Activation Reports

Not activated.  I spoke to the FS ranger for that area, and he told me that there are no trails to the summit; and that it would be a hard, steep bushwhack to the top.  Furthermore, a road that heads around the side of the mountain is pretty rough for a car.  On 7/11/12 we looked the mountain over in person and decided that for now we will take the ranger's advice and skip it.

Bohemia Mountain and Fairview peak are adjacent to each other and make a good activation pair.  They are nearly 6000' ASL and are among the highest W7/WV summits.  The views from the top of either one are wonderful.  Bohemia is the higher of the two and is a moderately easy hike, while Fairview is a drive up with a fire lookout on top.

Bohemia Mountain and Fairview peak are adjacent to each other and make a good activation pair.  They are nearly 6000' ASL and are among the highest W7/WV summits.  The views from the top of either one are wonderful.  Bohemia is the higher of the two and is a moderately easy hike, while Fairview is a drive up with a fire lookout on top.  My wife, Christina, accompanied me on these two activations on Wednsday, July 11, 2011.

Decided to kick it up a notch this time, (but only one notch) and do a 4 pointer.  But feeling a bit lazy I went looking for a 4-pointer that I could reach without a really long hike.  Gold Mountain, just east of Darrington, fits the bill.  I headed north from downtown Darrington on SR530, and then east on Sauk Prairie Rd.  After a couple miles, turned south on FS24 (pretty good gravel road), and after 4 or 5 miles turned right on FS2420 (OK gravel road with a few potholes to dodge).

A six-point SOTA on a Wednesday? You bet! The July 4th holiday made for a nice mid-week excursion to the hills to one of Washington's fourteen Goat Mountains. This one was twelve miles north of Mt. St. Helens.

After getting stopped at a closed forest road in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, we rerouted and arrived at the trailhead for Goat Mountain Trail #217 a little late. As soon as we stepped out of the Jeep, we knew that we were in for a bloody battle against the "skeeters." I think I was a pint low before I even started climbing.

2011-10-15 Mount Fremont W7/RS-005 CN96DW92

Start elev.: 4291 ft (1308 m)
Max elev.: 7324 ft (2232 m)
Total ascent: 3342 ft (1019 m)
Trip odometer: 11.4mi (18.347km) Up: 5.8mi (9.334km) Down: 5.6mi (8.012km)
Total time: 12h25m Up: 5h33m Down: 2h58m
Video

A good dirt/gravel goes all the way to the top.  There is a small radio tower, container and photo cell structure.  Park somewhere down the hill and make the final hike to the top.  There is good cell coverage and I was able to self spot.  The top is forested so the view is through trees to the Sisters and Mt. Bachelor to the north.

I did not spend a lot of time at the top since the mosquitos were out in force. 

This is an easy 6 pointer but remember to bring your bug spray if you are there in summer.

Stats:
6.8 miles roundtrip
1761 ft elevation gain
Start elevation: 3463 ft
End elevation: 4962 ft

2011-09-24 Palisades Peak W7/RS-008 CN96EW77

Start elev.: 6111 ft (1863 m)
Max elev.: 7083 ft (2159 m)
Total ascent: 3078 ft (938 m)
Trip odometer: 9.3mi (14.967km) Up: 4.8mi (7.725km) Down: 4.5mi (7.242km)
Total time: 11h07m Up: 4h Down: 2h45m
Video

This is probably the easiest summit to locate in Idaho.  It is a volcanic dome that rises 2500 feet in the middle of the Snake River Lava Plain. You can't miss it.  I accessed it from the ARCO approach, a drive of about 20 miles across a dusty BLM desert road which brought me to the base.  Here I unloaded my ATV and rode up the summit trail which is 5 miles one way. A really fine and popular ATV trail ride.  The trail ends at the very peak where there is a viewing platform and stinky outhouse.