Bootjack Mountain
Lonely and tough, a trek up this mountain to big views is not for the faint of heart.
Total Distance: 7.0 miles
Total Ascent: 3900ft
Highest Point: 6789ft
Total Ascent: 3900ft
Highest Point: 6789ft
To get there, take US 2 to Leavenworth. Just before you enter town, take a right onto Icicle Creek Road (FR 76). Continue to follow Icicle Creek Road as pavement turns to gravel at 12.5 miles and then keeping right at the Y just beyond. At 16.7 miles reach Rock Island Campground. Take a left, crossing over Icicle Creek and continue another 1.4 miles to the Blackpine Trailhead, a large pullout on the right, 18.1 miles from US 2. View Google Directions >>
From Blackpine Trailhead, cross FR 76 and enter the trees, following an access to trail to the Jackpine Tie Trail #1597, a dusty horse highway that connects the Trout Lake Trailhead with the Blackpine Horse Camp. Veer left and continue for 0.1 of a mile the junction with the Blackjack Ridge Trail #1565. Turn right and work through some underbrush that soon gives way to a solid, hard-packed trail.
Slog your way up through dense forest, zig-zagging up switchback after switchback after switchback, and crossing into the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. No views break up this 3000-foot workout as the trail rockets up the mountainside for a little more than 2.0 miles. Eventually the trees thin and the brush thickens, soon yielding to a grassy meadowland. Continue through the parklands, traversing the shoulders of the mountainside to attain the ridge at 2.8 miles. From here you can head left and downridge to a large, boot-pounded viewpoint on a rocky knob.
Alternatively, head straight up the ridgeline, soon finding a bootpath along the knife edge of the ridge. The bootpath is well-worn and easily followed 0.7 mile to summit block, where you can pick your way up the last few hundred feet through the boulders to the windswept peak of Bootjack Mountain. There's a lot more to Bootjack Mountain, and you can learn all about it in Alpine Lakes Wilderness: The Complete Hiking Guide. You'll find a trail map, route descriptions, history, and more for this and many other hikes throughout the State. Help support hikingwithmybrother.com and the work we do by picking up a copy!
Slog your way up through dense forest, zig-zagging up switchback after switchback after switchback, and crossing into the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. No views break up this 3000-foot workout as the trail rockets up the mountainside for a little more than 2.0 miles. Eventually the trees thin and the brush thickens, soon yielding to a grassy meadowland. Continue through the parklands, traversing the shoulders of the mountainside to attain the ridge at 2.8 miles. From here you can head left and downridge to a large, boot-pounded viewpoint on a rocky knob.
Alternatively, head straight up the ridgeline, soon finding a bootpath along the knife edge of the ridge. The bootpath is well-worn and easily followed 0.7 mile to summit block, where you can pick your way up the last few hundred feet through the boulders to the windswept peak of Bootjack Mountain. There's a lot more to Bootjack Mountain, and you can learn all about it in Alpine Lakes Wilderness: The Complete Hiking Guide. You'll find a trail map, route descriptions, history, and more for this and many other hikes throughout the State. Help support hikingwithmybrother.com and the work we do by picking up a copy!
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