There is no poison oak on this summit, at least not that I was able to identify, and it is my mortal enemy, so I've gotten pretty good at predicting where I'll find it and identifying it from an appreciable distance. I just wanted to clarify that as a previous post claimed to have encountered poison oak.
This summit is a horrible bushwhack, and like many of the summits in this part of the Gifford Pinchot, it's barely worth the points considering the effort it takes to climb it. It's steep and brushy and about the only nice thing I can say about it is there's no devil's club to contend with. You would think, upon finally obtaining the activation zone, that the return trip would be easier, but it is not. It's worse because you can't see where you're putting your feet.
Per WW7D there are numerous ways to get to Ski Acres Hill, including walking up the ski slopes. The ski area is open to hikers in the summer.
The "back way" from Hyak involves navigating some gnarly FS roads and does not involve going on any private property. The PCT also passes 1/3 of a mile (and 1000' gain) to the west of the summit. One could take the PCT and bushwhack up to the summit.
There is a SW “short cut” for Huffman peak by taking the well maintained logging roads in Washington
Here is a shortcut to Big Huckleberry relative to that described here: http://www.pnwsota.org/node/371
Howlock Mountain had caught my eye during the 2023 W7O Campout. It was an unactivated summit off trail north of Thielsen and south of Tipsoo. For 2025, Adam K6ARK and Mark KD7DTS proposed doing the ridge traverse from Tipsoo (W7O/CS-195). After some VHF shenanigans on Tipsoo, we backtracked on the trail briefly before leaving it and descending south.
4460 (2-point summit) is one of a cluster of summits south of Oakridge, OR in the Willamette National Forest. This summit is a short bushwhack/hike off of an "OK" road, but route selection to the top will likely affect your enjoyment.