After failed attempts at Burnt Hill [W7W/NO-108] and Display Mountain [W7W/SO-105], I drove down Donkey Creek Road east of Highway 101 to a spot where the satellite views from Google Maps and AllTrails.com show a road splitting off to the east [47.303033, -123.834128].
I parked here and passed a gate -- no 'no tresspassing signs' or other indications I was on private land (see photo).
We built extra time into our schedule in case of an unexpected delay, but I never thought that delay would be a cattle drive. In the drive up to the Pine Mountain Observatory, Mark, W6IA, and I waited as two cowboys and at least one dog herded cattle off the road. We hung back just behind the well-trained border collie while he and his team did their work, and eventually it was clear. [See photo below.]
My second SOTA required a longer hike (~2 miles each way) than Mt. Electric but was also a lot of fun.
This was my first summit, and I want to thank pnwSOTA.org for the recommendation for it as a first summit. It was a blast!
I reached 18 stations, including the famous WG0AT in Colorado and OK2PDT in the Czech Republic -- all with a SOTABeams linked dipole on a fiberglass mast with 5 watts out from my KX3! Amazing what CW can do.
I sat on a wet tree limb, fumbled with a pad to log QSOs while swatting away mosquitoes but it was perhaps the most fun I've had in ham radio. I recommend it highly to anyone who hasn't tried it.