UPDATE: There may be No Trespassing signs on this approach now.
Re Horse Ridge Initial Activation 23 Feb 2014.
Ray KG7AV, Max KF7MAX
Easiest approach is Hwy 20 east from Bend. Proceed approx 30m to Horse Ridge grade.
1. Just after the summit, as you descend into Millican basin, you will
encounter a turnoff to the S before you reach the ODOT cinder pile.
This is labeled as Ft Rock Rd on Google Earth, I know it as BLM 2015,
and I show it at 43 54 23.87N 120 59 50.67W.
Tom, Dick & Harry Mountain is a nice late season snowshoe near Mount Hood. It's about 4 miles one-way and 1850 feet of gain to bag this four-point summit with iconic views of Mount Hood. It's a bit of work with some route-finding on snowshoes, but hopefully this trip report will help you get there. A Forest Pass is required from May 15 to October 1 - a SnoPark is required November 1 to April 30.
Gales Peak is probably on the "not recommended" list for activations near Portland. Although access is possible, you are not allowed to do it with a motor vehicle, making the six mile round-trip on a logging road fairly unattractive.
Peak 3534 is a near drive up in the Tillamook State Forest west of Portland off Highway 6. It would be a good combination activation with South Saddle Mountain, W7O/NC-002.
If you are tackling Peak 3534 on its own or to start first on South Saddle, use the directions here http://www.pnwsota.org/blog/k7nit/2013-august-13/south-saddle-mtn-or-ju… to find the "major triangle intersection" and consider using a GPS and a good map while in the Tillamook State Forest.
These eleven miles (RT) seem much farther when you are on snowshoes - take that into account if you should decide to try this winter activation. If you have 4WD, very high clearance and nerves of steel, you you might consider driving a bad road in the summer - see the other trip report below.
The trail starts from Highway 35 - the trailhead coordinates: 45.3395 -121.5703. See the trailhead photo below with an unsigned post just north of a bridge over the Hood River East Fork.
Along Highway 22 between Salem and Detroit there is a near drive-up summit. In 2013 the road was passable (with some care) in a passenger car. (It may be a bit overgrown now.) This summit could be a back up plan when nearby Rocky Top can't be accessed due to snow. In fact,
Here's another suburban SOTA summit with little to offer but a narrow road shoulder for activation space. Still, it's close in to Newberg, Oregon and if you've only a limited time, it could be a good choice.
Here is an urban 'pavement' activation - the closest one to downtown Portland. The summit proper for Cornell Mountain is on private property with the Activation Zone accessible from a neighborhood street with very limited shoulders. This summit is near a number of very large comm installations and 2m FM was totally blocked with S9 noise on my Yaesu VX-8G - 70cm FM might be a better choice and HF isn't a great option as there's only a small shoulder spot in the AZ big enough for HF antennas - and that's where you can park.
A fairly short snowshoe near Mt. Hood gets you two points - in the summer this activation may be a bit more challenging in the bushwack. From November 1 through April 30 an Oregon Sno-Park permit is required - from May 15 to October 1 a National Forest Pass is required.
A near "drive-up" two-point summit in the Clackamas River drainage with good views. This area is likely busy in the summer but it was mostly quiet on this December day. Note that this area seems to be a popular place for target practice, although there are some areas where the discharge of firearms is prohibited.