Ants Basin
from Blackman Peak

Trailhead elevation: 8,800 feet
Ants Basin Divide elevation: 9,920 feet
Ants Basin elevation: 9,600 feet
Elevation gain: (Divide) 1,120 feet;
(Basin) 1,440 feet
Access: late-June through October
Road: 2-wheel drive, rough washboard surface
Maps: Sawtooth Forest, USGS Washington Peak

Features: Extraordinary views of Alabaster Peak summits. Also, Blackman Peak, Born Lakes and Warm Springs canyon.

On Ants Basin Divide, all eyes look across Warm Springs canyon, to the white multi-summits of Alabaster Peak, 11,342 feet (now formally named David O. Lee Peak, after a respected Sawtooth National Forest wilderness ranger)

Ants Basin Divide is a terrific dayhike (5.8 miles round trip) from Fourth of July trailhead. Views changes seasonally: from melting snowdrifts and herds of elk, to summer flowers and towering cumulous clouds. Autumn is a time of windless, cloudless crisp days.

From the divide, a loose, gravel path drops over 300 feet into Ants Basin which hangs as a green ledge above Warm Springs canyon. There are numerous Ants Basin campsites near water. Most people rush through the basin, headed to Born Lakes. Instead, make Ants Basin your destination. Explore. There’s an old cabin, pristine ponds, and impressive Blackman Peak above you.

Cautions: Summer storms can be intense on Ants Basin Ridge and the basin itself. When setting up camp, pick a protected site where trees will provide shelter from gale gusts. Note your surroundings -- the drop off from Ants Basin into Warm Springs canyon is rough terrain and it’s easy to end up where you didn’t expect to be (is that called getting lost?).