Mt. Borah is the highest peak in Idaho. In August of 2008, Josh climbed it for the first time with a group of young men and their leaders. The only photos we have of that excursion were taken with his cell phone at the top of the mountain:
On that trip that he went on, he hiked alongside our friend Jason, who'd also never hiked Mt. Borah before. As they climbed up, when they got to one fork in the trail, they took the wrong one, which ended up taking them over a perilous part of Chicken-Out Ridge. It was very scary for both of them, but thankfully they both made it to the top and back down safely! Josh has wanted to go back ever since that first trip, because he wanted to take the right trail over Chicken-Out Ridge now that he knew which trail it was! Well, he finally got his opportunity!
My dad has been talking to us about climbing Mt. Borah the past few years--he said he's wanted to do it for 50 years! We finally set a date when my dad and Josh could both do it, on a Monday in early August. Josh got a few more people involved: his brother Malachi, the Forsgren cousins, and he convinced two of our boys to go, too.
My dad and mom came to Salmon the night before, and at 4:30 the next morning, the boys got up and left. Josh drove dad, Malachi, Ammon, and Micah, and they met up with the Forsgren's in Challis, which is halfway there. It's a 2-hour drive from Salmon to Mt. Borah, and they arrived just as the first rays of sun were lighting up the sky.
Ammon climbed up with Mikey, Weaton, Malachi, and the Forsgren's female friend.
Josh climbed up with Micah and my dad for a while. After my dad began going at a much slower pace, Josh and Micah climbed up together and my dad climbed alone.
The larger group was way ahead of the rest, and they climbed all the way to the top!
There was still some snow towards the top!
At the top!!! It was such a beautiful day!
Josh could see Ammon and Malachi and the Forsgren boys after they got to the top from where he was on the hike. This is a photo of his view--you can see a few little specks at the top of them!
Josh and Micah and my dad didn't make it to the top, although Josh and Micah were close. This photo is the farthest point that Josh and Micah got to. The snow was pretty deep, and they had to go around a steep ridge, and Micah became terrified and didn't want to go any further:
As Micah and Josh headed back down the mountain, they met up with my dad, who'd made it to the Ridge.
Everyone met up at the bottom of the trail that afternoon:
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