K7FOP and I joked that this summit report could be summed up in two words: “NOT RECOMMENDED”. But I’ll go into more detail if you’re up for an adventure with your GPS and machete in hand. It’s a heck of a bushwhack for just one point. For a much easier drive up point, try Little Hebo North of Hwy 22.
Today after completing an activation of Round Butte near Madras Oregon I scouted a possible access route to Peak# 4676, W7O/CE-298 which is located kind of SE of Grizzly Mountain (W7O/CE-135) near Prineville OR. I found a satellite image of a decent looking parking area off of Grizzly road that would leave about a 2 mile hike up a ridge to the summit. If you google map 11300 Grizzly Road, Prineville OR you will be in the neighborhood of where I was going to look. Unfortunately just past this address on Grizzly Road is a gate with lots of very important looking signage...
Crater Peak is a pleasant trail hike in Crater Lake National Park. It's been covered in a trip report by Phil-NS7P, so this should be considered a supplement. It's about 6.4 miles round trip, and although the sign at the trailhead says 765 feet of gain, that's net - the gross is more like 1,364 feet with all the ups and downs along the trail.
One of the many summits named "Lookout Mountain" in Oregon - this one is west of Sunriver and is a near drive-up with a half-mile road walk and about 200 feet of gain. It's also easy to reach by following GPS map directions.
Browns Mountain, west of Sunriver, despite being pretty close to a paved road, was a tough bushwack for Roland-K7FOP and I, as we pursued several "shortcuts." So we recommend walking about 2.4 miles on forest roads, and a final steep ascent of about 1/10 mile. Total is about 900 feet of gain. If there's a better way to get to the AZ, please write up an updated trip report.
Snowking is quite the challenge to get to. The road to the trailhead, not so much. Travis, my climbing partner, and I accessed the trail head via Highway 20, and then via Cascade River Road in Marblemount. Forest Service Road 1570 takes off on the right just after mile marker 14, to get you to the trailhead. There is a couple of Creek crossings, but We went on a thursday night and suffered for the first five miles of super steep climber's trail.
This blog entry is for those wanting to hike to the Mount Hebo summit in lieu of driving. Drive up Mount Hebo Road from Hwy 22 approximately 4.5 miles to the Hebo Lake Campground. There is a day use parking area at the campground with a $5 day use fee. The Pioneer Indian Trail begins from the parking area and heads south into the forest. The trail is well defined and meanders for 4 1/2 miles through the forest with occassional meadows to just below the Mount Hebo summit. Don't be fooled by the
Put it on your calendar, September 14th, PacNW SOTA VHF Summit to Summit distance event! The goal is to get as many LONG DISTANCE S2S contacts. We are timing this to cooincide with the ARRL September VHF contest, which starts at 1800 UTC, or 11am PDT.
We'll plan on starting around the same time, that way if anybody has trouble getting enough S2S contacts to make the activation count, there will still be people around you can make contact with. Plan on 2M FM, 146.58 for the primary frequency with a backup frequency of 146.56.
On Sunday, July 21, 2019, my SOTA Buddy, Tim, KG7EJT, and I Activated for the first time Tucquala Peak. This 8 Point SOTA Summit is on the East side of the Cle Elum River Valley, almost across the valley from Mount Daniel and Chimney Rock. On USGS and Forest Service Maps, the peak is shown as Point 6821 for its elevation. Almost 3,500 feet below the summit, lies Tucquala Lake, one of several lakes and swampy areas that lie along the Cle Elum River.
This summit is a long ridge located between Vernonia, Oregon and Saddle Mountain. Here are the directions to get there.