Squaw Butte South and Middle Peaks. October 24, 2015

Partners: Deez and Ketchum.

Stats: 4 miles, 500ft and 2hrs 30min round trip. Approached from the Corral Creek jeep road intending to get all three peaks.

Squaw Butte North 5,626 (not attained). Squaw Butte Middle 5,896. Squaw Butte South 5,540.

Gear Notes: N/A.

Squaw Butte, middle peak 5,896.

We had wanted to get out and do a hike at the last minute so I picked Squaw Butte. There are actually three peaks along the ridge that I wanted to hit. I've been to the south peak, but the middle peak is the highest and the north peak is a ways away and the lowest. I had intended to do my homework for this hike but a busy schedule had left me without a printed map or a real good idea of the terrain. We set out to hike all three peaks anyways.

Pfft, what-ev's, we don't really need a map.

Looking west.

We drove to within a half mile of the end of the road at the radio towers and headed to what we thought was the middle peak. I have been up the east side twice and had not been up this side before.

Radio Towers.

 The day was  breezy and cool and we figured we were in for some rain.

Squaw Butte Middle 5,896.

I kept eyeing this point and thought it was the north peak; it turned out I was wrong. It was the middle peak. It looked cool and I wanted to stand on it anyways.

Squaw Butte Middle 5,896.

It had been a little more than 4 years since I've been up here I thought the south peak was behind us, and that we would pick that one up on the way back.

Deez topping out on Squaw Butte South. 

I had remembered going to this point before and I always thought it was the highest Squaw Butte. As I later figured out, this was the south point that sits a whopping two feet lower.

Squaw Butte South.

It still made peak #1 of the day.

Squaw Butte Middle. The north point is the small bump to the right it.

Deez didn't want to go for the next one, so I broke off and ran for it.

Squaw Butte Middle,

 There is a lot of bushwhacking and a short scramble to reach the top.

Looking north, across the peak.

Peak #2 went by quickly and I got back to where Deez was waiting and we set off towards the radio towers, where I thought the south peak was.

Squaw Butte South.

On the way back, I realized something was amiss. I had not done enough mileage to have reached the north peak. It was getting late and the north peak would have to wait for another day.

D'oh!

Marker near the radio Towers.

We found the marker that I always thought was the south peak and walked around the radio towers.

Looking south.

Despite the overcast sky, we never got more than a drop or three of rain.

Looking north. Middle Peak is on the right.

I didn't get a good picture of the north peak; probably because I thought I was on it at the time. That's why it always pays to do the homework. According to my calculations, going to the north peak should have been about a 7 mile round trip.

It's still better than not going!

Happy trails.

Granola, out.