Kong and Us by Bob Boyles

[This article was first published in Idaho Magazine, July 2022.] The Peak That Got Away Lady and I gotten along just fine for about half of the five-day horseback trip up the South Fork of the Payette River, until she bolted off the trail into Lodgepole pines. She was at full gallop and I had to lie flat on the … Continue reading

Guffey Tower (as told by Tom McLeod) by Bob Boyles

Most anyone who has driven ID Highway 78 from Walter’s Ferry to Murphy will notice the large rhyolite tower that stands out on the west side of the Snake River below the nearby Guffey Butte. There are several free standing towers, or spires on the volcanic ridge but this one stands out as the tallest. For rock climbers, this spire … Continue reading

1895 Survey of Hyndman Peak

Idaho 12er

The Ketchum Keystone, August 24, 1895 The geological survey corps of  E.T. Perkins, Jr., is now at Sawtooth. During the past few weeks it has been operating on the headwaters of the various streams tributary to Wood river from the north. The highest of the peaks at the head of East Fork of Wood river has been duly confirmed with … Continue reading

Wood River Peak-13,000 feet?

In this article Harry Curtis claims that in 1892 he climbed a peak at the head of Wood and Big Lost rivers that was a thousand feet higher than Hyndman Peak. Interesting he did so with E.T. Perkins of the USGS. While the story seems based on a confused recollection it does demonstrate how little was known about Idaho’s mountains … Continue reading