I dunno, I tend to stay away from solid stains altogether* but with
really dry wood it may be best for you.

I recently used an Olympic solid color latex and a Porter solid color
latex -- both were new formulations [not the run-of-the-mill latex
solid stains] -- application went fine but this was in the last few
weeks, so I can't say anything about how it stands up.

I'd take a look at that Olympic product. I used it on some rather dry
PT wood and it soaked in well. I had to do 2 coats.

At any rate, I think you're looking at 2 coats [at least on the dry
stuff... maybe you get away with 1 coat on the unexposed side].

As for the tall, hard to get part -- you're looking at either a) a tall
extension ladder laid flat on the roof [from the ground], or b) ladder
hooks that attach to the top of an extension and hook over the peak of
the roof [again, the ladder is laying flat on the roof].

*I was hammered for this by a couple of people whose experience is
questionable, but for years I've been using latex paint on rough-sawn
cedar instead of solid stain. It's pretty common around here --
customers had been complaining about the frequency of having to do
their house. The paint doesn't ruin the character of the rough-sawn,
and I haven't had the problem of peeling that's found on smooth siding.

The problem is that your wood is dry. If you consider this approach,
I'd recommend staining now and in a couple years make the switch to
paint. It'll be a bit of a hassle in the beginning, but typically a
paint job job will laster longer than a stain job.