Second attempt to get Calispell Peak. The approach and drive up make this a difficult hike to access with most vehicles. Even with a 4WD truck, you can do damage to your vehicle attempting to drive to the top. The smart move is to park on Calispel Peak Rd and hike from the 3.5 mi point to the summit, unless you'd like to do an alignment on your car.
Mt Adams in summer is a popular climb and has variable conditions. Anyone attempting Adams should be familiar hiking with crampons and ice axe. Glissading skills will help and if you're new, you'll be an expert by the time you are down the mountain.
Access is gained by taking the Woodruff/Samaria exit from I-15 South of Malad ID (also see below for W7I/SI-084) and heading west on Woodruff Ln. This comes to a tee and becomes a good dirt road, you take a right (north), This continues for a bit then turns west again (no other option) and heads to the base of the mountain. You pass the last farm just before the base. Just after that you pass over a cattle guard and you will be on BLM land.
Also known as Samaria High Point. Access is gained by taking the Woodruff/Samaria exit from I-15 South of Malad ID and heading west on Woodruff Ln. This comes to a tee and becomes a good dirt road, you take a right (north), This continues for a bit then turns west again (no other option) and heads to the base of the mountain.
Monument Peak is an exposed summit. There are some stands of trees well within the activation zone, if needed. I secured my mast to a leg of a small canopy (gotta love those drive-ups). 40m and 20m netted eight contacts in quick succession and then the chasers went quiet. I’ve stopped trying VHF/UHF in this area due to the lack of chasers (sparse population). If you type “Monument Peak” into your driving software, it will direct you to the USGS Monument Peak which is not the SOTA Monument Peak.
A third summit I worked with my Dad while at Lemolo Lake KOA.
This summit is a careful drive-up with a nice turnaround at the top.
I put up the mast and EFHW antenna and proceeded to work a nice combination of 40/20m stations.
No 2m stations were heard.
We packed up and headed on to Bunker Hill (W7O/CS-090).
These 4 Lemolo Lake summits could be easily done in a day if you have the time.
I split them into 2 mornings as we were visiting Crater Lake during this trip.
Round Top is a nice mostly drive up activation. Being me, I had to do it the hard way: Mountainbiking from Gale's Creek Campground. It is an 18 mile round trip ride with ~3000' elevation gain.
I recommend doing some stretches or warmups before heading out because the hardest part of this ride is the first few miles: steep trail that gets the blood moving. Overall the trail is a singletrack and mostly follows the creek through the forest. Not much for views, but there are the occasional waterfall and views of Gale's Creek.
For more detailed information, check out AA6XA's blog at https://longgreentunnel.blogspot.com/2019/10/w7ici-089-deadline-ridge.html.
Here are some confirmations/corrections: 1) You can indeed drive close to the summit and can access the actual summit with a high clearance 4x4, 2) The actual summit is not at the fence line but the SOTAMAPS location appears to be the accurate high point, and 3) The summit provides no place to attach an antenna mast and if using a mast guy lines are required.
Going South of Pocatello Idaho on I-15, also heading North on I-15 from Salt Lake City, take the Inkom Idaho exit. You will then need to take Rapid Creek road heading in a NE direction from Inkom. Rapid Creek Rd is a main road in Inkom. You will then go approximate 2 miles on Rapid Creek Rd until you see Inman Road on your right. Take this road another 2.5 miles and you will see a UTV/ATV Trailhead on your right. The pavement/oiled road ends here and turns into a dirt road. A 2 wheel drive can be driven on this road pass the winter gate.
