Summit has good "views"
This was #4 of 4 in a day. Battle Mountain on a map looks like it is a drive up but it is not. It is mostly a burn scar and the original lookout road (lookout is gone) has been bermed. It is a very nice summit on top. Flat, open but big timber for shade and a view. Lookout ruins, footings. Getting up was not easy though.
South of Bend is a little 2-pointer named Bates Butte. I had mapped out a route from the south side. Frome Bend take South Century Drive and make a left on Forest Lane, a paved forest road. Take a right at 43.80887, -121.50379 and make a short drive up a forest road. There was still a bit of snow when I was there, so 4 wheel drive recommended, but probably doable on 2 wheel drive when dry. I parked at 43.80536, -121.50776. From here look for a decent worn trail heading north up the butte.
This summit was just added to the database and it was a great hike. A nice ~2mi RT hike on a decommissioned road and dirt bike trail. Plenty of room to operate, shade or sun. Outstanding view of the Applegate Valley, Mt Isabelle, and beyond. This is the same parking location for hiking Isabelle so if you're feeling adventurous you could do both. Really adventurous Wellington Butte TH is just a couple miles away.
We detoured to Schonchin after going birdwatching at Lower Klamath NWR and Tulelake NWR, disappointed with so few birds and little water (Tulelake dry). It took a commitment to get over the Cascades from the Rogue Valley as there is a lot of snow, but once we reached the east side, the snow was minimal.
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. The summit route has good views of the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Area, remote sections of the Salmon-Challis National Forest and large areas of burned forest.
I did the first activation of Sheridan Mountain in July of 2015. I wrote up a quick trip report for the NASOTA group and planned to write a more detailed trip report later, but I lost my notes for the activation. Sheridan has not been activated again. I am writing this trip report now with the hope that someone will find it useful. Sheridan is not an easy summit to get to or climb, but it's not that hard either.
Let's sart with my original trip report and then I will add some commentary from memory.
Cline Buttes is a moderate hike/ride, depending on your approach. The traditional mtb route is to start off the quarry road on the east side and climb the Cline Butte XC Trail around the west side interconnecting with FAA access road to the summit. There is a short cut near the summit that keeps you on the west side of the butte and drops you out right at several big rocks that are in the AZ and can provide some wind protection. 2M can work well but having had one failed activation for lack of 2M contacts, I highly suggest bringing and HF rig as well.
Baldy Peak was a wonderful and pleasant surprise. I recommend it. The minimum hike is 1.2 miles round trip with about 650’ vertical. The hike can be extended by parking a bit further down B-1000 and hiking up the Buck Creek trail.
I was fortunate enough to be first activator of this summit. I think it was never activated because people were trying to come at it from the Hwy 141 side. Even though there are seasonal access roads, approaching from the East side requires crossing private property. I approached the summit from the West side.
The route I took to 2700 – Circuit Peak was 3.6 miles round trip with 1100’ vertical. It was a combination of forest road walking and moderate bushwhacking. I think it may take a few activators summiting to get the best route to the top identified. There are smaller ridgelines and drainages not shown on the topo maps, and it may be possible to follow the old roadbed nearly all the way to the summit.
Lava Butte is closed to vehicles in the winter, but open for hiking. You can park at the closed visitor center, or there's an option to pull off 97 near where the Lava Butte road passes the highway. From here there's a very short trail through the brush and you're on the road. We did this option which puts the hike at about 1.2 mi and 540' gain.
The road was mostly clear of snow and ice, with just a handful of spots that had it. We did not need the microspikes we brought in our packs, but had the temps been colder, they would've been neccessary in some spots.
