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Little Fiddler Four Pack Of Peaks
Little Fiddler is an attractive mountain located in the Danskin Mountains southeast of Boise. It’s one of the more impressive looking peaks in the Danskins, rising off the main Danskin crest with great views looking in the South Fork Boise River canyon. There is a moto trail along much of the crest, making for straightforward access via a long hike if on foot. The area is open to OHV traffic, so prepare for company, especially on weekends.
I was looking for a long multi-peak hike close to home, and came up with this a four-peak loop in the Danskins. It didn’t take much convincing to get Michael and John F to join, at least for most of it. After caravanning our three rigs to Danskin Peak road via the Simco Road exit, we made it to the trailhead above Case Creek Reservoir before 8:30, ready to hike.
The hike started out mellow, hiking the ATV trail up Long Gulch, with some bird watching along the way. Once we gained the ridge, we hung a right and headed up Devils Hole Peak (5944’). It was good warm-up on a cool April morning. This first summit was just over 2 miles from the trailhead, with great views of the still-snowy Danskin Peak to the southeast, and the inviting ridge leading to Little Fiddler to the northwest.
From Devils Hole Peak, I headed north toward “Strawberry Peak” (5081’), while John and Michael backtracked and started toward Little Fiddler. I made quick time descending through open terrain and then a quick 350’ climb up Strawberry Peak. First I went the to “north summit” for some great views looking down into the South Fork, and then back south to the highpoint. From here, the wind must have been just right, and I could hear Michael and John talking as they hiked the ridge far above. I scanned the ridgeline, but couldn’t spot them.
Now it was time to hustle and try catch up with the others. After a quick descent from Strawberry, I rejoined trail 192A, and followed it back up to the ridge. Once on the ridge, I fast-hiked as best I could along the undulating trail. But the exceptional views distracted me a times. It was a beautiful morning to be out in the hills.
Eventually, I caught up with the guys, and we finished the hike together up Little Fiddler. This summit was our main objective for the day, and made for a great lunch spot. We enjoyed the views, discussed the finer points of the current coronavirus pandemic, and did our best to identify the surrounding summits.
After Little Fiddler, we descended to the southwest on a good single track trail. It was nice and mellow on foot, with not much moto traffic here. But one group included a friend that both John and I had worked with at different times. Small world.
Not far off was a fourth peak of the day, a DDP called “Pine Peak” (4786’). I was of course going for it, and John talked Michael into it as well. So we descended down to the Willow Creek trail, let some ATV’s pass, and then made the quick 10 minute hike up to the rounded summit.
With our final summit in the bag, it was time to head back to the trailhead. We dropped back down to the trail, and then made the slightly uphill hike back to our vehicles, with occasional pauses along the way to step off the trail for ATV’s. It was a beautiful day to be out hiking. Round trip for me was 16 miles and 4500’ of elevation gain in just under 8 hours of hiking.
Map of the route, 16 miles and 4500' gain round trip. |
On our way up Devils Hole Peak. |
Danskin Peak from Devils Hole Peak. |
View southwest from Devils Hole Peak. |
Heading to Strawberry Peak, South Fork in the distance. |
Danskin Peak and Devils Hole Peak from Strawberry Peak. |
Towhee by the trail. |
Not many trees in the Danskins, but here's some growing out of a rock. |
Trail to Little Fiddler. |
Climbing up Little Fiddler. |
John couldn't resist this rock tower. |
Leaving the summit of Little Fiddler. |
Pine Peak comes into view. |
Little Fiddler from the top of Pine Peak. |
Back to the trailhead. |
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