Hyndman Peak (12009 ft), located in the Pioneer Mountains of Central Idaho, is the 9th highest peak in the state and 4th most prominent. It was first up on my 4 day trip to Idaho where I planned to climb the state’s 4 most prominent peaks. I had flown into Boise the night before and driven my rental SUV to the trailhead. From State Highway 75 just north of Hailey, I went east on East Fork Big River Road for 7 miles and then northeast on Forest Road 203 for 5 miles. The dirt road is a little washboarded, but it is well graded so should be passable for nearly any car. I arrived at 1:15am, got about 4 hours of sleep, and started hiking at 6:04am from 7052 feet above sea level. The trail immediately crossed Hyndman Creek via a narrow footbridge.
I set off as the trail made its way northeast. Cobb Peak was impressive in the distance. Hyndman was still not visible.
It was partly cloudy and there was a slight drizzle. There were many pretty wildflowers along the trail.
I noticed a sky diver in the air high above me.
The trail was relatively flat until around the 2.5 mile mark, where it became much steeper. I got my first good look at Hyndman still in the distance.
I continued northeast up the trail.
At 4.8 miles I reached Sundance Lake around 9800 ft.
There were tons of wildflowers as I climbed above the lake (and the tree line).
At 5.5 miles the trail petered out and I turned left to begin climbing up the southeast face of Hyndman Peak.
I climbed up a short, optional class 3 pitch.
I climbed up about 1500 feet of class 2 talus slopes. There was a faint use trail here and there among the rocks.
I spotted this guy on the way up, not really sure what he was.
I reached the summit at 9:51am at 6.2 miles!
I signed the register which had been placed in 2020. The most recent entry was from the day before. I located the benchmark and a reference marker.
The views were quite impressive despite some cloud cover. It looked like it was raining to the north:
I could see the Lost River Range to the northeast, including Mount Borah, Sacajawea Peak, Mount Idaho, and Leatherman Peak:
More mountains to the east:
Old Hyndman Peak and Cobb Peak to the south:
There were many bees on the summit, so I sat down a dozen or so feet away to take a break. I then started making my way back down.
I reached the trail again at 7 miles. I made it Sundance Lake where I took a short nap which was much needed after the short night of sleep. I then retraced my steps back down the trail. I passed 5-6 groups on my way down, including many dogs. I noticed a number of pretty butterflies.
I reached the car at 1:44pm. Stats for this hike were 12.41 miles, 4961 feet elevation gain, and 7:39:40 total time.
I packed up and made my back to the highway. I stopped in Hailey to pick up some groceries, and then I drove about 3.5 hours to the Diamond Peak Trailhead. I arrived around 6:10pm and spent the night there.
TJ's Adventures 