This is a burned-over scattered forest summit with few live trees. Parking at the trailhead is limited but several places within 200’ exist. Finding a place without snags limited parking to a couple of areas west of the trailhead at the curve in the road. The one above the road is near an Idaho/Montana boundary post. That post was placed in 1905 at mile 393.121 per information received from W7LIX.
Goble Mountain is one of several two-point summits accessible from Weyerhaeuser rec permit access gate 6110. For permit information see: https://recreation.weyerhaeuser.com. You will need the “Longview – St Helens” one. For this three-summit “expedition” I drove to within a few miles of each summit, parked and mountain biked to each of the summits.
Nineteen Mountain is one of several two-point summits accessible from Weyerhaeuser rec permit access gate 6110. For permit information see: https://recreation.weyerhaeuser.com.
Smith Mountain is one of several two-point summits accessible from Weyerhaeuser rec permit access gate 6110. For permit information see: https://recreation.weyerhaeuser.com.
Although this isn't a very spectacular summit, it is located on the Continental Divide and can be either a drive-up in the summer, or a ski-up in the winter. There are also possibilities to snowshoe up in the winter. Each of these options is summarized below. During our activation we hiked up the "Northern Approach". The activation zone for this summit is very large.
Northern Approach Directions (From Priest Pas)
4.4 Miles, +1,233 feet, -30 feet
Winter Access Directions to TH:
From I-15 north of Helena – Exit at Lincoln Road (Exit-200) – Head West on Hwy-279 for 22.3 miles
Turn Left (west) towards Stemple Pass – drive 8.3 miles to the Pass (Pass is plowed in winter)
Park in the parking area on the left (west) side of the road at the pass.
Howard Mountain is a 2 pointer near Pocatello.. This road is closed to motorized vehicles from Nov 15 until April. This is a very family friendly hike about 3 miles round trip. Sometimes snow shoes are not needed but when in doubt secure them on your pack. There is a nice TH at the gate.
Scout Mountain is a 13 miles round trip. It is located South of Pocatello and part of the Mink Creek Recreation Trail System. Its a nice 6 pointer with bonus points in winter.
As I mentioned in my previous report from Rattler Benchmark, my Dad and I followed that activation with a trip up to Cleman Mountain. If you are coming down Game Department Rd from Rattler, you need to drive south back towards town for a while on N Wenas Rd until you reach the entrance.
Unfortunately, the map shows many roads leading up the mountain but we were only able to find one that was passable at (46.833565, -120.711814). The signs at the gate read "Closed from Dec 9th thru May 15th."
For Thanksgiving this year, we drove to Yakima to visit with family and the day after my Dad and I drove up to Rattler Benchmark. Starting in Selah, we took N Wenas Rd turning right on Sheep Company Rd up to where it turns (46.778909, -120.563142) to become Bell Telephone Rd (going straight eventually leads you to Gracie Pt aka W7W/CW-096, see my report here). This is a goat trail with many ruts and requires steady nerves and high clearance. Fortunately, my Dad has both. This ro