Exposed Summit

This ridgeline hike follows a user trampled trail to Morrell Mountain, W7M/GA-068 and then becomes mostly an open rolling ridgeline to the unnamed summit, 8004. Along the entire route are excellent views of the Seeley Lake valley and the Mission Mountains, Scapegoat and Bob Marshall Wilderness Areas.The trailhead is in a saddle just below a closed gate access to Morrell Lookout.

Trail miles: 1.0 plus off trail ridgeline hike of 2.0 miles one way. Elevation gain: ~600’ Terrain: open rock and rolling ridge. Map: Lolo National Forest, Seeley Lake Ranger District

Morrell Mountain at 8161’ is a short ridgeline hike, less than a mile, with excellent views of the Seeley Lake valley and the Mission Mountains, Scapegoat and Bob Marshall Wilderness Areas. The trailhead is in the saddle/road switchback just below a closed-gate access to Morrell Lookout which is not the SOTA summit.

Trail miles: nearly 1. Elevation gain: `500’ Map: Lolo National Forest, Seeley Lake Ranger District

Upper Table Rock is a very pleasant 1.25 mile, 736 foot gain (one-way) hike east of Central Point, Oregon. The trail is quite popular, but you should easily find a place to activate away from the crowds on the huge summit.

Skookum Butte is an old US Forest Service lookout at 7215’ on the Idaho/Montana border. The summit and lookout rests on massive granite boulders. Not having enough room at the lookout to secure our long wire antenna, K7PX Steve secured one end of the End Feed Long Wire to the top boulder, pitched the other end over the cliff and operated the antenna from below as a sloper. The lookout offers a fine view of the northeast end of the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness.

On a beautiful early October day, my XYL and I headed south to check out a W7O/SC-xxx summit. We chose King Mountain, a 5264 ft, four point peak with RF facilities on top. To get there get off of I-5 at Exit 78 and head east onto Speaker Rd. This road merges onto 33-5-10 which continues on past Azalea, OR.

Table Rock, near Silver Lake, OR, is a distinctive flat topped butte that is visible for many miles away. It is a four point summit at 5621’ asl, that can be a drive up if you have a high clearance, 4x4 vehicle and some nerve. Its south central OR location is fairly remote, but I think it is worth the drive. My XYL, Christina, did most of the driving.

Peak 2445 - just another nondescript peak in Oregon’s Coastal Range, or is it? It turns out that this is an easy drive-up peak a little more than a half hour’s drive west of Forest Grove and should be considered a good peak for SOTA beginners.

Seeing that this is one of the closest, biggest peaks to the QTH, it was a no-brainer that we would make this an early target for our newfound SOTA fascination.  On a nice Sunday afternoon, the sudden call was made that we should load up the Jeep and make the scramble up the hill.

Wind Mountain is a nice hike in the Gorge with good views (in clear weather). It's about 2.5 miles round-trip and 1000 feet of gain. There's no pass required at the trailhead and it's often less busy than nearby Dog Mountain.

Head east on Highway 14 from Stevenson, Washington about 6.2 miles to Home Valley. Then turn onto Wind Mountain Road for 1.0 miles to turn right onto Girl Scout Road and go about 0.6 miles. This leads to a large dirt parking area at the end of the paving near 45.7145°, -121.7533°. This is usually the best place to park.