K7ATN reported poor road/driving conditions when attempting to get to the Zig Zag Mountain trailhead on the south side of Zig Zag Mountain. This report shares activation information for the north approach from Riley Horse Campground. The drive can easily be done in a passenger car (recreation permit to park). There are two options from this point, I took Cast Creek trail, and it was 12.8 miles RT with 3900 ft vertical climbing total.
Full Quieting Mountain was instead fully quiet at least on 2m FM. Maybe it should be called Evil Step Sister as it lurks unattractively above Sleeping Beauty. (Did fine on HF)
Looks like there may be a shorter bushwhack from the north when examining the map. However, I was invited to hike Sleeping Beauty by some friends. Answering the question why isn’t Sleeping Beauty a SOTA summit leads you to Peak 5060, which has the required promonance.
So I started from the official Sleeping Beauty trailhead:
Trail access to Round Mountain is good, but the last 100 meters or so of vertical is not. Cell service at the parking lot and on the summit is present, but spotty in between. I heard good strong signals for APRS on the summit. A comfortable skill set with crampons and ice axle will certainly make the last 100 meters or so pleasant. I have summited twice, once in winter on skis, and once late spring. Lots of snow still in June hence my recommendation to use crampons and ice axe. Not totally necessary, but certainly easier and easier on the vegatation.
Indian Spring Butte is very near Strawberry Mountain (W7O/NE-018) and it is possible to summit both in a single day. It is 0.8 miles one way and 600 feet of gain. There is no defined trail, but the access is straightforward because of minimal undergrowth under the tree canopy and it is an easy ridgeline to follow.
Trailhead: Goose Lake TH, Google maps will guide you there. 2WD is probably fine for this road.
Bunchgrass Mountain is a bushwhack through meadows of bear grass (presumably its namesake), and trees and brush up higher. It eventually reaches an unavoidable steep push to the AZ, which rewards you with impressive nearly panoramic views of Wolf Rock, Latiwi Mountain, and others to the east. This is across the road from Wildcat W7O/CM-082, and across the highway from Iron Mountain, so they make a good pair or trio if you have the time.
One of the four Wildcat Mountains in Oregon, this one is a short bushwhack from a Honda-Fit-accessible road, and as it is directly across NF2655 from Bunchgrass Mountain W7O/CM-087, these peaks would make an excellent pair or trio with Iron Mountain.
On US 20, turn south onto NF15 and follow twists and turns, and several forks, to a sign on the left that says Fritz Wildcat, at 44.3437, -122.1303. Follow this road up to climb the ridge, and park at 44.3296, -122.1014, the saddle. Google has all these roads marked and it can get you there.
Sep 2023 Update: Buck Creek Road is closed a few miles from Highway 141 and so the shortest route to Monte Carlo described below isn't available just now. The longer routes appear to be acessable.
Anderson Mountain is a 4pt summit located near Alger, WA. Parking at the gate can be found at 48.63644, -122.309031 and has plenty of parking with no pass required.
As soon as you exit the vehicle, the elevation gain of ~3200ft begins. This trip was about 13.2 miles on established trail and logging roads along the PNW trail. Moving time was about 4hrs and 40min. This trail has some evidence of heavy 2-wheel traffic so be aware of the deep ruts while hiking the trail portions.
