Castle Peak, king of the White Cloud Mountains of central Idaho
Castle Peak, elevation 11,815 feet, is one of the most famous and recognizable mountains in Idaho, despite the fact that it can't be seen very well from any paved or gravel road.
Its full beauty requires a hike.
Castle Peak from the meadow at Frog Lake,
one of the most frequently seen views from the backcountry
Copyright © Ralph Maughan
Castle Peak was saved from becoming the site of a giant open pit molybdenum mine. The threat was removed from the mountain when, in 1972 the Sawtooth Recreation Area was established. That law made it legally very hard to mine the area, although the mining claims on the mountain persist to this day.
The battle to save Castle Peak and the White Cloud Mountains provoked a decade long greening of Idaho's usually relentless brown politics. Even today, photos and drawings of Castle Peak are on the letterhead of several Idaho conservation organizations.
Castle Peak and Serrate Ridge (left) from the north.
Photo taken near
Windy Pass
Copyright © Ralph Maughan
Today Idaho conservation organizations are pushing for congressional protection of the White Cloud and adjacent Boulder Mountains by the designations of a Boulder/White Cloud Wilderness. The threat from miners has disappeared, but ATVs increasingly take their toll on trails and a hundred years of abusive cattle grazing has kept the area far below its potential as a haven for wildlife.
Idaho Representative Mike Simpson has introduced a bill that among other things would protect part of the White Cloud and Boulder Mountains as Wilderness. He is expected to reintroduce a modified version in the new Congress that meets in January 2005.
For more information contact,
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Page updated Nov. 11, 2004. Email Ralph Maughan