A wonderful hike up the Indian Ridge trail gets us two new peaks.
- May 16, 2020
- Team: Dave, Craig, Carola & Art
- Stats: 13.9 miles, 4286' gain, 8:06 hours c2c, Class 1 & 5
- Peaks:
- Keyhole Mountain, 6820'
- Phoebe Peak, 6906'
Note: click images to see a larger version in a new window
It has been raining a lot in McCall, but Saturday was predicted to be partially sunny. The roads to the high mountains are still clogged with snow, so we opted to head down to the South Fork again. As we cruised down the canyon, I was surprised to learn that this was Craig's first time here. So after a 1:50 drive we parked at the Krassel turnout and changed into hiking gear, excited to try the Indian Ridge trail. |
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The puppies, per usual, were raring to go. |
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When things are greening up in the spring, this place is magical. |
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The trail is a wonderful, easy grade. So without much effort or even thinking about it, we were doing more than the standard 1000'/hour. And getting rewarded with views. |
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My pre-trip mapping said it was 3.5 miles to our first objective. So when Craig's GPS said we had already walked 4 with no peak in sight, we knew something was up. It was just too easy. Aha! New trail. |
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In and out of burn. Dave called this section "Tick Ridge." Do I really need to explain? |
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At about 6000' on north-facing slopes we started hitting occasional patches of snow. And then, finally, our summit. We think. After walking all this way, are we going to get stiffed? |
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We danced with the snow patches a bit, so mostly it was dry ground. And when we had to walk on the snow, it was fairly supportive, despite the warm May temperature. |
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| We did a couple laps around the summit block looking for a weakness. Craig started shimmying up a gritty chimney that I didn't like the looks of. Meanwhile, I went back to the first route I had studied. Craig got to the top first, but my obvious chimney worked, too. |  |
Craig and I safely descended, and our group started lunch. Then Art and Carol caught up with us.
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| Note the keyhole just above mid-way. That's Art on the summit. |  |
And here he is in the keyhole. For pictures of Craig and I on the rock, click the link near the bottom of this report for Dave's photo blog. |
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After our thrilling ascent, we enjoyed the safety of terra firma for lunch. And played NTP. There were many familiar 'faces' from up here; you'll have to go see for yourself. |
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But onward; there's a second peak at hand! When we gained the ridge to our second peak, we again split up. Dave, Craig, and I headed for the ridge to our peak, while Carol and Art instead headed for a scenic tour of Phoebe Meadows. The climbing group tried to avoid the deadfall by staying on the softening snow. Hard work on a full stomach. |
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And of course, the highpoint on the ridge is always at the farthest end (no, the rock only looks taller because it's close at hand). We found it easier to drop off the side of the ridge. |
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And that got us to the top. |
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That's Phoebe Meadows down there. Hence the peak name. We looked, but couldn't see Art and Carol. |
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On our return, we stayed on the side of the ridge, which got us back to our trail pretty quickly. Okay, then. Clouds are looking a little dark. Didn't I read there was a chance of thunderstorms this evening? Was the weather turning early? Time to beat feet! But first, we have to go up to go down. |
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| Along the way you get views down to the East Fork. | 
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We were moving fast, but not without stopping to stare occasionally. |
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From the top of Phoebe Peak to the car was just under 2.5 hours of pretty fast walking. But the trail is so nice that it allows you to gawk while you walk. Here's a little slice of South Fork heaven. |
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| Dave's pics |  |
| Map |  |
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