Forested Summit

Summary - Getting 4340 into the log requires a two hour drive, a short steep, brush covered cross county hike to the summit, and HF capability. A map and compass or GPS is a really good idea, as are trekking poles and long pants. There is no trail to the summit and on the way up you will encounter a lot of very large deadfall along with stands of manzanita and poison oak.  2M contacts are difficult unless other SOTA ops are working on nearby mountains, APRS works well, and ATT messaging sometimes.

This is a near drive-up in a carefully driven Prius, or perhaps a full-on drive-up in a vehicle with some ground clearance.

3820 Mt. Transponder involves a long drive on forest service roads followed by a very short bushwhack to the top of a forested summit that is deep into the western part of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.  This summit can be combined with nearby 3780 Top Loaded Mtn (W7W/PL-089) for an easy twofer.  The roads are easily tackled by a Subaru, but probably not a Prius.

Full Quieting Mountain was instead fully quiet at least on 2m FM. Maybe it should be called Evil Step Sister as it lurks unattractively above Sleeping Beauty. (Did fine on HF)

Looks like there may be a shorter bushwhack from the north when examining the map. However, I was invited to hike Sleeping Beauty by some friends. Answering the question why isn’t Sleeping Beauty a SOTA summit leads you to Peak 5060, which has the required promonance. 

So I started from the official Sleeping Beauty trailhead:

This was my first of three in one day in N. CA just west of Yreka in the  Scott Bar Mountains. It was a pleasant area to activate, forested knoll with some large open spaces to set up in and look down to Scott Valley to the SE. It was still early and we were in the clouds a bit so couldn't see the distant mountains such as the Marble Mountains and Shasta too well but probably you can on a clear day, and depending which side of the summit you are on.

One of the four Wildcat Mountains in Oregon, this one is a short bushwhack from a Honda-Fit-accessible road, and as it is directly across NF2655 from Bunchgrass Mountain W7O/CM-087, these peaks would make an excellent pair or trio with Iron Mountain. 

On US 20, turn south onto NF15 and follow twists and turns, and several forks, to a sign on the left that says Fritz Wildcat, at 44.3437, -122.1303. Follow this road up to climb the ridge, and park at 44.3296, -122.1014, the saddle. Google has all these roads marked and it can get you there.

Ideal for MTB or gravel bike, this summit was another old lookout tower until the mid 30s. Begin where NF-051 is gated (N48.45475, W117.21851), about a six mile drive in from LeClerc Rd N. This road is Priusable. Just shy of five miles up the road from the gate near the summit (N 48.46345, W117.21752) take the road to the right. About 1/2 mile later, the road is blocked and you'll veer left uphill (on foot from here) on a small game trail to the summit about 300ft higher. The summit is forested but has ample room for camping and a nice fire ring.

Update: as of 7/2024 add about 1 mile to ascent due to large tree fall.

This is a decent stop-off on the way to the Marys Peak day use area. The easiest approach is from the west, which has the least gain and the shortest path up to the logging roads up there.

0.5 miles; + 687 feet

This is a pleasant hike that begins at the historic Greenstone Mine just west of Apex, MT in the foothills of the East Pioneer Mountains.