Follow any road map to Soda Mt. Rd or Hobart Bluff TH off of Hwy 66. You will follow the gravel road down past Hobart Bluff Trailhead, there is a parking area and restroom here. Go on past the trailhead aways until you reach the gated driveway for Soda Mountain on the right. It is a 1.5 mile walk up to the summit using the road. Minimal parking area as you will be in wilderness and there is very few pullouts to park in.
Henline is a relatively low traffic hiking trail in the Opal Creek Wilderness. It boasts rhododendrons, a mostly-well-maintained trail, and reasonably consistent gains. The hike is entirely on public right of way, and can be accessed via North Fork Santiam Road and NFDR 2207 from Hwy 22 out of Salem. Turn left on North Fork Santiam Road about 22 miles from I-5, then drive straight. Eventually this road turns to a moderate gravel road, followed by a fork between 2207 and 2209. Take the left fork and head uphill a ways. You'll pass the more popular Henline Falls Trailhead.
Flattop Mountain is a drive-up for those with capable high clearance vehicles. And maybe for those ready to buy new tires - which was required of us - as the road was steep with sharp rocks.
Here's a nice summit with a trail to the top, about 5 miles RT and more elevation gain that you might have wanted at 1800 feet - but know that it's worth it. A bit obscure perhaps outside of huckleberry season, you might not see many folks at other times. The views of Mt. Adams are fabulous.
Elk Mountain is in the Olympic National Park and accessible from a well-maintained forest service road named Obstruction Point Road. The road is not open all year, so check park conditions before you go. The summit is attainable by taking the Obstruction Point Trail and then making the easy traverse up to the base of a large rock formation. A quick stairstep up the rocks brings you to the summit. Total hike from parking to summit is about 1.5 miles.
Summit 5645 (Hurricane Ridge) is in the Olympic National Park and accessible from a well-maintained forest service road named Obstruction Point Road. The road is not open all year, so check park conditions before you go. There is no established trail to this SOTA summit, but it is quite straightforward to follow the ridgeline to the summit and does not require bushwhacking.
Doris Peaks is my name for a set of peaks above Doris Lake.
My stats:
Distance: 9.1 miles
Elevation Gain: 2000 ft
On trail: 6 miles
Off trail: 3.1 miles
Difficulty: Arduous
Quick search of sota summits finds 30 Goat Mountains, exclusive of my favorites: Old Goat Mountain and Scape Goat Mountain. Can unfortunately relate to both of those.
There are six in W7W and 2 in W7W/LC. This blog is about W7W/LC-035. The plan for this trip was found on summitpost: https://www.summitpost.org/goat-mountain/153737. Andrew, K7AHR, and I followed those directions to a successful activation.
Stark Mountain with its fire lookout looks to be an easy 4 pointer as it is an easy drive-to peak on well marked Forest Service roads. However.... the last two miles of the road is gated and the summit is currently closed to the public. See the photo. I did not push it today, being tempted to just walk the two miles. It's closed due to Covid so I'll respect that. Maybe next season.