Fox Butte is the site of a now defunct fire lookout tower that is listed in the National Historical Lookout registry. The road to the top is gated, leaving you with a hike of roughly 3/4 mile to the summit. That's if you're comfortable backing down an inclined double track about 1/4 mile - there is no, repeat no, turnaround.
Activation Reports
Dragontail Peak, near Leavenworth, WA, is a committed and remote alpine climb - it can't really be considered a hike. This trip report can only give an impression and some basic facts - you will need to prepare carefully and appropriately by reading guidebooks and climbing websites, and making sure you have the necessary skills, experience and equipment. You will need to be able to handle wilderness route finding, high angle snow ascent and descent, rock climbing, and challenging terrain. Adequate physical conditioning is critical to ensure success and safety.
Mount Baden-Powell is 2,865 meters, 9,399 Feet High. Blue Sky & Rarified Air.
Throop Peak is 2,785 meters, 9,138 feet elevation. Blue Sky & Rarified Air.
On a brief vacation in Southern California to visit family, I managed to activate three (3) SOTA peaks. This is report 1 of 3 for this trip.
San Gabriel is 1,878 Meters, 6,161 feet elevation. It is a 6 point SOTA Summit.
Identified by SOTA as Chuckanut Mtn, this peak is better known as Blanchard Mountain and is part of the Chuckanut Range. it is located on State Trust Land managed by the DNR. More information about the area may be found at:
A DNR Blanchard Forest Block map can be downloaded at:
http://www.dnr.wa.gov/Publications/amp_rec_blanchard_fb_2012.pdf
When the snow is gone, this is a easy two point summit not far off of Highway 26 east of Mount Hood.
A bit past milepost 63 and just before Blue Box Pass there is a right turn onto two forest roads - take the right one (pictured). A carefully driven passenger car might be able to navigate this road, but having high clearance would make it easier. And the distances are reasonably short so parking when the road gets too rough and walking a mile or so on a forest road could be an option.
On a training hike for our Switzerland Hiking / Climbing tour next July / August. Accompanied by my wife Sharon and our Labrador Retriever Dexter. Rattlesnake Mountain is a relatively easy 9.2 miles round trip (including preliminary walk to trail head from parking lot), gaining 2,500 feet +/- to a summit elevation of 3,517. TH is is easily accessible from my home QTH in Bellevue, WA. I-90 east to exit 32 in North Bend, then good but windy paved road to Rattlesnake Lake area. The hike is through mostly wooded terrain, with some sections
All of our trips to Lopez Island seem to involve a bike ride, and today was no exception. After a brisk ride in this year's annual Tour de Lopez, KG7JEH and I left the latex-clad crowd at the finish line for some SOTA de Lopez action. As it turned out, that action didn't last too long before my battery was down to 10 volts and I called it a day.
After taking the ferry ride from Anacortes to Lopez Island, getting to the trailhead is easy, and directions can be found with Google Maps - search for "Lopez Hill Trailhead".
This Friday afternoon activation happened on a cool day with the sun breaking through a few clouds for a beatiful sky above the epic scenery. It takes a ferry ride from Anacortes to Orcas Island to get here, but it's sure worth the trip! The main road goes from the ferry dock right through Moran State Park. Turn left at the Y onto the Mt Constitution road, which can take you all the way to a sizeable parking lot at the top. A brief pathway leads up to the peak with a stone lookout tower that is just too cool not to climb.