I recently added another mountain top to my collection, Box peak (8240 ft. and unnamed on many maps). Box is the prominent peak to the North and East, as seen from downtown McCall, Idaho and Payette lake. It resides in the Salmon River Mountains in the Lick Creek subrange. Approach is a very straightforward hike up the Crestline trail, starting at the Blackwell lake trailhead. Once the high ridge is obtained, it is an intuitive, and scenic off trail hike back to the South. Off trail the ridge leads you to the beginning of the toothy section near the summit in the images. The first section offers some solid exposure, but nothing that requires ropes and helmuts. The summit views offer fantastics exposure, in all directions. It is by far the best vantage point for a full look at long valley and McCall, besting the summit of Brundage Mountain. The summit also delivers excellent views into the always impressive Lick Creek drainage to the East, the North fork of the Payette river drainage to the North and West, and for those who know what they are looking for, peekaboos into the breaks of the South Fork Salmon River.
My good pal, and co-worker Nate showed off his climbing chops with his ridge top walk, which he could sleep walk over. I, on the other hand, was plenty gripped! We had a great time.
Radical Earth 