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
1.6 miles, 2,000 ft
Beartooth WMA – Open May 15 - December 2
This is a short, but very steep climb to a seldom visited ridge in the Beartooth Wildlife Management Area. It would be prudent to have 4wd in case if it rains, as the roads have the potential to be difficult if wet. The summit cliffs shelter growths of Kelseya Uniflora ( a special flower that is the symbol for the Montana Native Plant Society), and Moss Campion – both of which were in bloom during our activation.
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.
When the plans for the weekend fell through, the sherpas jumped into action and planned something to do before telling me. Fearing that a free weekend would lead to a trudge up some hill hauling a heap of radio gear they seized on the moment to make a unified plan and then make a joint announcement. But they are compassionate souls - as they planned their day of geocaching and photography, they sought to placate the old man by finding a location with a nearby, albeit more mild, summit. And thus the great scheme was launched.
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.
Mineral Hill is scenic 8383’ open rock and high elevation tundra appearing summit on the boundary of the Scapegoat Wilderness. Normal scrambling/trail gear including bear spray is recommended. There are two main trail routes to access Mineral Hill. One from the west fords the North Fork Blackfoot River and the other from the south jumps across small streams.
Trail Miles: 8 Miles one way. Elevation Gain: 3700’. Difficulty: Good climbing trail, Challenging river crossing, Short easy 0.25 mile scramble to the summit. Map: US Forest Service, Seeley Lake Ranger District
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.
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.
Birkenfeld Mountain is a summit that can be done as part of a challenging three peak traverse that would include Three Corner Rock-W7W/LC-101 and Greenleaf Peak-W7W/LC-104.