Guffey Butte

A fun hike just south of Celebration Park should be fun for the whole family.

Date: November 10, 2013.

Objective: Guffey Butte 3,130. See the Summit Post page for beta.

Partners: Deez and Ketchum.

Stats: Class 2. Not long or hard.

Gear notes: N/A.

Links: Read about the geology of Guffey Butte here. Celebration Park.

Fall is a perfect time to visit this area. Temps were low but still lots of flying bug-things.
Make sure you plan enough time to check out Celebration park after you add Guffey Butte to your peak list.

Guffey Butte behind the bridge and the Snake River.

Guffey Butte is what is known as a Maar. Its a short lived volcano that erupted under water. Kinda cool, right!

Deez in front of the bridge.

Crossing the bridge.

Start out by crossing the bridge then following what you can find for the trails at the base of the butte.

Guffey Bridge.

At the base of the Butte.

Heading up.

Loose dirt and poor rock quality in this area means its probably best to stay on the trial to avoid unnecessary erosion.

Heading up.

Rock formations.

If you're a geology enthusiast such as myself, then there is a lot to look at. Read the link above if you'd like to know the geologic history.

Stratification.

Crater rim.

Inversion of the magma column.

Rock formations.

Rock formations.

After getting onto the butte, cross it to the north to find the highpoint.

Zoomed out.

Highpoint.

Summit. Mouth closed to keep the flies out.

Fine views await those who venture to the top. There were also lots of flies. Not the most pleasant thing.

Cairn.

Looking south.

Hole in the welded tuff.

Rock formations.

Deez on top of welded tuff.

Hole in the welded tuff, minus Deez.

We made our way back across the butte and then wondered around Celebration Park.