Longtime lurker coming out of lurkerdom just to comment on Council after summiting yesterday! While the views from Granite Basin were phenomenal and Council Mtn itself was a beautiful cheery summit, my group had a hell of a time getting on the right track and added at least two miles of bushwhacking and backtracking before finding the described trail.
First off, the FS maps show FST-210 as starting right off FS-186 (good gravel road), not FS-245 (rocky but passable in a passenger car with careful driving), and that might have been a better place to access it. While we found the unmarked turnoff from 245 (further up than the link on Summitpost) with the closed gate a little up road, the first "trail" sign actually goes southeast (the wrong direction), probably toward its start at 186. The trail you DO want starts much further up after the first hairpin turn than expected, marked with a wood sign saying "trail" - no FS numbers or other markings whatsoever.
From here the trail is a little more self-explanatory, but there's another junction about a couple miles up also not mentioned on Summitpost with one branch taking a sharp left (seemingly FS-201, Deseret Cabin?) and the other continuing straight on. Based on our position on the offline map, taking the left fork to start heading south seemed wise and turned out to be correct, but it was a gamble.
From there you ascend the ridge and break out of the trees, finally coming around the corner to Granite Basin, and there are a bunch of other trail forks showing routes not listed on the FS maps at all. Fortunately at that point you can see the summit and visually pick out the most direct route to hit the saddle and then cut cross-country to the summit.
Great hike but definitely some unclear sections. Maybe there have been some changes since the Summitpost description was written? Anyway, hoping I can save other hikers some headaches - it's a beautiful climb if you know where you're going!
boisedoc - Jun 19, 2014 3:20 am Date Climbed: Jun 18, 2014
Foggy day
Decided to climb this at the last minute after more ambitious plans fell apart due to weather. Started hiking a little after 1pm after the rain passed. Lots of low clouds blocked views and made navigating difficult. A fair amount of snow also. Pretty fun hike w good friends. Good flowers.
sassyplatt - Feb 21, 2011 1:19 pm Date Climbed: Jul 3, 2009
Wonderful day
Flowers were spectacular, company was truly super.
Super Dave - Feb 20, 2011 11:08 pm Date Climbed: Jul 3, 2009
Highly Recommended
Really enjoyed pretty much everything about this hike, will likely be back. Great views, great company, great day. Here's a trip report with photos.
nate? - Aug 10, 2020 11:53 am Date Climbed: Aug 8, 2020
Beautiful Day for a HikeBeautiful day for a hike - didn't see anyone else out there!
Annalikeslenses - Jul 29, 2019 4:40 pm Date Climbed: Jul 28, 2019
Beautiful views but poorly-marked trailLongtime lurker coming out of lurkerdom just to comment on Council after summiting yesterday! While the views from Granite Basin were phenomenal and Council Mtn itself was a beautiful cheery summit, my group had a hell of a time getting on the right track and added at least two miles of bushwhacking and backtracking before finding the described trail.
First off, the FS maps show FST-210 as starting right off FS-186 (good gravel road), not FS-245 (rocky but passable in a passenger car with careful driving), and that might have been a better place to access it. While we found the unmarked turnoff from 245 (further up than the link on Summitpost) with the closed gate a little up road, the first "trail" sign actually goes southeast (the wrong direction), probably toward its start at 186. The trail you DO want starts much further up after the first hairpin turn than expected, marked with a wood sign saying "trail" - no FS numbers or other markings whatsoever.
From here the trail is a little more self-explanatory, but there's another junction about a couple miles up also not mentioned on Summitpost with one branch taking a sharp left (seemingly FS-201, Deseret Cabin?) and the other continuing straight on. Based on our position on the offline map, taking the left fork to start heading south seemed wise and turned out to be correct, but it was a gamble.
From there you ascend the ridge and break out of the trees, finally coming around the corner to Granite Basin, and there are a bunch of other trail forks showing routes not listed on the FS maps at all. Fortunately at that point you can see the summit and visually pick out the most direct route to hit the saddle and then cut cross-country to the summit.
Great hike but definitely some unclear sections. Maybe there have been some changes since the Summitpost description was written? Anyway, hoping I can save other hikers some headaches - it's a beautiful climb if you know where you're going!
boisedoc - Jun 19, 2014 3:20 am Date Climbed: Jun 18, 2014
Foggy dayDecided to climb this at the last minute after more ambitious plans fell apart due to weather. Started hiking a little after 1pm after the rain passed. Lots of low clouds blocked views and made navigating difficult. A fair amount of snow also. Pretty fun hike w good friends. Good flowers.
sassyplatt - Feb 21, 2011 1:19 pm Date Climbed: Jul 3, 2009
Wonderful dayFlowers were spectacular, company was truly super.
Super Dave - Feb 20, 2011 11:08 pm Date Climbed: Jul 3, 2009
Highly RecommendedReally enjoyed pretty much everything about this hike, will likely be back. Great views, great company, great day. Here's a trip report with photos.