DESTINATION Bad Tom Mountain from Moon Pass 1 Photoset
2023-10-01 | | -
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| Hiking | 11.17 Miles |
2,687 AEG |
| | Hiking | 11.17 Miles | 4 Hrs 53 Mns | | 2.36 mph |
| 2,687 ft AEG | 9 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | This one has been on my Idaho list for a couple of years now, and finally got around to it today. Parked at Moon Pass, and got started just before 0930. 42 degrees, no wind.
Headed up the St Joe Divide Trail, which was familiar to me for the first mile or so. Rutted from dirtbikes, wet brush, but reasonably easy hiking. Once past the turnoff for Moon Peak, the trail dropped down, a little more than I had hoped for.
Once I was headed west, the views opened up, with lots of fall color, and I could see Bad Tom Mountain a few miles away. Gently dropped down to Slate Creek Saddle. This section had been cleared of brush sometime in the last few days, which was nice, but the cut branches had all been dropped directly on the trail insread of tossed to the side, not so nice. I moved a few branches, but wasn’t wanting to spend much time on it. The dirtbike rut down the center of the trail was a little annoying at times too.
Once past the saddle, the trail condition improved significantly, and was easy hiking again. Placer Peak, right next to the trail, didn’t look that interesting, so I skipped the short bushwack over to the true summit. The trail between Placer Peak and Bad Tom Mountain was my favorite section of the day—good condition and great views.
Once below Bad Tom Mountain, the ridge directly up the east side of the peak looked kind of fun, so I took that up. Very steep, with one not fun brushy section, then a final scramble to the summit. Going up was okay, but going down would have been annoying. The summit was very nice, and I took a quick break and lots of pictures.
Took the true trail off the south side of the summit, then east to retrace my steps back to Moon Pass. Plenty of uphill on the return. I think I was around 1600’ aeg in the first half of the hike, and 1100’ to return, so a workout both directions. 46 degrees at the finish around 1415.
Saw 10 dirtbikers, 8 of whom were friendly. No wildlife beyond birds and squirrels, but deer and elk tracks, and some old bear scat. Very enjoyable hike, and I’d like to see more of the Divide Trail and other trails in the area. |
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Autumn Foliage Observation Moderate
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| Stop crying and just go do the hike. |
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