The weather in the general area around SLC for the 4th of July was on the difficult side. Many of the mountain areas had typical July forecasts, chance of showers or thunderstorms. The likelihood in areas like the Tetons, Winds, etc all were enough that there would definitely be some kind of weather, but it’d be unsure if it’d ruin a day. We opted to go to a bit less popular zone, the same one we visited for the total solar eclipse in 2017.
Mt Borah is the highest point in Idaho. The trail is primarily non-technical except for a 3rd-4th class section called Chicken Out Ridge. The ridge is pretty easy as a climber, but if you are a hiker not accustomed to exposure then I’m sure it can be gripping. We planned to hike the peak as a training day for the trail running race we have in July. Borah provides 5200′ of elevation gain in a little less than 4 miles. While that is much steeper than we can run up, there were some opportunities for running on the way down.
Given the chances of afternoon storms we got an early start a little after 6am. We packed lightly and it was a nice change of pace to be free of ropes, gear, and other heavy items. The trailhead is on the west side of the mountain so there is a good portion of the morning where we were in the shade. In fact we didn’t really get into the sun until near the summit. We submitted in a little less than 3.5 hours and were down in a little less than 2.5 hours. I didn’t pack a camera so no photos from this day.
We stayed the rest of the day at the trailhead and enjoyed lounging around, though it was a bit sunny and hot. The weather did cooperate to provide some nice sunset photos though.
