Trailhead has ample, free, accessible parking
Pig Iron Mountain is a drive up good gravel forest road plus a half mile light-to-moderate bushwhack through rhododenrons. As such it's reasonably easy enough to reach, though no view at the top to particularly recommend it compared to other local peaks.
We found no pigs, iron or pig iron. Totally misleading peak name. There was just a bunch of bushes. Maybe they are pretty assuming they flower in the spring time. Dunno. YMMV.
Bald Mountain, above Sun Valley, Idaho, is one of the most interesting and picturesque activations I’ve ever done. There is no need to describe access due to the myriad of information available on-line (i.e., hike/snowshoe, mountain bike, drive, etc.) If you choose to hike, there is a foot traffic permit required. Though it costs to ride the gondola/chair lift up, there is no cost to ride them down. We decided to make the activation a family affair and took the gondola to the Roundhouse restaurant, transferred to the Christmas chair lift, and then hiked the .44 miles along
2.73 miles, +1,895 feet
Instructions to Trailhead (Note that there are few, if any, road signs along this access route):
See Etienne's report for more details. I wanted to add just a few words on the road condition to the upper trailhead (road 370).
It is definitely high clearance and 4WD recommended, quite bumpy with large ruts in places.
However, we made it here and were able to park 500 ft east (43.140115, -122.280369) of the upper trailhead (43.139310, -122.281990).
During the 2023 W7O SOTA Campout, we had the opportunity to activate Trap Mt.
This is an easy drive, though there are spots where the manzanita closes in on the roadway. Your vehicle's paint may not like it much. Otherwise, it has good gravel all the way to the trailhead. Take a left from Hwy 138 West onto NF-900, then a right onto Big Camas Rd (NF-3701). Take another left onto NF-3704 and follow that around and turn left on NF-230 and yet another left onto NF-250 and a final left on to NF-290. Google Maps was right this time!
I had hiked into the Independence Lakes area a few days earlier and was blown away with the beauty of the ancient glacier bowl where the lakes are located. From the lakes you can see Cache Peak to the south dominating the skyline, thus my interest was piqued. From summitost.org:
July 12th, 2023. This no-name peak, first activated by ND7PA in 2015 (thanks for the article), is found by taking Big Lake Rd (BLR - aka NF-2690) south from US 20 at the Santiam Pass, across from Santiam Sno-Park, approx. 90 minutes east of Salem and 60 minutes northwest of Bend.
Lovely mostly shady hike to a peak with a good view of mt hood. Highly recommended activation.
There are a few routes to get to Mount Defiance. We took the hike from Warren lake described here on Oregon Hikers (different from 2012 trip report).
Frog Lake Buttes is a popular SOTA destination that was moved slightly from its old high point in March of 2023. The old summit plays host to a cell tower and is accessible via both road and trail. The new summit lies approximately 0.4 miles NE of the old one with a deep enough col between the two that a new designator was assigned. This new summit requires a short bushwhack from the old and is easily accessible during summer months.
