As I mentioned in my previous report from Rattler Benchmark, my Dad and I followed that activation with a trip up to Cleman Mountain. If you are coming down Game Department Rd from Rattler, you need to drive south back towards town for a while on N Wenas Rd until you reach the entrance.
Unfortunately, the map shows many roads leading up the mountain but we were only able to find one that was passable at (46.833565, -120.711814). The signs at the gate read "Closed from Dec 9th thru May 15th."
NOTE: this land is owned by Washington DNR and thus a Discover Pass is required. You can get one online the same day if you forgot yours but might have to drive back towards town to get cell service.
We proceeded through the gate and around to (46.855090, -120.758781) where we caught the Jones Canyon road up to the ridge. There were a few spots that had pools of water and one section with frozen ice but otherwise it was straightforward. It probably requires a high clearance vehicle to be safe. There were quite a few bow hunters out looking for prey, though the only animal we saw on the ground was a chipmunk that dashed across the road. The summit is populated by a series of radio towers and 40m had horrible noise. I only netted one contact on 40m because I knew who it was (RST 31). The rest were on 20m which was much better. 2m is easily possible into the west of Yakima line of sight but you may not encounter many takers, bring HF gear.
See my accompanying trip report for Rattler Benchmark here.
