Find Nearby Peaks

This peak is not in the book. Margo Mandella provided the initial entry. Livingston Douglas added his day-hiking route and take on reaching this summit along with two other nearby peaks. His entry is found down the page. Updated October 2025

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Peak 7978 is located in the Big Hole Mountains above Fleming Canyon which is off ID-31 as you head toward Victor, Idaho. We climbed Peak 7978 as an overnight trip when we also climbed Black Mountain, Chicken Peak, Liars Peak, Piney Peak, and Peak 8619. All of these peaks are accessible from a well-traveled trail that is also popular for guided hunting and dirt bikes. There are no water sources along or near the trail except for one small spring that was not flowing when we were there in late September. USGS Stouts Mountain

Access

To get to Peak 7978, first get to Fleming Canyon. As you travel toward Victor, Idaho on ID-31, the canyon is located on the North Side of the highway. Specifically, the canyon is between Stouts Mountain and the West Piney Girls Recreation Camp. The canyon turnoff is not signed and is easily to miss. Putting Fleming Canyon into Google Maps will get you close to the canyon’s jeep road [shown in Google erroneously as FST-270; this trail is actually FST-079]. The map shown on the ListsOfJohn link provided below is accurate as well.

If you have a 4WD vehicle, you can travel a good distance into the canyon, but you may need a high-clearance 4WD vehicle depending on conditions/time of year. There is no formal parking anywhere. To climb Peak 7978, follow this jeep road until it turns into a single track trail. Park wherever it is convenient. We parked near Gopher Canyon, but you can possibly get farther in, near Snowslide Gulch.

Route, Class 1+

From where you park, hike on FST-079 farther into Fleming Canyon until you encounter a junction with the Dry Canyon Trail. Stay to the right to remain on FST-079. As you continue upward on the trail, you will encounter signage. At this point, follow signs to Black Mountain. Peak 7978 is just off the trail right before you descend toward Black Mountain. You should see Peak 7978’s distinctive summit cairn as you are hiking. From the summit, you have expansive views of numerous Big Hole peaks as well as the Teton Mountains.

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Southeast Ridge and Northwest Ridge by Livingston Douglas 

Peak 7879 is a ridgeline summit that sits above the headwaters of both Fleming Canyon and Dry Canyon in the Big Hole Mountains. It is located due southeast of the [more impressive] Black Mountain (8,796 feet). Peak 7879 is easily reached via the Fleming Canyon Trail/FST-079.

Access

From ID-31 at virtual MM8.2 (north of Swan Valley), turn left/northwest onto an unsigned 2-track road. This is Fleming Canyon Road/FSR-229. It is a rugged, rutted, narrow, overgrown, rocky mess. Drive 1.5 miles up this awful road and park alongside the road [6,228 feet; 43°33’27.0”N, 111°19’16.3”W]. This is the first leg of a 3-peak adventure that includes Peak 7978, Black Mountain (8,796 feet), and Chicken Peak (8,419 feet). It covers 13.0 miles with 4,325 feet of elevation gain round trip.

Southeast Ridge, Class 2

The Climb

This climb is mostly Class 1. From the parking spot, hike northwest for about 1-1/4 miles up the road to its end at a signed trailhead at about 6,850 feet. Continue northwest up FST-079/Fleming Canyon Trail. This trail is a steep, loose, narrow, gravelly MC trail. Reach a saddle and a signed trail junction at 7,431 feet (map). Go right/north here to stay on FST-079 and follow it north up onto the crest of the southeast ridge of Peak 7978.

The trail skirts a few rocky ridge outcrops as it approaches the rounded, open summit hump of Peak 7978. The trail does not go to the summit. Instead, it moves off the ridge and follows the left/southwest side of the ridge to skirt the peak. Leave the trail where it begins to move away from the peak. Scramble right/east up easy scrub to reach the ridge crest. Follow the easy ridge for a short distance to the well-cairned summit.

Northwest Ridge, Class 2

The Descent

From the summit, descend northwest down the ridge crest in a mix of scrub and ground scree. Leave the ridge crest and drop a bit left/west to intercept FST-079. Follow the trail down into a forest an continue past a saddle to begin to skirt the east side of Black Mountain. This concludes the first leg of today’s 3-peak adventure. Black Mountain (8,796 feet) is up next.