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Pilot Peak is located in the Boise Mountains, north of Idaho City. It boasts over 2000 feet of prominence, making it one of the more prominent peaks in Idaho. There’s a road to the top in the summer, but It probably a more popular destination in the winter, especially for back country skiers and snowmobilers.
I had been meaning to snowshoe up Pilot for a while now, but had been saving it for a solo day since the climb is safe and fairly close to home. When I arrived at the Mores Creek Summit parking lot at 9:30, there were only 2 cars in the parking lot, so I was safely ahead of most of the snowmobile traffic. I left the road after crossing the highway, and started making my way up through the trees into the fog.
Soon enough, I was up above the fog and heading up a gentle ridge. There were quite a few skin tracks from backcountry skiers, and I stayed off of the most used trails. The higher I got, the better the views became. Eventually I came upon some snowmobile tracks with only a few inches of snow on them. This packed trail lead me most of the way to the summit, so it was fast going.
The top of Pilot Peak is adorned with a building, solar panels, and a bunch of communication gear. So not exactly a wilderness feel on the summit, but still a very pretty area. After some photos and a quick snack, I started retracing my steps back down. Along the way, I ran into a group of three skiers, the only people I saw on the mountain all day. But once back to Mores Creek Summit, I was just in time to watch a group of 20+ snowmobiles hitting the trail. Pilot Peak is a very pretty area, but if you want solitude, the best bet is to go early or on a weekday.
It was still before 2pm, so I decided to head a little further on up the highway to Beaver Creek Summit to take a quick snowshoe hike up Stargaze Point.
Map of the route, just over 5 miles and 2000' elevation gain round trip.
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Frosty trees near the start of the hike.
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And then there was light!
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Cool looking snags on the ridge.
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A sea of fog below.
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View up the ridge toward the summit.
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Great views from the top.
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Lots of stuff on the summit.
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