Good Views From 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.

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

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.

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.

5.8 miles, 3,200 ft

Beartooth WMA – Open May 15 - December 2

Directions (From Wolf Creek – North of Helena):

Drive-Up in Summer, Ski or Snowshoe up in Winter

Directions (should be drivable by mid-late June):

W7O/NC-071, listed as summit number 3058, is a part of what is more commonly referred to as Hembre Ridge.  While formally Hembre Ridge is the ridgeline that runs northeast to southwest, summit 3058 is the highest point in this massif.  I’ll leave it to others to quibble about whether this summit should be renamed.  

4wd + Short Hike

Directions:

Exit east from Exit 85 on I-15

Drive 4.3 miles south on Hwy-91

Turn left on Burma Road – Continue 3.1 miles

Turn left on 2-track at Chokecherry Gulch (by gravel pit)

NOTE in January 2021 - This summit has been posted PERMIT REQUIRED FOR ALL ACCESS by Weyerhauser. See photo below.

I read up on K7ATN's activation from 2015 and spent a fair amount of time looking at the maps.  It seemed like there was an easier way to the summit than the highly rutted road that he had taken.  Sure enough, there are good roads all the way to the bottom of the approach.