West of Pocatello, at the north end of the Bannock Range, stands Howard Mountain. Many parts of town have a view of the summit and its many towers. It is a pleasant hike, and worth a walk up. I woke up on my first day in Pocatello and the temperature was a crisp 17 degrees Fahrenheit. I could see the summit across town from the hotel. After breakfast, and some time psyching myself up for the cold, I drove across town to the trailhead at the end of West Trail Creek Road.
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| Peak on the right. |
In the winter the road is gated about a mile below the saddle. There was plenty of space to park, despite the "No Parking" signs. It was cold, as I knew it would be. I was layered up, and wasted no time in heading up the trail. The first mile to the saddle is on a dirt road, and is obviously a popular spot for cross country skiing. There were a lot of tracks. In the summer you can drive up this part for an even shorter hike.
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| Looking back along the road. |
At the col the nice, beaten down path ended as I made a right turn towards the summit. The snow wasn't deep, but it was much slower going as I had to make my own path. I thought about going straight up the hill to the high point, but decided it would be easier to take the graded road up. This worked out well until I got to the ridge, where the snow was thigh deep in places. Post-holing is not easy.
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| Making QSOs on the summit. |
Eventually I got to the high point, which has a tower. I found a nice rock I could stand in front of and put up the wire. Having a KH1 would've made setup so much easier. It was much warmer on top than I was expecting. As the guy wires and tower warmed up in the morning sun, snow and ice would fall off making a racket. On the bands I had no trouble getting contacts. Since it was so warm, I chased a few summit to summit contacts before packing up.
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| Views of Pocatello. |
Since going down is easier, I just went straight down to the road. This was steeper and slipperier than I thought it would be, but I made it to the road without falling. From there it was an easy walk back to the saddle and down to the car.
Trailhead: As far up West Trail Creek Road as you want to or can drive.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Walk up the road to the saddle, then turn right and follow the access road to the summit.
Red Tape: None.
Video: Coming soon!
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