NC-009, Sheridan Peak, is a good first-time activation destination. It is an easy half-mile hike (about 300' climb) from the parking lot to the summit, which is broad and flat; lots of good spots to set up. The summit is wooded and shady with a fair amount of old growth, so there are no views. Cell data service is spotty. I managed to spot myself once with SOTA GOAT though I tried four or five times. Two way APRS coverage was excellent and I spotted myself on aprs using a VX8DR.
This was my first activation and Dan, N7CQR, who organized the outing, cheerfully lent a hand whenever I got stuck. I put up a tri-band, base-loaded vertical for HF and used both whip and yagi antennas for 2M. I made all of my contacts but one using my FT-817 running roughly five watts.
This was also my first CW QSO. I made three CW contacts, all on 20M, one of which was a summit-to-summit. How cool is that? I tried working 30M but it was getting late and the band faded from underneath me. FM contacts were harder than I thought they would be, too, even with the yagi. Will check to see if I have a gear problem.
Caution...Google Maps will divert you to the backside of the summit if it can! Stay on the paved road the whole way. The parking lot is above the road at the big turnout; you can't see it from below.