boskoff peak – Wild Wanderer

RT Length: 10.63 miles

Elevation Gain: 3398’

I started this hike at 5am from the Rock of Ages Trailhead. The trailhead has a porta-potty, and room for a couple dozen vehicles, but the road in is at minimum high clearance (with a creek crossing).

The trailhead starts at the south end of the parking area. I took the trail to the left, the Rock of Ages Trail, at the junction immediately following the entrance to the trailhead.

I followed the Rock of Ages trail for 1.5 miles

After following the Rock of Ages trail for 1.5 miles, I came to a junction, and started following the Elk Creek Trail east.

Here is where the trail got interesting. I kept gaining, then losing elevation, then gaining it back again. I knew this would be frustrating on the way out (it was). I continued following the class 1 trail

I then came to another junction, but the sign was broken. I followed the trail to the left.

I followed these class 1, well defined trails for 4.3 miles, until I came to the base of a gully running down from Boskoff Peak

Here I could clearly see Boskoff, and it’s ridge in front of me. I left the trail, and headed southeast up the tundra slope towards the ridge.

Once on the ridge, I turned left, and followed the tundra northeast. I pretty much stuck to the ridge to summit. Here’s the overall route:

I followed the ridge until the tundra ended.

The tundra ended at the base of a rock formation and several gullies. I took the right gully up, the left one down. Both were class 2. The right gully was more stable, but the left gully made for some fun scree-surfing on the way down.

Here are some pictures of the right gully

Both gullies end at the same place. From here, there’s a well defined game trail on the talus leading northeast along the ridge. I followed the talus trail until it ended at another pile of rocks.

I went a little to the right, hopping over loose talus doing a couple of easy class 3 moves, then aimed for the ridge.

The rest of the hike is class 2, all the way to the summit. Just be careful, the boulders and talus here are loose. I wouldn’t want to do this ridge if the rocks were wet, as I relied a lot on the traction of my shoes to keep balance. I followed the ridge to the summit.