Thompson Peak and Mickey’s Spire Loop in Sawtooth National Forest, ID

Hike Thompson Peak and Mickey’s Spire Loop Sawtooth National Forest, ID

Class 3 13.3 miles 4600 gain 8-11 hrs Loop Aug 19, 2017
Effort
Beauty
Personality
Solitude

Thompson Peak and Mickey’s Spire Loop GPX Track

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I've wanted to check out the Sawtooth Mountains forever, so we planned a trip to visit for the 2017 solar eclipse, but left a few additional days for adventuring. Follow the Alpine Way Trail west until begins to head north, and look for a use trail that leads to Thompson Peak, passing a stunning unnamed lake along the way. Head straight up the boulder field to the saddle between Thompson Peak and Williams Peak, and find a Class 3 route to gain the saddle. Continue to the west face of Thompson Peak and scramble up a Class 2 talus field to a gully just south of the summit. A couple of easy Class 3 moves bring you to Thompson Peak. Head back down and to the saddle of Thompson Peak and Mickey's Spire. A Class 2 scramble leads to the west ridge before Mickey's Spire. I'd say it's Class 3+ if you stay just to the right (south) of the ridgeline to gain the Mickey's Spire summit.

From here, we bushwhacked down Class 2 stuff to another unnamed lake and then stayed just north of the creek the drained the lake in order to safely get into a more moderate slope. What we didn't predict is that there would not be any sort indication that humans have been here before, nor that the valley we were now continuing down was getting more and more vegetated. Four to five miles of bushwhacking led to the end of Fishhook Creek Trail, which brought us back to the trailhead. In hindsight, the bushwhack wasn't terrible, but we were mostly concerned if the vegtation would worsen the whole time, making it seem more aggravating than it really was. If you decide to take this route, keep north of the creek to avoid marshes and denser vegetation.

PEAKS ON HIKE
Elevation (ft) / Prominence (ft)
Peaks on hike
Elevation
Prominence
1
Thompson Peak
10751 ft
2431 rise
2
Mickey's Spire
10680 ft
280 rise

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Gain a ridge that overlooks the Sawtooths.
Gain a ridge that overlooks the Sawtooths.
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Heading toward the Thompson - Williams saddle.
Heading toward the Thompson - Williams saddle.
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Nearing the top of the saddle, Thompson ahead.
Nearing the top of the saddle, Thompson ahead.
Looking back toward the saddle, Williams on the top right.
Looking back toward the saddle, Williams on the top right.
Continuing up the talus slope to Thompson.
Continuing up the talus slope to Thompson.
Looking back.
Looking back.
Above the Thompson Peak - Mickey's Spire saddle before finishing the ascent to Thompson.
Above the Thompson Peak - Mickey's Spire saddle before finishing the ascent to Thompson.
Nearing the Thompson summit.
Nearing the Thompson summit.
Summit looking east.
Summit looking east.
Summit view looking south toward Mickey's Spire.
Summit view looking south toward Mickey's Spire.
Heading back down Thompson on the way up to Mickey's Spire.
Heading back down Thompson on the way up to Mickey's Spire.
Ridge to Mickey's Spire.
Ridge to Mickey's Spire.
Looking back toward Thompson.
Looking back toward Thompson.
Last bit of Class 2 to the summit ridge of Mickey's Spire.
Last bit of Class 2 to the summit ridge of Mickey's Spire.
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Ridge to the summit. We traversed on the right side of this to avoid really poor rock and big drops. Probably Class 3+.
Ridge to the summit. We traversed on the right side of this to avoid really poor rock and big drops. Probably Class 3+.
Traversing just below the ridge.
Traversing just below the ridge.
Mickey's Spire summit view looking toward Thompson.
Mickey's Spire summit view looking toward Thompson.
Summit view looking south, toward our route. We went down the ridge to the lake below, then curved around and followed the valley out.
Summit view looking south, toward our route. We went down the ridge to the lake below, then curved around and followed the valley out.
Looking back up toward Mickey's Spire.
Looking back up toward Mickey's Spire.
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Almost at the lake.
Almost at the lake.
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After the lake, we continued down the valley.
After the lake, we continued down the valley.
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And the bushwhack began...
And the bushwhack began...
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A random steep slope we hadn't noticed on the topographic map.
A random steep slope we hadn't noticed on the topographic map.
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Finally, we reached the end of the official trail, so we could follow a trail back to our start.
Finally, we reached the end of the official trail, so we could follow a trail back to our start.
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Hire me or show me some love!

Hire/refer me as a web developer or send me a few bucks if you find my site useful. I’m not sponsored, so all fees are out-of-pocket and my time preparing trip reports is unpaid. I really appreciate it!