Mackay, Idaho

Mystery Peak

North Fork Lake

Goats napping at el 10000. They woke up when I moved closer. Lower Cedar Spring is the video below.

Pass Creek cuts a gorge  thru the Lost River Range near Mackay. Use the graded road at mp  101.3 on US 93. It goes into the gorge and there are several creekside campsites scattered along the way with one restroom. Mackay has a good grocery and a laundromat. Idaho Trails  is a website that details all the trails and dirt roads on a topo map for the whole state.

• BEAR CREEK LAKE el 8800 has a trail all the way. Turn off the Pass Creek Rd at N43 59059, W113 26889 el 6700. Drive along Bear Creek for a mile on easy 4wd to a fork el 7050. The right fork soon ends with no turnaround. Take the left fork for 2/3 mile to the end at the TH el 7300. That last 2/3 mile is rougher but no major obstacles. Mtn bikes would work to the TH but there it gets too steep. It took me 2 hours, 40 minutes to the lake and back, 1500 gain. The lake is at 59567, 30709. A better hike would be one way with no 4wd needed. Leave a car at the turnoff el 6700 on the Pass Creek Rd. Then drive to the pass and go west on a graded road to the Bear Creek Lake upper TH el 8000, just past a group camp. The trail, shown on the topo,  goes over a divide el 9000 then down to Bear Creek where, at el 7950, is the signed spur trail to the lake, not shown on the topo. Mtn bikes are feasible to the divide, but I didn't walk the part of the trail from the divide down to the creek. It's all downhill from the divide to the lower car, so what's the worst that could happen? The spur trail to the lake is not open to bikes but it's too steep anyway. Have some beer in your car to bribe OHVers for a shuttle. They'll do anything for beer. Posted 2016.
• HIDDEN MOUTH CAVE is a big room with a couple of smaller side rooms. Drive up the Pass Creek Rd thru the gorge and take the first right after it opens up. A 4wd road goes up to the TH which is at N43 57440, W113 26236 el 7000. I rode my cycle there, but in a 4wd I would park 500 feet short of it where the road gets nasty. It's less than 10 minutes to the cave and the trail is steep. Posted 2016.
• INVISIBLE MOUNTAIN el 11330 has a jeep road to el 7300 on the SW ridge. Use the  graded Bench Rd running south of the peak  to get to BLM road #498 at N43 54138, W113 31073. Go a mile and a half on that road to a fork el 6400 on the west bank of Mahogany Gulch. Left goes to the SW ridge, right goes to the south ridge then on to the SW ridge. At el 7100 is a very steep part, requiring a locking diff,  then it levels off at a sunny camp spot, just short of a radio tower (or maybe it's a movie screen?). The route goes from the radio tower and up around the west side of crags and into the saddle el 8400 on the SW ridge. Hike past the radio tower to a game trail at 56666, 32451 el 7600. Follow that for 350 feet to a clearing, which shows on the topo. Go straight up the clearing to 56760, 32460 where the trail takes a minor dip. Gently angle up along the base of crags to a corner at 56875, 32355 and those are the last coords you really need. From there you just keep going up. I went from there along the base of the crags into the saddle at 56916, 32238 el 8400. Then it was easy going up the ridge at first. When it steepened I drifted right of center to stay under rocks. I hit treeline at 57223, 31656 el 9600. I then zigzagged back to the center of the ridge at el 10100. At el 11000 the ridge drops 40 feet and you cross a neck. Just stay on center and it's class 3. The BM, spelled " INVISABLE ", is at 57980, 30903. 7 hours, 4100 gain. The 300 feet going up into the saddle el 8400 is the steepest with some minor backsliding. There is some light brush below the 7800 level. It might be feasible to walk from the tower into Swauger Gulch and go up that way. Posted August, 2016.
• JAGGLE BENCHMARK el 10772 has a logging road up Jaggles Canyon to a meadow el 7900. 4wds can make it to el 7000. There is a sign for Elbow Canyon along Pass Creek Rd out in the flats. Turn there and go straight east a mile and a quarter to a fork reading N43 54965, W113 25711. Take the right fork for half a mile to another fork and keep left. Stay on the main road going south and it will swing back to power lines and go on to a gate at 51853, 22545. Turn left there and drive a short way to the mouth of Jaggles Canyon. The road thus far has been high clearance on packed dirt, a mtn bike would work to the mouth only.  The road up the canyon is not eroded but has patches of little rocks, making for a bumpy ride. 4wd might not be needed, but a jeep would barely fit. A camp at 52465, 20925 el 7000 is the end of the line for 4wds and I could see some had been there. I made it another 700 feet on my cycle to el 7150. It's a steep ATV trail beyond there. Hike up the trail to the meadow where the ascent ridge is in view. Cross the meadow and circle left to 52940, 20127 el 8100 where you can look directly up the ridge and see that it's not so tough. Go on up and stay on center all the way to the crest at  53277, 19323 el 10400. I cut left about 100 feet before the top and it got unstable. It's just a stroll to the BM at 53726, 19669 until the last bit which is a class 2 knife edge. A game trail goes up and over. For the descent, I followed that trail down the north side to the first saddle el 10600 then down the drainage on fine scree. BIG MISTAKE ! Stay off the fine scree. It's not deep enough. I used my walking stick for self arrest and got over to the larger scree then had no trouble with sliding. It might work better to go north to the main saddle el 10300 then descend.  At el 9600 it levels off and the rest of the way down is on easy dirt. I walked along the edge of the scree field on game trails and into the forest at 53429, 20152 el 9100 then down thru the trees to the meadow. Starting at el 7150, the loop took me 5 hours with 3700 gain. I was wearing long pants and the few patches of light brush didn't even slow me down. There wasn't a drop of water or snow, but I drank less than a quart. The survey tower on top was still standing. This is a 4 hour hike for an ATV.  Posted August, 2016.
• SUNSET PEAK el 10693 has an OHV trail to el 8450 on the rim of Mud Lake Canyon. Turn off the Pass Creek Rd at N43 58545, W113 26706 el 6600 and follow  OHV trail #4094 past Mud Lake and up over the divide el 8343. Drop down the other side to Wet Creek Basin and right away a spur trail comes into view that goes up to the rim of the canyon where everything is in view. Step over the fence and stroll up the canyon to the main saddle el 10050 then turn right and mosey on up on easy tundra to the summit at 58562, 22200. 4 hours, 2400 gain, never steep. This peak is so easy, it makes pie look hard. MTN BIKE APPROACH - bikes would want to enter the canyon at a lower point.  Follow #4094 to the first fork which is #4192. Go right on that into the canyon to a fork el 7700. Go left and soon it's a foot trail. I stopped there but it's less than a mile up canyon to join the upper route. ROCKY PEAK el 9600+ is what I call the dramatic peak about a mile and a half SW of Sunset Peak. It's the same approach as above for mtn bikes, but go right at the fork el 7700 in Mud Lake Canyon. I got my cycle to the 8000 level right at a big slab of bedrock. Go up the slope there to the top of the ridge at N43 58344, W113 24532 el 8300+. Then just go up the ridge on elk trails to the summit at 57918, 24043. Some minor crags near the top are easily passed on the right. That's a nice forest hike. That took me 3 hours with 1600 gain.  Posted 2016.
• WET BENCHMARK el 11309 towers over Bear Creek Lake. A cycle/mtn bike trail goes to el 9000. Take the Pass Creek Rd to the pass and go west on a graded road to the Bear Creek Lake TH, just past a group camp. The reading there is N44 01245, W113 29286 el 8000. I rode a 125 up the trail to a bad spot el 8600 about .8 air mile from the start. With help, I could have walked the cycle past that and then easily rode on to the divide el 9000. Hike up the ridge from the divide using game trails. Just before the ridge tops out, use a trail on the right at N44 00066, W113 30681 that cuts into a saddle el 10400 where the rest is in view. Peak 10800+ is right next to this saddle and would make for a shorter hike. To get at Wet BM, you have to gently lose 500 feet down to the north end of the basin below then easily walk across it and decide which saddle to use for the peak. I went up to the north saddle then had a faint game trail on up to the top, but there was some class 3 rock and a knife edge to deal with. I came down the south saddle and it was class 1. Going up the south saddle would be the easiest but you have to circle over cliffs to get into it, meaning gaining an extra 100 feet. Game trails help a little because there is a guzzler in that saddle. The BM is at N43 59572, W113 32261.  Using the divide el 9000 as the starting point, the hike took me 7 hours with 3300 gain. Easy terrain. The only water I encountered was a few snow patches. A party with 2 cars could make an even better hike by returning via Bear Creek Lake. Just follow the main drainage down from the basin el 10000 to the lake and hit the trail on the east shore at N43 59567, W113 30709 el 8800 then stroll on down to Pass Creek Rd where you spotted a car reading N43 59059, W113 26889 el 6700. Part of the trail from the lake isn't shown on the topo, but everything else is. You can see a lot of this as you're going up. Posted Aug 3, 2016. 
• LOWER CEDAR CREEK has a maintained trail with bridges to a mega spring. From US 93 at Mackay, take main street for 2.5 miles to a sign for the creek reading N43 54602, W113 34105. Turn there on a gravel road that goes a bit over  4 miles to the TH el 6800. The last 2 miles are high clearance but it's mtn bikeable. It's a mile and a half on a rocky trail to the spring el 7350. There are ruins of a wooden aqueduct built by miners. Posted August, 2018.
• MOUNT McCALEB el 11682 is not one I hiked, but I rode out to see what access is like.  From US 93 at Mackay, take main street for 2.5 miles to a sign for the Lower Cedar Creek reading N43 54602, W113 34105. Turn there on a gravel road and go 3.7 miles then make a U turn to the left to get on the next level. Then go nearly half a mile to a wooden post at 57634, 34994. Go left there for about 2 miles to where the FS closed the road at the forest boundary on the south slope at 58705, 36810 el 7000. Hikers go up to the west saddle el 10650 then turn to the summit, all class 2. 4wd is needed at a couple of spots for the drive in. This access is all public land. Posted August, 2018.
• UPPER CEDAR CREEK has a short trail that's useful for anyone camping at Mackay Reservoir. A mtn bike can make it into a more fruitful outing. I would ride to the sign el 6200 at mp 115 on US 93 then go 4 miles up the dirt road to the mouth el 7100 where the foot trail starts. The last 3 miles of road are high clearance. About 5 minutes up the trail are 2 wades then no more. Nearly a mile up is where a left fork is pouring in. I would stop there because the trail gets difficult and fades in brush after another half mile. It's a shady trail but some itchy plants need pruning. Posted August, 2018.


• Trail Creek Road is a major corridor connecting Ketchum to US 93 at mp 124.8. A dozen miles in the middle is bumpy dirt. At least 4 campgrounds are along the way and many dispersed sites. RVs should come in from US 93. 
• PORPHYRY PEAK el 10012 sits on the north rim of Copper Basin. This peak is easier to hike than pronounce. A 4wd road goes most of the way up, as shown on the topo. 4wds can get as far as a gate at el 8700. Turn off Trail Creek Rd at the sign for the graded Bartlett Point Rd running along the north side of the peak. Turn on BLM road #603 at N44 01180, W113 57314. Soon there is a fork, stay right. Then shortly comes another fork, stay left. Now just follow the main road as it goes along Rock Creek then climbs up to the gate at el 8700. Trees were cut then armored to supplement the gate. There were no signs barring hiking or biking, so I parked and walked on up the road. It levels off on a plateau at el 9400 then makes a big bend to the left. A trail shortcuts the bend, but it's for hikers only as it fades about half way across. Just before the end of the road at towers, I cut left on a main elk trail at N43 56333, W113 57726 el 9650 that took me over to the final slope. The summit is at N43 55837, W113 57271. The hike from the gate and back took me 4 hours with 1500 gain. Mtn bikers can do this if they can stand all the gain. 2wds can come in over a mile on road #603 to a steep hill el 6900. Then it's mostly packed dirt to the gate. Above the gate are some patches with little rocks, but those could be raked aside. A filter would be handy for the streams. The last stream is at N43 58544, W113 55384 el 7550. Posted August, 2016.
• JERRY PEAK el 10010 sits at the north end of a scenic plateau. Another 10000 footer sits at the south end, about 2 and a half miles away. I call that one Tom Peak. A decent 4wd road goes up Burnt Creek to the 8600 level on the east ridge of Tom Peak. Use the paved Trail Creek Rd that runs along the east side. Turn at the sign for Burnt Creek reading N43 58963, W114 03160. Go about 3 miles along the creek then the road climbs up the ridge. The last turnaround (and good camp) is at N44 01200, W114 05813 el 8500. One saddle is in the way before the ridge can be ascended. Walk a hundred feet or so up the road then start walking level or down a little on the right side of the ridge to glide into the saddle el 8550 just ahead. Then go up the ridge to the top reading N44 01497, W114 06979 el 9850. Tom Peak is the craggy peak right in front of you. Go right up the center on game trails. It took me an hour and a half to get to Tom with 1500 gain. It's easy to walk the bald plateau from there. I went on to Jerry BM at N44 03593, W114 06476. The whole hike took me 5 hours. Cattle graze on the north half of the plateau. Staying high on the bald rim avoids most of that.The views are amazing. There is a free BLM camp less than a mile upstream on the Trail Creek Rd. Posted 2016.
• MOOSE LAKE el 9345 has a trail. Turn off the Trail Creek Rd at the sign for graded FR 135 and go a bit over 2 miles then go right on graded FR 136. Follow that for 3 miles along Wildhorse Creek to a sign for the lake then hike the trail. The lake is at N43 49060, W114 03689. The upper lake has a better view. Walk the trail on the left side of Moose Lake to the inlet then walk the right side of the creek for a tenth mile to the upper lake. The hike took me nearly 7 hours  with 2400 gain. Many streams cross the trail at el 8300. I took a chance and filled bottles at one coming out of a hole reading 49917, 02985. And I'm still kicking. Posted 2016.
• WILDHORSE L.O. el 9546 has an ATV trail to the top. This is the first peak on the left as you turn off the Trail Creek Rd at the sign for graded FR 135 that goes to Copper Basin.  Turn off  FR 135 at N43 53981, W114 05444 to get on the trail. Some rubbly patches start at the 8000 level. I rode a cycle to the 9300 level then walked the rest. The high point of the mountain el 9602 is half a mile north of the lookout. The lookout, abandoned in 1943, is well kept with beds so people can spend the night there. Posted 2016.
• HERD PEAK el 9860 has two trails to the top that can be made into a loop as shown on the topo, but not exact. Turn off the Trail Creek Rd at the sign for graded FR 128 going up the North Fork. Drive up to Horse Creek at N43 56263, W114 12091 el 7300 and leave a bike there. Then go on up the road a couple of miles to the sign for Toolbox Creek Trail el 7500. Hike up the trail along the creek then up to a ridge at el 8800 where forks go everywhere. Take the far right fork on to Herd Peak at 59169, 13553. Then go along the crest to a fork at a saddle at 58831, 12132 el 9600. Drop down there and follow the trail down the ridge to a tricky fork at the head of Horse Creek reading 57976, 12882 el 8600. Go left down the canyon on the trail to your bike. I didn't have a shuttle so I followed the easy ridge on down along the east rim of Zipper Creek. 5 hours, 40 minutes, 3000 gain. Posted 2016.
• NORTH FORK LAKE el 9354 has a trail. Turn off the Trail Creek Rd at the sign for graded FR 128 going up the North Fork. Drive to a main fork at N43 55333, W114 20180 el 7900 where a sign says to go right. The TH el 8200 is at the end but don't take the logging road to the left of the trail. The sign was mistakenly on that road when I got there and I went up that. But I found a higher TH in the process. To get to it, stay left at the main fork el 7900 and drive up and park near a closed road at 55289, 21489 el 8300. Walk down that a few feet then go left at a fork and keep going down to the creek then cross and hit the trail at 55463, 21665. There is no big difference which TH you use, unless one has fewer trees on it. The upper TH had better camps.  Dozens of trees were on the trail because it's not maintained anymore. Cairns mark the way, but if those are down there are only a couple of tricky spots. One is at el 8800 where the trail goes straight up for 100 feet then resumes at 55043, 22925. Then it crosses an open slope with countless elk trails. It enters the trees at 54924, 23330 and soon hits the lake at 54830, 23724. The creek rises just above the inlet. It's only a 20 minute walk along the inlet drainage to get to the upper basin with some small lakes and lingering snow at nearly el 10000. I lost track of ascent time, but it took me 70 minutes to return.  Posted late August, 2016.
• MYSTERY PEAK el 10785 is what hikers call the craggy peak dominating the area south of the North Fork of the Big Lost River. Cycles and ATVs can use a logging road going up the NE ridge to el 8200.  Turn off the Trail Creek Rd at N43 53287, W114 10496 and follow 2wd FR 444 for a couple miles to the end at the TH at Bartlett Creek el 7200.  Now ride up the trail for about a mile to a saddle el 7700 east of peak 8265 where the trail forks ( Hikers without scooters would want to start up the ridge here). Go right at the fork there and on past a pond and park on the south slope of Little Burnt Creek at 55305, 12749 el 8200. Hike straight up then trend right to get on a ridge and keep going up on elk trails. At el 9500 the ridge drops to a minor saddle then comes the slope to peak 10094. But elk aren't stupid. They have a trail around that peak. Start walking left on the slope to the trail at 54433, 14120 el 9700 and it circles around the peak to a viewpoint at 54077, 14437 el 9800 where the rest is in view. Now drop 100 feet to a saddle and get on another trail at 54025, 14732 el 9800 which runs left under some crags then goes back on the ridgetop and switches up to the SE ridge of the peak. The trail tops out at el 10300 then just walk up the center of the ridge until you bump your nose on the impassable rock. Now move left just a little and it's obvious how to zigzag up on class 2 to the summit at 53837, 15282. I had no trouble with the summit area in spite of a trip report on summitpost that said to use ledges going north to get to the NE side of the summit block. Forget that. Use the SE side the whole way up. Survey junk is up there, how hard can it be? This is a top notch hike on pleasant terrain. Only the last 400 feet gets steep. It took me 5 hours with 3000 gain. Hikers without scooters will have nearly 2 miles of ATV trail round trip, and it is steep for mtn bikes. But the alternative is the Miller Canyon route and that looks steep. An easy 4wd road goes to the 8000 level in Miller. A third option is Corral Creek. I could see the upper part is easy walking, but the mouth is brushy. Walking the west slope might work to get around that. Posted August, 2016.
• KANE CREEK RD is an easy 4wd road and easy mtn bike ride. Turn off the Trail Creek Rd at the sign and then it's about 5 miles to the end at a TH el 7600. Posted 2016.
• FR 444 leaves the Trail Creek Rd at N43 53287, W114 10496. It makes for a smooth mtn bike ride for a couple of miles then it shrinks to an ATV trail and starts climbing. Eventually the trail forks and each fork fizzles out above the 8000 level. Posted 2016.
• PHI KAPPA CREEK road has no sign but leaves the Trail Creek Rd at N43 51778, W114 12571 as FR 501. It's easy 4wd to mines at el 8000 then it's an easy ATV trail up canyon to a meadow el 8900 where the creek rises. Some mines and old log cabins are there. Posted 2016.
• BIG FALL CREEK LAKE el 9050 has an ATV trail to the 8800 level. Turn off Trail Creek Rd at the sign for the lake. The trail is easy until el 8500 where it is covered with pure scree for a fifth mile. I had to walk my 125 up that part. Then the trail ends soon and a foot trail goes a quarter mile to the lake at N43 52472, W114 14804. I looked up canyon and saw an elk trail climbing up the rim.The elk thought they could sucker me with that trail but I found an easier one at 52495, 15333 el 9550. That got me on the rim then it was easy to peak 10271 reading 52327, 15657. I descended on that trail I first saw. It was like going down a sand dune. That hike, from the lake, took 2 hours with 1200 gain. Posted 2016.
• LITTLE FALL CREEK RD is a jeep road going up into a basin el 9000 ringed by several easy 10000+ peaks. Turn off Trail Creek Rd at the sign for the road. It's easy going until a crossing at el 7900. The road turns to rubble then comes a tenth mile of bigger rocks. It starts smoothing out at N43 51414, W114 15401 el 8000 and soon is nearly rock free. A main fork is in the basin at el 8650. Right goes to a cabin el 9200, but had a couple of small trees blocking it. The left fork goes to a crossing el 9000. Jeeps stop there but ATVs can go on up to a foot trail at 51300, 16318 el 9450. I walked that to a shaft then went up to the ridgetop el 9700. Starting up the ridge I could see an elk trail down to the right. I walked the easy peaks for a mile and a half where I could look down at the creek headwaters. I could have easily descended there there, but came back to the elk trail to get back to the start. That trail drops to a spring el 9600 gushing ice cold water. I spent 2 and a half hours hiking but there are several variations. Posted 2016.
• ROCK ROLL PEAK el 10458 is what hikers call the peak that sits 1000 feet above the High Ridge Trail #124. Turn on FR 140 at the Park Creek campground. Drive a bit over a mile on the 2wd road to the sign for the trail. Right at the start is an ankle deep crossing. The trail goes up to a ridge el 9100 then loses 250 feet then back up to the north ridge el 9200 of the peak. Keep going to the class 2 east ridge at N43 48091, W114 16826 el 9450. I went up here to the summit reading 48033, 17496, but you can stay on the trail   to the SE ridge which is class 1. Trouble is, the trail dips 200 feet along the way. I came down the SE ridge and strolled back on the trail. It took me nearly 6 hours with 3300 gain. The topo shows the trail goes on down to Trail Creek at el 6200, so having a second car at that end would make for more interesting hike. Posted August, 2016.
• TRAIL CREEK LOOP - this trail is on the topo, but not exact. Trouble is, the trail above el 9000 has gone missing. But it's very easy terrain. Turn on FR 140 at the Park Creek campground. Drive nearly 3 miles to the end at the TH for trail #126. Cars and mtn bikes can make FR 140. 300 feet from the TH is a tricky crossing. A log was there that day. Right after that is the sign for the loop. Go left and it's easy to follow until el 9000. The correct trail is at N43 51139, W114 20303. The trail fades again at el 9200. I walked easy slopes and found it again right where it climbs to the divide at 51811, 20882 el 10000. Right here is where you can detour over to peak 10500 at 51842, 21279. The trail crosses the divide and fades again at springs. A spur trail at 52124, 20608 el 9700 goes a quarter mile to a spring fed lake in a basin. With no trail and no map, I guessed on a route down. I went down an elk trail at 52088, 20510 el 9600 and followed the wide ridge down along the east side of Trail Creek. I came to the bank of the creek at 52516, 19883 el 8800 then crossed to the sunny west bank. I was on the trail again at 52516, 19883 el 8700 as the map shows then it was easy to follow back to the start.  There was one more tricky crossing but I jumped over on rocks. My watch died, but I would estimate the trail hike with no side trips is about 8 miles and would take 4 hours with 2200 gain. I was wearing shorts and never got a scratch. With a mtn bike, I would ride the easy right fork to el 8500 or so then hike up to the divide and climb a peak. It's hard to beat a good loop hike like this one. Posted August, 2016.
• PHI KAPPA MOUNTAIN el 10516 is an easy one. Start on trail #053 at Trail Creek Pass el 7900. Go over 3 miles along Summit Creek to where the trail tops out at a saddle el 9500. Go left up the ridge and look for an elk trail left of center at N43 48309, W114 12093 el 9800. Use that trail to skirt under a talus field then gradually angle up to the ridgetop  then go on to the summit at 48887, 12316. Always looking for a shortcut on the descent, I walked the high ridge NW for a third mile to a saddle then veered over to 49027, 13050 el 10050. I went straight down the ridge there on soft dirt to a viewpoint at 48950, 13180 el 9700 where I could see the trail. I stayed on the ridge and hit the trail at el 8550. 5 hours, 2600 gain. ALTERNATE DESCENT - I could see from a nearby peak that it would be simple to just follow the high ridge parallel to the creek, going over peak 10585, all the way back to the TH. Posted 2016.