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TR Posts: 67
6/22/2012
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I realize this forum is for Anza Borrego related trips. But since things are slowing down due to the heat out in Borrego, I thought it might be okay to post trip report from a cooler climate.
We have a summer place in Northern Idaho, where my wife grew up. About a month ago I scouted out a climb of Scotchman's Peak. (That's my M.O., to scout out a hiike before I actually tackle it. See for example, my multiple trips out to Indian Hill before I actually found the pictographs.
Scotchman's Peak is a local landmark. It 7009 feet, and the trail is about 8 miles round trip. In mid May there was still snow on the peak.
The run off was quite fast, and really cold.
Saw this deer on the way to the trailhead.
There are these warning signs also on the way to the trailhead. The re-introduced Grizzly bears in western Montana about 10 years ago. And the darn things don't pay any attention to state lines, and now their all over northern Idaho, too. So, there's no venemous snakes in this part of Northern Idaho, but there more black bears and gizzly bears than you can shake a stick at. Though, I don't rely on shaking sticks at them, I carry bear spray. Though the locals say, you can alway tell when a bear has been snacking on hikers, their scat is full of little bells and it smells like pepper.
This is the first good look I got of the peak while climbing the trail.
The trail was so steep here that I was afraid of falling over backward and rolling all the way to the bottom. I'm having a dilema, it would really be good to use trekking poles to ckimb with, but I have a tendency to carry my camera in my hand as I walk. I could wear the camera around my neck on the strap, but that's uncomfortable.
I decided to climb as far as I could, or until I hit snow. I found this interesting, a new tree had begun growing out of the stump of an old tree.
Old Man's Beard hanging from the trees.
Now my Mother-in-law said I wouldn't have any trouble with bears, because they were still hibernating. Well, I don't put much stock in what she says because just several weeks before she hit a bear with her car. To be honest, the bear hit her. It ran into the right front fender, then it got up, shook itself off and ran off into the woods.
Even so, this looks to me to be last seasons bear scat.
View of the summit from futher up the mountain.
Not seeing alot of wildlife.
The obligatory flower pictures for my wife. She was very happy to see these as she said she had't seen any ladyslippers she childhood. So, I told her there were two of them up around 5,300' if she was interested in seeing them in person.
These are known as Johnny Jump Ups. (Don't ask me why.) The interesting thing about them, is after they open up, they turn upside down. So the bees enter them from below to get the pollen.
Trillium.
Well, I stopped about half way up, well before I hit snow. And I think the hike is doable in July, if I start early in the morning.
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