W7I/BC-079 Boise Peak

 Every resident of Boise has looked up at this peak at some point and wondered what the summit was like. Or at least I assume they all have, since its what I'd do. Since I had a nice rental SUV, I decided to find out. One can drive pretty close to the top if one has some clearance. The road up the hill is a continuation of 8th Street. It is paved until around the Hulls Gulch parking area, and in good shape some distance past there. As you drive up, however, the road gets rougher. I doubt a regular sedan could get very high.

View down to Boise

Around the elevation where the forest begins there is a road junction. I parked here since I wanted to get some walking in, but if you drove this far you could easily keep going. Go left at the junction, and continue up the hill. The road goes past some private homes. They don't seem very friendly.

Looking over at Shafer Butte.

Below (southwest of) the summit the road turns to the right and starts to go around the peak. I took the left fork here, then decided to follow what seemed like a trail straight up the ridge. This was a mistake. The trail started off well, going around a pit to keep the vehicles out then up to a small outcropping. On the other side, however, was very dense forest. I pushed through, and eventually got to the open forest around the summit. It wasn't very fun, and I would not recommend this route. 

Setup on the summit.

I found a nice spot at the high point in the shade to sit, and put up the antenna. There was ok service (Verizon) on top, plenty to put out some spots. Since I wasn't in a rush, I did all the bands I had. 17m was good, but the DX was all on 20m. After the pileup and Europeans, 30m and 40m seemed a bit boring.

On the way up I had seen a road a little ways below the summit, and I decided that it would be a better route down. This road is not in the activation zone. It was, except I wasn't paying attention, tripped, and got some nice cuts on my hand and legs. Back on the road I followed it around and back to the main road. This one near the summit doesn't appear on any maps. 

Nice forest on the summit.

On the main road I headed back to the car, then had the long drive back to the pavement. There were a bunch of motorcycles and dirt bikes heading up. It seems like a popular area for OHV riding. It was nice to get off the washboarded and potholed road and on the pavement. 

Trailhead: Forest Road 231 or 263, as far as you can or want to drive.

Website: SOTA Site.

Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.

Route: Walk up the road to near the summit, then bushwhack. See map above.

Red Tape: None.  

Video: Coming Soon!