Weatherby Mountain Hike

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Weatherby Mountain
An nice 3-peak spring hike in eastern Oregon

March 31, 2018
Juniper Mountain (5275') - Fir Mountain (5134') - Weatherby Mountain (5116')

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IdahoSummits Trip Report
Trailhead Location
My GPS Tracks
Juniper Mountain: PB, LOJ, Map
Fir Mountain: PB, LOJ, Map
Weatherby Mountain: PB, LOJ, Map

Weatherby Mountain is located on the eastern edge of Oregon, on the fringe of the Blue Mountains. Weatherby combines with Fir Mountain and Juniper Mountain to create a nice 3-peak hike only about 2 hours from Boise. This makes for a good spring or autumn destination, when the weather is mild. The mountain is named for the area's first postmaster, Andrew J. Weatherby.

With cabin fever setting in, but not wanting to take our chances on a bigger peak, we selected Weatherby as an option to go stretch our legs in a new area. Sean, Michael, John F, and I made the drive along I-84 to the Rye Valley exit, to Rye Valley, and then up the Shirttail Creek Road to the saddle with the 5-way fork. A brisk breeze made it colder than expected at the 9am start of the hike.

Most of the hike follows and old jeep road, and we followed it up the ridge and around to the saddle southwest of Juniper Mountain, where we left the road and hike up to the rock formations on the summit. With the wind still blowing, we used the rocks a windbreak for a bit, then continued on down the ridge and back down to the road.

Next up was Fir Mountain. We explored both the north and south highpoints just in case. The sun was shining by this point, and it felt really good to be out breathing some fresh air. From Fir Mountain, we then descended to the saddle north of Weatherby Mountain, and then continued up the trail to the summit. From the top of Weatherby, we had a great view of Big Lookout Mountain, and I-84 far below.

On the way back, we explored a bit, but retraced our path for the most part. Round trip was about 10.5 miles and 2500’ elevation gain in 4.5 hours of hiking. The terrain wasn’t spectacular, but it was good to get out exploring a new area. And spending time in the mountains with good friends is always hard to beat.