Hyndman Peak, ID - Southeast Ridge

• Destination: Hyndman Peak (12,009')
• Date: September 6, 2017
• Starting Point: Hyndman Trailhead (c.7,000')
• High Point: Hyndman Peak Summit (12,009')
• Round Trip Distance: c.12 Miles
• Equipment: The ten essentials
• Difficulties: Class 2 Scrambling

Lorri and I decided to head to Idaho for some late summer hiking. Like most of the west this summer it was smoky. After a few moderate hikes in the Seven Devils and Sawtooth Mountains I was on my own on Hyndman Peak while Lorri explored the Sun Valley area. At 12,009� Hyndman is the 12th highest Peak in Idaho and the highest in the Pioneer Range.

From Ketchum it is about a 45 minute drive to the Hyndman Trailhead. About a mile and a half past the small town of Triumph you take a left up a gravel road. Not far up the road there are a couple of unique art pieces that confirmed I was on the correct road. After about 5 miles the road ends at c.7,000' and the Hyndman Trailhead. I arrived here just as it began getting light.

The Hyndman Creek Trail (FST 166) starts out crossing the North Fork of Hyndman Creek then follows the main fork of Hyndman Creek before turning up hill skirting around the west side of Cobb. This first section gains less than 1,000' in about 2.5 Miles.

In the next mile the trail gains over 1,000' to a small pond at c.8700�near Pioneer Yurt. The trail continues crossing a small creek on a make shift bridge before leaving tree line behind. At about 4.5 miles the trail reaches the unofficially named "Sundance Lake" where there is a homemade sign. Continuing on the trail leads past another small lake beyond which becomes the trail becomes faint. A few cairns here and there may or may not be useful as the route to the 10,800' saddle between Hyndman and Old Hyndman is straight forward.

Once on the ridge it is mainly a 1,200" boulder hop to the summit. It took me a little over 4 hours to reach the summit and I would take nearly as long to return to the trailhead. Hyndman is supposed to be a fairly busy summit but I only saw 2 people the whole day.

References:
Climbing Idaho
Summitpost.com Hyndman Page