View N to West Germania Peak el 10488'. A small empty cairn was found
on top. Empty cairn refers to the fact that no register was in place.
To the left of West Germania is sunlit Washington Peak.. Photo by Rick Baugher

Boulder or White Cloud?

What do you call the northeast/southwest trending ridge that divides Germania Creek and East Fork Salmon River? Is it part of the Boulder Mountains? Are these White Cloud Mountains? Maybe this string of 10000' summits is the fabled Boulder White Clouds everyone talks about? Perhaps it should be called 'Controversy Ridge'. Purists may prefer to leave it unnamed. Today, it is politically part of Sawtooth National Recreation Area. Tomorrow, some want it to be CEIDRA Wilderness. Today, East Fork is a marginally motorized corridor, but tomorrow, it may be Germania instead.
The trick to enjoying these mountains is to put controversy behind and spend as much quality time 'on the ground' as possible. Here are two lovlies on the western end of this Germania-East Fork Ridge. Get out your Horton Peak and Galena Peak quads. Then get out your hiking shoes, and get out!

Rick Baugher

Simpson Peak, photo by Rick Baugher

View SE across Deer Lakes to Simpson Peak el 10378'. On this day no sign of previous summit occupation was found, although Griswold and Perkins had assigned a spot elevation of 10349' on their 1895 Sawtooth 30 minute USGS map. So, if this mountain hadn't been previously climbed, at least it had been 'seen' over 100 years ago. Galena Peak hides part-way down the right side slope of Simpson. Both photos 9/26/04.

Rick Baugher

March 15, 2008