climb, but we played on the big boulders, and did some scrambling to make it funner. The rocks on this mountain were awesome, another lithologist paradise. Once on the summit I saw my first prayer flags, which I found pretty cool as I've been studying alot about the Nepal region lately. Someone had strung them on the summit marker, which was unexpected. We hung out on top for a bit and then descended down to the saddle between Independence Peak and Cache Peak. This had a stunning view of the Independence Lakes to the east of the ridge. Here we ran into a couple of older fishermen trying to negotiate a route down to the lakes. We helped them find the trail and continued on to Independence Peak, then down its West face back to the trailhead. |
| Summary Total Data | | Total Elevation Gain: | 2339 ft / 712 m | | Total Elevation Loss: | 739 ft / 225 m | | Round-Trip Distance: | 2.7 mi / 4.4 km | | Grade/Class: | Class 1 | | Quality: | 2 (on a subjective 1-10 scale) | | Route Conditions: | Maintained Trail, Unmaintained Trail, Open Country, Scramble | | Weather: | Hot, Calm, Clear
Smoky Haze | | Ascent Statistics | | Gain on way in: | 2339 ft / 712 m | | Distance: | 1.9 mi / 3 km | | Route: | West Ridge | | Start Trailhead: | West Ridge TH 8000 ft / 2438 m | | Time: | 2 Hours | | Descent Statistics | | Loss on way out: | 739 ft / 225 m | | Distance: | 0.8 mi / 1.4 km | | Route: | North Ridge | | End Trailhead: | West Ridge TH 9600 ft / 2926 m | | Time: | 30 Minutes |
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