Kelly Mountain- Northwest Summit

Jefferson County, ID Highpoint- 9/28/2024

Trip Stats (Click here)

Summit Elevation: 6,664 ft.

Trip Distance: 4.36 miles 

Total Vert: 761 ft.

Travel Type: Solo Trail Running

I have often had high expectations for my life. When it comes to events and tasks that I want to accomplish I set the bar pretty high. This is rather ironic because of the amount of meditations I take part in wanting to help me release expectations. I also spend a lot of time in my job helping people to “let go” or “accept” the things they cannot change. We all know that setting our expectations too high can often lead to disappointment.

But what about setting our expectations too low? Summiting this county highest point in was a good learning experience for me. It showed me there might be a middle ground when we plan for the worst. If we expect the worst, then sometimes we are pleasantly surprised.

“Let your dreams outgrow the shoes of your expectations.”

-Ryunosuke Satoro

Because I don’t learn from past mistakes (see my post on Blackfoot Benchmark), I set out to summit Kelly Mountain late on an abnormally, warm fall day at about 2 pm. I have climbed Kelly Mountain once, years ago, and did not have fond memories of the experience. I remember a boring, dusty slog through the woods with a steep climb to top the summit. I also recall the trail was filled with loose, softball-size rocks stirred up by motorized traffic which you could hear echoing through the canyon intermittently throughout the day. So, with little ambition I set out once again toward Ririe, ID and Kelly Canyon to check this one off my county high points adventure list for good.

My only expectation for the day was to use the time as trail run fitness training. On the way to the mountain I picked up my phone and, luckily, I glanced once more at the list of county high points, realizing that the Kelly Mountain I had climbed years ago was not Jefferson county’s high point because it lay across the county line in Bonneville county. The actual high point was a gentle point on a ridgeline a little over a mile away called Kelly Mountain- Northwest Summit. The day was already looking up.

With higher spirits and piqued interest, I drove past Kelly Canyon and parked at the Y-Intersection parking lot where a lot of people were loading and unloading their motorcycles, ATV’s, and mountain bikes. I flipped on my vest and zipped up the trail. There were quite a few people out walking and I soon figured out why; the leaves in Kelly Canyon had just changed to gold, putting on a beautiful fall show. So in a few short minutes my expectations of a dusty, ankle rolling climb had morphed into a leaf peepers dream.

As I climbed up the easily runnable dirt access road the leaves just got better and better. I don’t usually track the fall leaves very well and often miss them, but I hit these aspens just right. The temperature was also really nice. After making sure to stop and take a few pictures along the way I arrived at the top of the Gunpowder ski lift. From here, the trail drops a couple hundred feet into a gully before making a sharp left turn onto a barely noticeable single track leading you into a dense section of woods.

The single track is an enjoyable and shaded woodland tunnel which felt very Halloween-esque to me after being startled by a grazing cow a few minutes prior. The trail follows an old and dilapidated barbed wire fence which had almost invisibly sprawled out onto the path in a couple places, so be careful as not to have a bad day if you choose to travel the same route.

After a very short while the trail cuts right onto another motorized access trail and the woods open up onto a sagebrush covered hill. From here it was only a few minutes in the sun and a very easy slope to the summit. There is no marker on this county high point as far as I could tell, just some rocks off the path that were higher than anything around them and good views. The weather was perfect and the visibility was good. I could see out into the Snake River Plain and was able to pick out Bear Den Butte off in the distance.

After a short breather I hopped back onto the trail, started some war music, and went speeding off down the trail. I ran back the same way I came with nothing eventful happening except another bellowing calf scaring the bejeebus out of me as I rounded a blind corner. I scolded the calf and finished my run with a smile on my face.

As I drove home sweaty I thought about how nice it can be to escape expectations. So often, we set the bar high in our lives, fail to meet it, and then beat ourselves up over it. In response, we attempt and struggle to implement the eastern philosophy of non-attachment which can be equally as frustrating to our western psychology. The vacillation between these two struggles can be exhausting. But every once in a while, God and life sends us something better than we ever expected. Something gold and sweet in a life that can often be heavy, gray, and hard.

I guess sometimes I just want to be grateful for fall leaves instead of dusty rocks along the path.