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1.3 mi, +680 feet

This is a good early season summit and is also suitable for bicycle access.

There are a number of options to access this summit.  It can likely be nearly a drive-up if it is approached from Hwy-278 to the north going south past Road Agent’s Rock.  It may also be accessed from the town of Bannack year-round.  Bannack was originally the territorial capital of Montana and is now a historic ghost-town state park that is well worth visiting.  We accessed the summit by foll

0.3 miles, +290 feet

1.1 miles, 580 feet

North Grand Ridge is an easy summit to activate with a short (3.4 mile RT, ~600' elevation gain).  The summit might be considered part of the "Issaquah Alps" series of summits that include Tiger Mountain, West Tiger Mountain, South Tiger Mountain, Taylor Mountain, and Rattle Snake Mountain.  This report provides details on how to legally access the activation zone (AZ) and summit.

No access... (or no easy access?)

When I started learning about SOTA in late 2018, it sounded fun to activate a new summit.  I tried for Ebey Hill in Snohomish County.

From Highway 530, I turned right onto Jim Creek Rd and was hoping to drive up Ebey Mountain Road.  Very clear "Do Not Enter - Private Road" sign posted.  Also drove further up Jim Creek Rd, and tried to access from Riley Lake area on East side.  

My Automotive GPS did a pretty good job getting me to Bunker Hill. However, I did need to turn around once and do some reconnoitering. To help the next activator here are some specific directions.

Illahee Rock Lookout is a relatively easy hike, 1.9 miles and 590 ft. elevation gain, with good road access from the North Umpqua river (highway 138). The trail and its access are well described on several web pages and William Sullivan's book “100 Hikes in Southern Oregon”, so I won't repeat that here.

South Fork Mountain can be a drive up. It is somewhat less than a mile from NF-4540 on an unmarked road. The fork off of NF-4540 is at approx. 45.101, -122.249. From here a high clearance vehicle that you don't mind getting scratched is required. The road is quite overgrown and has drainage ditches cut across it at various places. It opens up a bit before you get to the top, so you can park and make your final ascent by foot. I had to drive to the top after activation to turn around. A shorter wheel base vehicle might be able to avoid that.

Here's another summit in Crater Lake National Park that accessed with a cross-country hike. The easiest ridge for ascent is near the angle of repose with loose red pumice-like scree on the upper slopes, giving Red Cone its name. Although only about 2.5 miles round trip, half of the 600 feet of gain is in the last quarter mile.