An outing to Pine Mountain offers an opportunity to activate 3 summits: W7O/CE-058, W7O/CE-068, and W7O/CE-176. I started the day early with Pine Mountain. The main road up the mountain is heavily washboarded. Take 43.80066, -120.93746 and head up the good forest road. A sedan will have no trouble. I parked at the broad saddle and found a trail heading up the mountain.
Mount Baldy summit has a Forest Service Lookout tower and a multi-agency communication site for the NW corner of Montana. There are good views from the summit including high mountains of the Cabinets Mountains to the south, the Selkirk Mountains to the west and into Canada to the North.
KE7JWP and I did an attempt on Gambol Knob earlier today. For me this was like the fifth visit to the area of the summit.
Its located in Campbell Global land, so a recreation permit is needed. I have had a motorized permit for a couple of different years. My previous visits were the long way through Campbell Global land......
My last visit made me decide that I wanted somone with me to make this attempt. Lots of steep. Trees. Lots of slash.
UPDATE - K7AHR decided to check the ground conditions for these two peaks. Both are apparently accessible with the usual cautions regarding hiking in burn zones.
Hearing that the Big Hollow TH is again open, I began making plans to activate Timbered Peak and Sister Rocks (W7W/LC-064). Unfortunately, a BARC map (dated September 30, 2020) indicates that Timbered Peak was severely damaged in the Big Hollow fire. At this time, there appears to be no way to safely access either summit. More below...
Summary - Northwest of Trout Lake, WA, Flattop Mountain is the site of a microwave tower and a couple of repeaters. While it is a driveup, the last section of road is best negotiated in a 4WD vehicle with good tires. There are no views and little open space on the tree covered summit. As with other hills in this area, ATT cellular and APRS coverage are both very good while making 2M contacts is hard. Flattop is not on my peaks-I-must-visit-againlist, though I would probably include it in a multiple day peak excursion.
Summary - Peterson Ridge is a relatively easy bushwhack and an unremarkable summit, without a view or open space. The pleasant hike in on Service Trail 35 includes a modest climb and is mostly under the trees. There are trees for antennas, ATT cell service was five bars, and two way APRS messaging worked. I had no luck on 2M, even with a yagi. The drive can be done in a passenger vehicle and there is plenty of parking at the trailhead. One caution: This is a busy part of the forest and this trail is frequently used by motorbikers.
Summary - Little Huckleberry's small summit is open, has terrific views of the surrounding mountains, and is a nice place to operate. The trail is easy to follow, climbs about 1800 feet over two and half miles, and is popular, so an early start is a good idea. Bring a mast if you want to hang a wire. Two meters works okay. Both APRS and ATT digital service are reliable.
Summary - Roughly two hours from Portland, getting Mann Butte includes a steep bushwhack through heavy brush and deadfall and ends in a small, tree and brush covered summit. You can see Mt Adams through the trees but not much else. While you can drive to the base of the summit, if you value your vehicle's paint, you will hike the road in.
Black Pine Ridge is a drive-to summit on easy Forest Service roads just outside of Phillipsburg, Montana. The last mile of the road is rocky and I advise four wheel drive for the trek.
Getting there: From Phillipsburg, Montana travel north on highway 1 approximately 1.8 miles. Turn left onto Black Pine Road and go 2.9 miles. Take a left turn onto Forest Service Road 448 and travel 3.25 miles. Here, veer left onro Forest Service 178. Travel 6.0 miles to the summit.
An easy drive to the trailhead and a moderate 2.5 mile hike makes for a good day in the northwest corner of Montana. As with many summits up here, it's just a very remote area and it's quite a long drive from anywhere. Well worth it, however.