Braxon Peak is located in central Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountains. It is nestled inconspicuously within the range, surrounded by many of the more famous peaks in the Sawtooths. But there’s no doubt Braxon is worth a visit. Given its central location, Braxon offers up some excellent views of the surrounding mountains. In fact, Tom Lopez gives Braxon the distinction of having the best views in the Sawtooths, and that’s saying something!

Michael and I diverted from other plans due to rain in the forecast elsewhere, and chose Braxon because neither of us had been to the Sawtooths for a while, and rain showers were forecasted to stay just to the south. So we made the drive from Boise, grabbed the $22 round trip (ouch) shuttle at the Redfish Lodge, and started our hike from the Redfish Inlet trailhead on the far side of the lake.

We followed the trail for just over 2 miles, until just after the unmarked trail to Saddleback Lake. We hung a right, and left the main trail to head cross-country to the northwest. There was no obvious tread, so we just followed the path of least resistance, and bushwhacking was minimal. Soon enough, we reached the base of the ‘super slabs’, and went up along the right-hand edge of the slabs. We then curled back around to the left above them, until reaching a boulder field above the main ‘super slabs’ at around 8100’. The next section was choose your own adventure. We did some boulder hoping, friction climbed some other slabs, more boulder hopping, etc.

The views on the way up were outstanding. Even though we were still within a mile of the trail, it felt very remote, with funky spires and other cool rock formations all around us. It wasn’t too long before we arrived at the first of two small lakes. It looked like a great place to stop and soak in the amazing views, but we had ground to cover. From the second lake, which was even prettier, we hung a right and heading up to the north toward the low point on the ridge.

The climbing was straightforward as we made our way up. Near the ridgeline, we found a gully with a fun keyhole that lead us to the saddle on Braxon’s east ridge. Once on the ridge, we hung a left and headed in the direction of the summit. There was a little route-finding along the way, but no major obstacles. The final section to the summit was a somewhat steep chute that was kind of sandy but with stable sandstone-ish rock on the edges.

The summit of Braxon Peak is broad and sandy, very unlike most you’d find in the Sawtooths, so that makes an impression. But the jaw dropping views make an even bigger impression. It’s hard to overstate how fantastic the views are, and we played “name that peak” for a long time while eating lunch. During the climb, we could see heavy rain falling just to the south of us, but we were able to stay dry while enjoying the exceptional views from Braxon.

Eventually, it was time to head back down. We basically just retraced our same path during our descent, with plenty of pauses for enjoying in the scenery. Oh, and maybe one huckleberry patch that couldn’t be ignored.. Once back to the boat dock, we only had to wait about 10 minutes for a ride, and soon enough we were headed back to civilization.

What a great day in the Sawtooths! The views from Braxon were not exaggerated, and it was clear this backup plan should have been made a “plan A” long ago. Round trip was just over 9 miles and 4000’ of elevation gain in just over 7.5 hours of combined hiking and gawking time.

Map of the route, just over 9 miles and 4000' gain round trip.	Start of the hike after a boat shuttle to the Redfish Inlet trailhead.	Heading up the Redfish Creek drainage.	Slabby terrain on the way up.	Climbing the slabs.
Graceful boulder hopping, with Elephant's Perch in the background.	Beautiful terrain above the slabs.	View of Quartzite Peak from the lower lake.	Craggy south ridge of Braxon Peak from the upper lake.	Heading toward Braxon's east ridge.
A quick look back at the lake.	Fun scramble through a keyhole.	Final section to the summit.	Nearing the summit. Mt Heyburn, Redfish Lake, and White Clouds in the background.	The views weren't too bad. Visible peaks to the northwest include Baron, Moolock, Regan, Limbert, Carter, Mickey's Spire, Thompson, Williams, Horstmann, Iowa.
More views to the south including Elk Peak, The Rakers, Packrat, Monte Verita, Warbonnet.	Descending through the keyhole.	Quick stop at the upper lake to gawk at the views.	Almost back to the trailhead.	View from the boat ride back.
Map of the route, 11 miles and 4000' gain round trip.Map of the route, just over 9 miles and 4000' gain round trip.Start of the hike after a boat shuttle to the Redfish Inlet trailhead.Heading up the Redfish Creek drainage.Slabby terrain on the way up.Climbing the slabs.Graceful boulder hopping, with Elephant's Perch in the background.Beautiful terrain above the slabs.View of Quartzite Peak from the lower lake.Craggy south ridge of Braxon Peak from the upper lake.Heading toward Braxon's east ridge.A quick look back at the lake.Fun scramble through a keyhole.Final section to the summit.Nearing the summit. Mt Heyburn, Redfish Lake, and White Clouds in the background.The views weren't too bad!More views to the south!Descending through the keyhole.Quick stop at the upper lake to gawk at the views.Almost back to the trailhead.View from the boat ride back.