Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness

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Horse Creek Butte, Idaho | 26 September 2022

Summit: 
W7I/LE-162

Horse Creek Butte doesn’t appear as classically defined buttes nor typical of buttes that characterize many Idaho and Montana landscapes.  It has a highly fractured ridge of boulders capping the summit, but with little geological relief from the surrounding subalpine fir, and lodgepole and whitebark pine forest.

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Roundtop Mountain, Idaho | 2 June 2021

Summit: 
W7I/IC-225

The Roundtop name matches well this broad round summit.  It was intensely burned, twice with very few snags and live trees remaining now.  Even though the hike is short, considerable downfall impedes travel over many routes.

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Long Tom Mountain, Idaho | September 2022

Summit: 
W7I/LE-167

Long Tom Mountain is a long forest road drive mostly through burned forest. The current Long Tom Lookout built in 1977 is ½ mile south of the SOTA summit.

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Devils Point, Idaho | July 2022

Summit: 
W7I/IC-074

Devils Point is a mostly open snag-covered summit with excellent views of the surrounding Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness and the Hell’s Half Acre Lookout.    Much of this area has experienced very large wildfires over the last several of decades and abundant snags exist.

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Oreana Ridge - Montana 14July2020

Summit: 
W7I-LE-177

Oreana Ridge is a picturesque summit with scattered trees, grass/forb land, an old US Forest Service L-4 Lookout and a log garage.  There are fine views of high peaks in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness and the steep slopes of Salmon River breaks.   The lookout built in

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Pasture Ridge - Idaho 24June2018

Summit: 
W7I/IC-250

Pasture Ridge is one of several SOTA summits near the Magruder Corridor.  This corridor-road divides some of the most wild-country in Idaho, the Selway Bitterroot and Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness areas. The trail access to the summit begins at the Historic Magruder Ranger Station.

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Blue Nose - Idaho/Montana 13July2020

Summit: 
W7I/LE-150

Blue Nose is a US Forest Service Lookout built in 1934.  The structure still exists. From the summit are good views of the steep slopes of the Salmon River Canyon and high summits of the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness. The final access road is a bit

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Un-named Summit 8586 - Idaho/Montana 13July2020

Summit: 
W7I/LE-152

This is a burned-over flat-summit on the Idaho/Montana Border.  Access is via an obscure 4x4 road that takes off to the north from FS#038.  Along this road after several hundred feet is a flatten area used as a dispersed campsite most commonly in hunting season.  Beyond this area the road becomes an ATV track weaving through a sn

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Haystack Mountain - Idaho 19June2020

Summit: 
W7I/IC-200

Haystack Mountain is one of several SOTA summits near the Magruder Corridor.  This road divides some of the most wild-country in Idaho, the Selway Bitterroot and Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness areas.   A trail system FS#26, and a non-system hunter trail is near the summit however it is much shorter to just bushwhack from the road through mostly open forest.  Only a short obstacle of downed trees slows the otherwise easy hike.&nbsp

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Idaho – Salmon Mountain 5August2017

Summit: 
W7I/IC-012

This is a delightful mile scenic hike to an active US Forest Service Lookout. The staff was very friendly and knew about ham radio. Views are spectacular unless you are there in the middle of an active fire season when smoke obscures the mountains. Getting there is over the better-maintained portion of the Magruder Corridor Road approximately 14 miles west of the Magruder Crossing. The lookout trail begins as an old road, but then transitions to a single-track trail through a very open grass/forb corridor, a snow glade, where deep winter snow drifts persist into the late spring growing season and prevent trees from growing. Steep mountain cliffs, cirques and mountain lakes are adjacent to the trail to the east.