The Lookout is a "first come, first served" and, therefore, not reservable at recreation.gov. Consequently, a mid-week visit with an early arrival will generally net you an opportunity to spend the night. Most folks spend one night, as a courtesy to others.
Columbia Mountain is easily my favorite hike in the Sherman Pass area. This 3.2 mile climb is not steep, almost always shaded and well maintained. The spring at the junction of trail 24 and the Kettle Crest trail still had a trickle in early September. There is a cabin at the top and several benches to set up. One of the few activations where I've been able to sit on a bench in the shade. I plan to return and camp at some point. Fun hike.
Runt Mountain is a SOTA peak at the top of the chairlift at Lookout Pass Ski area. Lookout Pass Ski area is on Interstate 90 at the Idaho/Montana border.
From Idaho, take exit 0 on Interstate 90 and turn right into the parking lot of the ski area. You will have to purchase a lift ticket ($13) for the ride up the main chair. I activated this in the summer as they open the area up to hikers and mountain bikers. You might be able to activate this in the winter but with much more difficulty with skiiers buzzing by you.
Sherman Peak has an exposed summit / activation zone. I hiked to the summit from Trail 72 along the western slope. Be prepared to hike through large boulder fields; trekking poles helped greatly. Plan to use a mast if using a wire antenna. I ended up using a trekking pole and the tallest dead tree which put my EFHW at around 6' off the ground.
This was part of a two-summit dayhike to FR-002 and FR-005.
A steady, relentless 3000 ft climb over 3.6 mi to the summit. The trail is mostly forested until you make the ridge, about 100 ft (elevation) of the summit, then you get spectacular views of Rainier, Adams, St Helens, and the Goat Rocks. The summit is exposed with a few nearby trees. It also is a repeater site for the USFS. When I was there, it was HOT and really no where to get out of the sun.
This 6-pointer is moderate for difficulty. Recent trees down across the trail and out-dated USFS trail maps require extra patience on this hike. Park at 48.62151 -117.59801 and look for a small brown sign for Trail 142. Follow this to the intersection of "easy" and "most difficult", direct quote from the sign located at 48.62700, -117.59717. Neither route is the Trail 142 depicted on the MVUM from the Forest Service. Regrdless, remain on the trail and you'll reach the summit. I chose the "most difficult" trail which wasn't difficult.
On a recent trip to Riffe Lake, I had the opportunity to activate this summit.
On a recent camping trip to Riffe Lake, I activated this summit after activating Burley Mountain (W7W/PL-039). See my other trip report for directions to get there.
On the way over to Bend, I stopped to activate Black Butte. I came on Hwy 20 and turned at NF-11 which is also the turn for Indian Ford Campground. From there I followed north to the turn for NF-1110 (also known as Black Butte Rd) and on around the north of the mountain. After a hairpin turn, there is one more sharp turn to the right which takes you to the upper trailhead. The road up to the last turn was in good shape as of this writing. The upper portion after the last turn was not as good but still very drivable.