Easy Trail

You can access Meridian Mountain if you purchase a Weyerhaeuser permit https://recreation.weyerhaeuser.com. You will need the “Longview – St Helens” one. The permit is valid for a year and gets you a map that you can load into an app on your phone as well as a key to the Recreation Access Gates.  Take I5 N to exit 42, then Ostrander Road to Rec Permit Access Gate 010. Take Road 010 to Road 049 to summit.  The AZ is off the road, the true summit is densely treed.  Summit pic on SOTA Atlas.

1470 is an unnamed summit near Granite Falls, WA. It is an easy 3 mile walk (6 mile R/T) up a good gravel road. Around 1000' of gain. This is a good candidate for a mountain bike trip. Some nice views of Pilchuck near the top.

This is a burned-over scattered forest summit with few live trees.  Parking at the trailhead is limited but several places within 200’ exist.  Finding a place without snags limited parking to a couple of areas west of the trailhead at the curve in the road.  The one above the road is near an Idaho/Montana boundary post.  That post was placed in 1905 at mile 393.121 per information received from W7LIX. 

Goble Mountain is one of several two-point summits accessible from Weyerhaeuser rec permit access gate 6110.  For permit information see: https://recreation.weyerhaeuser.com. You will need the “Longview – St Helens” one.  For this three-summit “expedition” I drove to within a few miles of each summit, parked and mountain biked to each of the summits.

Nineteen Mountain is one of several two-point summits accessible from Weyerhaeuser rec permit access gate 6110. For permit information see: https://recreation.weyerhaeuser.com. You will need the “Longview – St Helens” one. For this three-summit “expedition” I drove to within a few miles of each summit, parked and mountain biked to each of the summits.  There is a small access road that kicks up steeply to the summit and really tested the lowest gear on my bike but once at the top of it, you are at the true summit.

Smith Mountain is one of several two-point summits accessible from Weyerhaeuser rec permit access gate 6110.  For permit information see: https://recreation.weyerhaeuser.com. You will need the “Longview – St Helens” one.  For this three-summit “expedition” I drove to within a few miles of each summit, parked and mountain biked to each of the summits.  The Smith Mountain AZ extends to the road that passes nearby.  I did not bushwhack up to the treed “true” summit on this one and activated from the road. 

4.4 Miles, +1,233 feet, -30 feet 

Winter Access Directions to TH:

From I-15 north of Helena – Exit at Lincoln Road (Exit-200) – Head West on Hwy-279 for 22.3 miles

Turn Left (west) towards Stemple Pass – drive 8.3 miles to the Pass (Pass is plowed in winter)

Park in the parking area on the left (west) side of the road at the pass.

Snowshoe/Ski Directions:

Ski or snowshoe (westerly) on the Marsh Creek Road (FS-485)  3.0 miles to the Granite Butte Lookout road.

For Thanksgiving this year, we drove to Yakima to visit with family and the day after my Dad and I drove up to Rattler Benchmark.  Starting in Selah, we took N Wenas Rd turning right on Sheep Company Rd up to where it turns (46.778909, -120.563142) to become Bell Telephone Rd (going straight eventually leads you to Gracie Pt aka W7W/CW-096, see my report here).  This is a goat trail with many ruts and requires steady nerves and high clearance.  Fortunately, my Dad has both.  This ro

A near drive-up summit in the Coast Range. From Highway 36 around Milepost 20, take  BLM 17-8-31 Road, (Near 44.11999,-123.64626 and 17445 Oregon 36, Deadwood, Oregon).

Travel 4.2 miles on this Priusable gravel road and park when 0.2 miles from summit and walk up the road shown in the first photo. At the summit are remains of a fire lookout (see photos):
https://oregonlookouts.weebly.com/windy-peak.html

A near drive-up summit in the Coast Range. From Highway 36 near Milepost 18, take paved Nelson Mountain Road east. When the pavement ends just before 3 miles, turn uphill to stay on Nelson Mountain Road (my GPS called it Chickahominy). Do not go through the yellow gate - that's the 17-8-14 Road. Continue up to just past the 4 mile sign at a four way intersection turn right onto Walker Point Road. Go 3.2 miles on Walker Pt Road, Head up to a yellow gate about 0.1 miles from the summit and go on foot into the AZ. I activated near some spur roads off the summit to avoid any RFI.