The primary goal of this trip was to hike mighty Borah Peak in Idaho. However, while checking flight costs to Boise or Pocatello, I saw that a flight to Salt Lake City was much cheaper, and the distance to Borah from Salt Lake about the same as that from Boise, so I decided to fly into Salt Lake City. Thus, I would tack on a number of northern Utah County highpoints along with my big foray into Idaho and Borah Peak. I arrived in Salt Lake in mid-morning with a full day to drive to Borah, so I had time to work in a peak. Bridger Peak in Rich County was fairly short and convenient to roads, so it made for a perfect "first day" hike, and a chance to get some exercise before Borah the next day.

From Salt Lake I drove northeast about 80 miles to the city of Logan, where I stocked up on groceries, then up Logan Canyon (Highway US-89) about another 30 miles to the gravel road leading up towards Bridger Peak. I found the road with no problem. I drove my little Oldsmobile Alero rental up this good dirt road and pulled off in a wide area obviously used for parking. I got my boots on then got to thinking that I may have pulled aside too early, since the description of the peak and the hike didn't match what I was seeing. Sure enough, after driving another mile or so, I found the right pull-out area, with Bridger Peak in plain view in front of me. I guess I should have paid attention to my odometer a little more closely!

From where I parked, an old road (now an ATV track) descends about 50 feet to a creek-bed bottom, then up very steeply the other side. For about 200 yards the track went straight up the hillside, and the loose dusty soil made footing a little sloppy. Finally, the track bent slightly and the steepness moderated. After about a half mile of hiking, I left the track at a big rock cairn and started bashing through the brush and trees on a north bearing. After a few minutes of hiking up and up and up I came to a clearing where the summit cairn was visible at the far end, near a stand of trees. In moments I was at the top.

I rested here, signed in and looked out over the pretty views down into Bear Lake to the east. Most of the people in the log were familiar, with others explicitly stating their Utah County highpoint totals. This is a peak that otherwise would not attract too much attention. After a few minutes I hiked back out, for a total round trip of about two miles and about a thousand feet of gain. Counting my rest, my round trip time was 90 minutes.

From here I drove toward Garden City on Bear Lake's shores, then into Idaho and across miles of desert plain and lava beds to the campground below Borah Peak. I arrived in the late afternoon and milled around camp, working up the energy for tomorrow's monster hike of Borah Peak with Barney Metz and Adam Helman.