This is a stretch for a PNWSOTA summit report but, if you find yourself in Seoul with a few hours to kill, this could help you navigate. My son and I were able to activate this summit after doing the normal tourist activities.
Exposed Summit
sawtooth mountain wa | sept 24
Summary - Sawtooth Mountain, on the north end of Indian Heaven Wilderness, is a 2.5 mile hike with 1000 feet of gain from the parking lot to the edge of the activation zone. This trip report describes getting to the summit, another hundred feet or so up, with unprotected class three and four traverses/climbing and significant exposure.
Recent Ascent Track for Gifford Peak
Start the ascent at 45.99028, -121.80308 on the Thomas Lake trail. Initially the trail threads between two lakes then starts up an old logging road (my guess) before Indian Heaven became a wilderness in 1984.
Note that it can be very windy on the easterly exposed summit, especially if there is any kind of east wind in the Gorge.
Sand Ridge, OR August 2024
Sand Ridge was the first of 3 I did while doing a quick spontaneous one night camping trip to Wood River at Jackson F Kimball State Park. After setting up camp, we went to scout it for the next day but were able to get close enough I decided to hike up and activate it that evening.
lookout mountain (the long way) | aug 24
Summary - I first hiked Lookout Mountain via the usual route, High Praire Trail, Tim N7KOM as part of a two day outing that included SOTA summits 6001 and Badger Butte.
Goat Mountain WA, August 2024
Goat Mount is a nice steep ridgeline hike. The total distance from the trail head is just over a mile with an elevation gain of 1500 feet. The peak is line of sight to much of Portland, so 2m contacts were plentiful. There are many nice trees for HF antennas.
Bare Mountain
This is another summit I activated with my mountain bike and in this case that turned out to be a mistake as the bushwhack to the top is very steep, very thick, and not at all fun to do in bike shorts and shoes with spd cleats in them.
Dean Mountain, OR | Aug 2024
Dean Mountain, also labeled on some maps "Dear Mountain", as in Dear Mountain it's been such a long time, sorry I haven't written.