On September 5th, I went up Stormy Mountain for its first activation since 2019. The previous trip report was useful, and I followed the same driving route. This is also the route recommended by the forest service. Google Maps tried to send me by a different route. It might have been fine, but I decided it was more prudent to stick with the human-curated recommendations.
I skied up Cooper Mountain on Feb 6, 2022 for its first-ever winter activation and my first trip up it. This looks to be a drive-up summit in the summer, but winter is a very different story unless you have a snowmobile (there is a groomed snowmobile trail all the way to the summit, so that would be quite easy). However, I do not have a snowmobile, so I made the trip on my new Altai Hok 125 cm skis.
Patterson Mountain is an established hike, with quite a few resources providing the details. WA7JNJ's previous trip report should provide plenty of information for fair weather activations, so I'll focus here on my experience doing this hike in January.
I completed the first-ever activation of Wapato Peak today (Peak 3380). Wapato Peak has no official name in the SOTA database, but several sources mention this one so it's the name that I will use.
There is no established trail, but the hike is fairly easy, with only ~800 feet of elevation gain and a 1.5-2 mile round trip. It is steep at times, but I found it manageable with trekking poles and ordinary hiking boots even with an inch of snow on the ground.
I completed the first-ever activation of Goat Mountain (not to be confused with Goat Peak, W7W/OK-107 or other Goat Mountains in W7W) today. The summit is a communications site, so in the summer it's likely possible to drive all the way up. There were no closed gates or signs that would indicate that public access is limited, though the last stretch of road is in bad condition with several trees blocking it.
I completed the first activation of Tenas Mountain today. The hike I took and the peak itself are both located within Indian Dan State Wildlife Recreation Area. My route is about a 4 mile round trip with 1000 feet of elevation gain. I parked at the parking area at (48.11129,-119.86790). A Discover Pass is required. The last two miles of the drive was on a dirt road, but it was in excellent condition. From the parking area, I hiked along an old double track road towards the summit. It's easily visible from aerial imagery.
Ice Cave Mountain (Peak 2220) is a moderate hike that requires some route finding, with no established trail. Parking is along the shoulder of a paved road at an elevation of 1350 feet. I estimate that the hike is about 1.5-2 miles round trip, with about 900 feet of elevation gain. The peak and the approach are all on public land.
Before I dive in to the trip report, I want to make the access concerns clear to anyone reading. This summit is part of Cashmere Canyons, a privately-owned wildlife preserve. It is open to the public for hiking, but because its primary purpose is wildlife protection, it has a very short and specific list of allowed activities, and amateur radio is not among them. I am fortunate enough to be friends with the owner so I asked for permission to operate my KX2 here.
Bear Mountain is an easy hike with a reasonable approach. The hike is about a 4 mile round trip with around 800 feet of elevation gain.