Monument Peak is the highest peak in this section of Sawtooth National Forest. Access is easy, it is close to some roads. To get there, I drove up Forest Road 538 to its intersection with Road 671. I found a small pullout to park in, then started walking up 671. It was a perfect day for hiking, with temperatures in the mid 60's and a nice breeze.
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| The car is hidden behind the trees on the right. |
Follow this road for about a mile. It first goes over a sub-peak that is nearly as high as the main peak, then through a shallow col. Once it breaks out of the forest on the other side, head cross country up the hill. You will cross another road, then I found a dirt road that went up to near the highest point. The top is a wide, flat ridge, and there are a few spots that could be the highest. I went to what looked like the highest one, and found a USGS marker in a rock.
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| I thin this is the high point. |
I setup near this, and got on 30 meters. After working all the chasers, I went up to 20, then down to 40. Propagation seemed decent, but I didn't try the higher bands because it was late in the afternoon and I thought they would be closed to the east coast. To get back to the car, I simply retraced my steps. There were some people camping nearby, and one of them came over and talked to me for a few minutes.
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| QRV on the summit. Luckily, nothing blew away in the wind. |
Trailhead: Intersection of Forest Roads 538 and 671. You could probably drive up 671 to very near the summit.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
NPS Maps
Route: Follow Forest Road 671. When it goes out of the forest near the summit (not the first, false summit), go cross country up the hill. Short climb from this point.
Red Tape: None.
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