Table Rock

Today I woke up rather early for no reason what so ever...which I really enjoy by the way. I drove around, came back, drove around again and then I made the decision to head up to Table Rock to do some bouldering. For those of you not familiar with the area, Table rock is a small plateau about 3 or 4 miles northeast of Downtown Boise. Compared to the rest of the foot hills behind it, when you're a good distance away from it, it looks pretty small. Also northeast of downtown Boise is the old Idaho State Penetentiary which also serves as a trail head for one of the trails leading to Table Rock. Now, I timed it the last time I hiked it and from the parking lot to Table Rock is roughly a 40 to 45 minute walk and a good 12-1300 ft elevation gain. A moderate slope that will give you a good workout...especially when you're carrying a load as I found out the first time when I hit the trail with my fireline pack. The top offers amazing views of Boise as well as the rest of the Great Basin. It still amazes me to see mountains that still have snow on them at this time of year. Anyways, while I was up there I spotted two active fires: one in the city of Boise it self, the other way off in the horizon. I also saw the remnants of a fire that started last week pretty close to where I was at. Needless to say the season has definitely started....now all we need is to get called to a fire.