Derek Hildreth’s Blog

Granite Peak Hike 2008 [Photo Album]

Hello Family and Friends!

This is possibly the most exciting post this year. If you only read one, let this be it. Along with my Dad, two cousins (Aaron and Todd), and my uncle (Blaine), I climbed Granite Peak, the highest point in Montana at 12,799ft. It was spectacular. The photos below will never do it justice, but it’s the only way to share the experience with you unless you’ve been there yourself. Please, enjoy the photos below. But first, check out this description from Wikipedia.org:

Granite Peak is the highest point in the state of Montana, USA. It lies within the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, in Park County very near the borders of Stillwater County and Carbon County. Granite Peak is 10 miles (16 km) north of the Wyoming border, 45 miles (72 km) southwest of Columbus, Montana.

Granite Peak is one of the most difficult U.S. state highpoint ascents, due to technical climbing, poor weather, and route finding[1][2]. Granite Peak’s first ascent was made by Elers Koch on August 29, 1923 after several failed attempts by others. It was the last of the state highpoints to be climbed[2] Today, climbers typically spend two or three days ascending the peak, stopping over on the Froze-to-Death Plateau. However, other climbers choose to ascend the peak in a single day. Be cautious at the snow bridge as a few unroped climbers have perished here. If the snow is not soft or you feel you do not have the ability to safely walk across then you must rope up. The route before you reach the snow bridge is mostly a scramble. After it, it immediately becomes technical rock climbing that requires extremely good route finding skills.

From my camera:

From my Dad’s camera:

From Blaine’s camera:
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From Todd’s camera:
Follow this link…

PS. If you click on any picture, it will link you to the photo album where you can see all the pictures at once in a small thumbnail.

Tags: climb, granite peak, hike, montana, photo, pictures, scramble, tempest

Picnic at Wright Creek Campground [Photo Album]

Hello Family and Friends!

We took another trip down to the Wright Creek campground about half an hour away from Rexburg, and had us some hot dogs and s’mores. Qeirstyn loved playing around the campground! Enjoy the small photo album below!

Tags: campground, camping, Qeirstyn, Rexburg, wright creek

Playing at the Porter Park Playground [Photo Album]

Hello Family and Friends!

We met up with our good friends the other day to go to the waterpark. Unfortunately, it was closed due to a sanitation alert (apparently, somebody had made a poop in the water). So, we played on the nearby playground instead. Enjoy the small photo album below!

Tags: park, playground, Qeirstyn

Trip From Helena, MT to Rexburg, ID [Photo Album]

Hello Family and Friends!

This is a small photo album of the pictures we took coming back from Helena, MT to Rexburg, ID after Cody and Sara’s wedding. Enjoy!

Tags: billings, car, helena, trip

Some Pictures Taken at Cody and Sara’s Wedding [Photo Album]

Hello Family and Friends!

This is a small photo album of Cody and Sara’s wedding. I published a HD video of the occasion earlier, but I never included any photos. The reason that there is not very many photos is because I used my video camera more than my still camera. Anyways, enjoy the photos!

Tags: album, cody, photo, pictures, sara, wedding