If at first you don't succeed, try Beaverdam again.
- August 20, 2021
- Team: Dave
- Peak: Beaverdam Peak, 8653'
- splattski 2019
- Lists of John
- Idaho Climbing Guide
- Class 2, 4.0 miles, 2678' gain, 5:27 c-c
Note: click images to see a larger version in a new window
As you can see in the links above, we were on Beaverdam in 2019. What you can't see unless you click the link is that we didn't make the summit. So today was for redemption. And photos. Blue sky! That's the spectacular lower summit of Pot Peak. Since I had been on the other approach to Beaverdam several times, today we opted to try a different route, see some new country. |
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We expected some brush, and were not disappointed. It was a lot like this for about 600 vertical feet. Hard going. |
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But after we had had our fill of intimate plant identification, it eventually opened up. That was wonderful, but we were still waiting for our first glimpse of the peak. Note the Fall colors. |
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Finally! All the dead snags are the result of the Blackwell Fire in 1994. |
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| Cameras out. |  |
A little smoky, but this seemed wonderful. It WAS wonderful. Looking down Lake Fork Creek with Sawtooth Peak on the left. This view made Dave want to go back and do it again. |
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That's Pot Peak on the right. Somewhere near its foot is Pot Lake, which we were considering for later in the day if the weather (and our legs) cooperated. |
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But let's not get ahead of ourselves. We still have a mountain to climb. And it's getting steep up there. |
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I call this spot The Notch. Because it's a notch in the ridge that provides a way down. If you notice the big overhanging rock on the right down there, you should recognize it as the last photo in my 2006 report with Art underneath the rock. By the way, that slab is steeper than it looks. And that's the beginnings of Lick Creek in the background. |
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This is looking more southerly, down Lake Fork Creek. Also note the green meadow on the right: we'll be visiting there later. |
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But again, we still have more to climb. |
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| Ruby thought she had spotted the summit. |  |
But the summit, shown here, was still a little higher. Dave and I did a few Class 3 moves to gain this perch. Ruby didn't like the looks of that, so she had laid down in the shade. But then she appeared up here after finding her own, better route. |
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| Looking north at Teardrop Peak. |  |
| East down Lick Creek. |  |
| West, with just a hint of Box Lake showing. |  |
South. Click for the bigger versions and play your own NTP (frequent readers know that means "Name That Peak"). |
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| Ruby showed us the easy way off, and we were headed for the previously-mentioned meadow. |  |
| But first, Pot Lake. Can you see it? |  |
| We found a pretty direct (and easy) route to the lake and soaked up the views. And some coffee. |  |
And then down to the meadow. That's Sawtooth Peak in the background. This was a good-sized lake at some point in the geologic past. It's still soft to walk on, and has water showing here and there. We talked about how it was probably a marsh just a few weeks ago. |
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From the other side of the meadow, looking back at the mountains. From there, we were headed back down the hillside. Although we went down a different route, you can still refer to the pictures above of Dave wading through the brush. |
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