Teapot Dome 5-03-2015

Partners: Deez and Landen (AKA Lego Master).

Stats: 3.5 miles. Total time, 3hrs. Elevation gain approx 1,000ft. Summit: 4,713.  Route: Hiked from the west end of the lower south ridge to the south slope and headed east to the summit.

Gear notes: N/A.

Dan Robbins' TR.   Lists of John data.

Teapot Dome.

Teapot dome is a small peak that consists mostly of igneous rocks and is oriented along an east to west trending ridge line.  It sits just off the Sun Valley Highway and is only a few miles north of Mountain Home.  I was actually saving this peak for some time while driving home from the greater ranges of Idaho, since I'd already be right there.  The summit can be attained via a very short walk from Teapot road and that in itself does not prompt a drive.  However, while looking over the map, I noticed 2 other peaks in the vicinity, so that was game on.

We left town a tad bit on the late side to make a real effort to hit all three peaks, but at least we would still have time to hike Teapot Dome. Heck, at least we weren't sitting at home, and I've been told that this hiking stuff is actually good for you.  The day was forecast to be fairly warm and it certainly was when we parked a little after 1pm.  We parked along the road at the western end of the peak to add some distance and extra ground to explore.

Short scrambles to be had along the way.

We found some neat outcrops to scramble over.

The true summit sits behind the high point seen here.

We followed the ridge line to the east, toward the actual peak, then turned north heading up a south facing gully.

The south gully.

The gully was steep but really not that bad.  It was warmer than we would have liked, but at least we were out.

Just shy of the summit ridge, the energy of the group was attenuating, so we stopped for a decent water break before the final push.

Summit of Teapot Dome.

From the break area, we turned our toes to the east and kept at it.
After another half mile or so, we crept up to the flat area that is the summit.

Summit cairn of Teapot Dome.

The sky was hazy and that left the view over the Snake River Plain rather limited.

Summit shot with Bennett Mountain in the background.

After signing the register and a quick summit selfie, we headed back to rejoin Denise.  After one more short break we made like sheep herder's and got the flock out of there.  The lack of shade made the upper 70 degree temps feel much warmer than that.  We made it back to the car and headed into town to sweeten the deal by grabbing a milk shake for the youngest explorer of the group.

Southern slopes of Teapot Dome.

One can save significant time and effort by driving farther down the road and hiking a more direct route to the top.  We made it harder on ourselves just for the LOL's and to offset the windshield time required to get there.

And that's a wrap sports fans!

Happy trails!

- Granola, out.