This story should not be a "whale of a tale" about a white mountain that became my summer obsession. It is only 10,529' tall, and if there is a route up it that a cripple can't hike, I haven't noticed it.

It looks like a "White Knob' since the upper part is white limestone, or maybe dolomite from the Mississippian or early Permian eras (350 - 290 million years old).

After driving the steep & challenging high-clearance track to its rough & logical (& legal) end at around 9,400', various hiking routes lead to the easy summit.

However there is a geology lesson for those "in the know" in the White Knob Mountains.

A large chunk of hot granite "intruded" the limestone a few years back, maybe 10-40 million years ago. The hike up White Knob Peak shows exactly where the granite intruded into old limestone and altered it to what some geologists term a "skarn". Skarns often contain minerals of economic interest to miners,--- like copper. One of Idaho's largest non-active copper mines is only a few miles east of White Knob Peak.

Trip 1: a significant storm was forecast, and after an early morning start and a visit to some old mines at 9,700', I could have sprinted to the summit, but there would have been no time to explore and enjoy & a storm retreat might have been ugly.


Trip 2! Our group made it to another mine at 9,700' and killed the morning. The trip leader was not motivated to summit.

Trip 3! A solo trip. I started hiking at 9:00 A.M. yesterday, and a 1/4 mile later realized I had no food along. After retreating to my vehicle and re-provisioning, the summit trek was renewed.

I looked at interesting rocks, sniffed the flowers, enjoyed the views, and had a great time in Idaho's high mountains.




more to follow!