4.0 Miles, +2,500 ft, - 90 ft
These instructions are from the 4wd trailhead. Approximately 3 miles of distance and 1,000 feet of gain can be eliminated if you have an OHV that is less than 50-inches wide.
Fuji Mountain, gem of the central Cascades, and well-loved hike, is a fantastic choice if you're in the area. Only half an hour from the highway, and with a very pleasant and well-worn trail to the top, this is the easiest hiking of any of the SOTA peaks in the area that aren't drive-ups.
This was the first activation of Celaya Benchmark. The summit is very non-descript, extremely exposed but close to a drive-up activation. The last 2 miles is a lightly used overgrown road, but certainly comfortable in a small 4-wheel drive (Subaru Outback/Crosstrek). I would NOT recommend a Prius attempt this last section of road.
I thought I would update this summit. It has been 10 years since KG7E put up a blog.
if you are planning on doing this summit make sure you do it from Atomic City off of highway 26. If you use Goolgle maps it will suggest you take highway 20 if you are heading from Arco Idaho or Idaho Falls/ Pocatello. if You take Highway 20 you will be going through the Idaho National Energy Laboratory which is closed to the public.
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.
Needle Point is the lowest 10 point summit in Oregon. It is not the easiest. It is located in the Eagle Cap Wilderness in north eastern Oregon. Access to the trail head is via Union, Oregon.
It is a nineteen mile round trip hike with 5000 feet of total elevation gain.
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.
I hiked to Huffman Peak from Siouxon Peak ( http://www.pnwsota.org/blog/kj7eha/2022-july-24/siouxon-peak-wa-july-2022 ). The trail is very easy to follow, and traverses through a 2020 burn area. It is very wide. There was a lot of blowdown, but easy to step over and around. The summit itself has been burned and is exposed. In July 2022, the forest floor was showing signs of new growth tiny seedlings everywhere.
The activation report for Siouxon (rhymes with “Tucson”) Peak from 2013 (http://www.pnwsota.org/node/306) is still largely correct. I just put in Google maps “Siouxon Peak” as destination and “Gresham” as start. Note that you can still hike in from the Amboy side, doing it that way allows you to view waterfalls, but requires a stream crossing. I went through Carson, NF-64, NF-6403 as per the previous trip report.
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.