Good Views From Summit

Three Wild Turkey Winners! On a springtime outing to the Spokane, Washington region, we activated three (3) SOTA Summits in the mountains north of the City of Spokane.  The reference to Wild Turkeys is on account of seeing numerous of the large wild birds that almost became the National Symbol of USA.  See: http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National-Wildlife/Birds/Archives/2007/Americas-First-Bird-Controversy.aspx .  We chose this area, as there were several SOTA Summits that were easily accessible from the 2 alpine ski resorts north of Spokane: Mount Spokane Ski and Snowboard Park and 490 North Mountain Resort.  This is report 2 of 3, detailing the Activation of Quartz Mountain.

This is a nice spring hike on good trails.  To get there from Missoula:

Wind Mountain is a great hike with fantastic views near Hood River Oregon.  It is on the Washington State side of the river so your will need to cross the toll bridge to the Washington side if you are coming from Hood River, OR.

The toll is $1 I think and is well worth the price of admission for Wind Mountain.  You will pass the parking for Dog Mtn on the way to Wind Mtn if coming from Hood River.  Dog Mtn is another popular hike to a SOTA summit.

One of a couple Squaw Butte's in Idaho, this one near Emmett Idaho was activated on a pleasant Spring day.  Heading North out of Emmett Idaho, you can connect to a dirt road that leads you to the top of "Squaw Butte".  However, the highpoint is about a 2 mile hike from where most passenger cars will need to park.

Crown Butte is one of several laccoliths that protrude from the prairie south west of Great Falls.  It is the smaller cousin of the nearby Square Butte, which figures so famously in Charlie Russell paintings.  The butte is primarily owned by the Nature Conservancy, as a preserve

After wanting to get started activating peaks under the SOTA program, a push from Brett, KG7FFW got both of us out to do our first activation at Three Lakes Hill on Tuesday the 26th of April.  A frustrating discovery that there were no good place to park that did not require a Discovery Pass, forced a quick trip into Monroe to purchase one. Upon returning, we discovered that someone had spread nails all about the parking area.

First Activation of Mount Heinen.

Full Report coming soon.

This is a pleasant, short hike that is accessible by most vehicles.  The summit is an open, broad knoll that offers nice views in all directions.   There is an exceptional profusion of Bitterroots (the Montana state flower) on the sum

This is a pleasant, short hike that is clear of snow early in the spring.  The approach is on a dirt road that while suitable for most cars, may be impassible when snowy or muddy.

A nice drive-up summit - so long as you have a high clearance vehicle. Head north of Yakima on I-82.