Chimney Rock (1)

Statistics

• Date - 07/11/1998
• Elevation - < 7,000'
• Route - East Route
• Miles - 5.0
• Elevation Gain - 1,880'
• ACME Mapper - Link
• CalTopo - Link
• Partners - Payton (Dog)

Description

From this point on, I hit the hiking trails pretty hard and tried to get out as often as possible.  My route finding skills were not fine tuned though, and I sort of got skunked on this hike to Chimney Rock.  My main form of transportation is a 1989 Honda CRX.  It was the perfect college car as it got great gas mileage and doesn't have a backseat, so I never had to drive on road trips.  However, this type of vehicle isn't ideal for the mountains.  I drove up Pack River Road as far as I could and fortunately got a ride the rest of the way to the trailhead.

Chimney Rock is a stone tower that can be reached from the Pack River Drainage area (east route) or from the Priest River, Idaho, side (west route).  It is a popular site for people who rock climb and is a destination climb in the area.  The hike didn't seem too difficult where, but after running out of trail and bushwacking a while, I decided to call it a day and figured I missed a turn somewhere.  It was an enjoyable day hike and I plan on returning sometime to actually reach the base of Chimney Rock from this direction.  After getting a ride to the trailhead because of my car,  I began devising a plan to get myself a more appropriate vehicle.

Photos

Chimney Rock