Good Views From Summit

Runt Mountain is a SOTA peak at the top of the chairlift at Lookout Pass Ski area. Lookout Pass Ski area is on Interstate 90 at the Idaho/Montana border.

From Idaho, take exit 0 on Interstate 90 and turn right into the parking lot of the ski area. You will have to purchase a lift ticket ($13) for the ride up the main chair. I activated this in the summer as they open the area up to hikers and mountain bikers. You might be able to activate this in the winter but with much more difficulty with skiiers buzzing by you. 

Sherman Peak has an exposed summit / activation zone. I hiked to the summit from Trail 72 along the western slope. Be prepared to hike through large boulder fields; trekking poles helped greatly. Plan to use a mast if using a wire antenna. I ended up using a trekking pole and the tallest dead tree which put my EFHW at around 6' off the ground.

This was part of a two-summit dayhike to FR-002 and FR-005.

A steady, relentless 3000 ft climb over 3.6 mi to the summit.  The trail is mostly forested until you make the ridge, about 100 ft (elevation) of the summit, then you get spectacular views of Rainier, Adams, St Helens, and the Goat Rocks.  The summit is exposed with a few nearby trees.  It also is a repeater site for the USFS. When I was there, it was HOT and really no where to get out of the sun.

On a recent trip to Riffe Lake, I had the opportunity to activate this summit.

On the way over to Bend, I stopped to activate Black Butte.  I came on Hwy 20 and turned at NF-11 which is also the turn for Indian Ford Campground.  From there I followed north to the turn for NF-1110 (also known as Black Butte Rd) and on around the north of the mountain.  After a hairpin turn, there is one more sharp turn to the right which takes you to the upper trailhead.  The road up to the last turn was in good shape as of this writing.  The upper portion after the last turn was not as good but still very drivable.

This was my first summit on the day of the Central Oregon S2S party.

I had spent the night at the Pine Mountain Observatory Campgrounds which is FCFS so get there early.  If it's full, there are dispersed locations but it's hard to find one in the pitch black dark.  The observatory requires no headlights (only running lights) at the top so take that into account.

In the morning, I drove back down NF-2017 to the trailhead which also double as a cattle watering station.

This was my second summit for the day of the Central Oregon S2S party.

I had spent the night at the Pine Mountain Observatory Campgrounds which is FCFS so get there early.  If it's full, there are dispersed locations but it's hard to find one in the pitch black dark.  The observatory requires no headlights (only running lights) at the top so take that into account.

The summit is in pretty much the same shape as previous report linked by Etienne K7ATN.

This summit is a drive-up, albeit a butt clincher at times. Here is an excerpt from summitpost.org:

“Ellen D has an elevation of 8,633 feet, and with a prominence of 2,053 feet, makes the list of Nevada’s 172 prominent peaks. . . .

“An unimproved maintenance road leads to the top of Ellen D Mountain, where you’ll find an impressive array of radio towers, solar panels and maintenance buildings. . . .