The trip stats listed above are just for Taylor Mountain. The other 2 peaks (Birch Creek Mountain and Double W Mountain will add to that total).

My wife had a conference in Idaho Falls. She asked if I would escort her. Since I hadn't done a lot of hiking around Idaho Falls, I was game. The plan being while she was at the conference, I would go do some hiking.

I emailed Rick, who lives in Idaho Falls, asking some questions about land management, access roads, and peak ideas. Rick mentioned a set of 3 peaks that I had actually chosen with my limited knowledge. During our exchange, Rick decided to join me.

We headed out from Idaho Falls on a cool and damp fall morning. It had rained hard for about 6 hours the night before, but luckily the sun was out on this morning.

We made our way south of Idaho Falls and eventually onto Wolverine Creek Road. We drove to our planned starting area (the base of the south ridge) and found "Access Yes" signs. Great start to the day.

The initial slope to get onto the south ridge was a bit steep, but once we were on the ridge the angle lowered. We made great time enjoying the sun and sharing dozens of stories. Eventually Rick mentioned we were nearing the top and would probably make it in right around 1 hour of hiking... not bad for 1500' of gain!

Just after Rick mentioned that, the old radio equipment on the summit came into sight. The top has great views of the Idaho Falls and expansive views of the Snake River Plain to the west. Rick pointed out the landmarks and gave me the history of the name Taylor Mountain (named after Taylor's Crossing, the original name for Idaho Falls).

We then headed down the south ridge the way we had come. Once back at the vehicle, we drove to the base of our next peaks for the day, Birch Creek Mountain and Double W Mountain.

The weather held out until the last 2 minutes of the hike, when it sprinkled a bit. It turned out to be a great day and it was nice getting to know Rick in person after years of email correspondence only.

Take Wolverine Road to the point where Taylor Mountain's south ridge meets the road. Park in the turn-out on the north side of the road.

From the turn-out, we hiked east up the road about 100 feet and then turned south through the gate. We followed the trail in the drainage briefly before ascending up the slope to our left and to the fence line directly on the south ridge. We then followed the south ridge the remaining distance to the top of Taylor Mountain.