This has been the most popular SOTA activation in Oregon with about 64 activations as of October 2017. Easy to reach, it's a recommended 'first time' summit in the Portland area for new activators. The park is near 6 Nansen Summit, Lake Oswego, and parking can be found near 16 Becket Street or 3 Juarez Street, Lake Oswego.
Activation Reports
Submitted by KF7EHT on
Summit:
It was a cool rainy day in Spokane. My wife Sarah, our friend Kelly, and I wanted to do a hike. And I wanted to do an activation. So we settled on a hike to Quartz Peak. Quartz Peak is another peak within the Mount Spokane State Park. The peak is right in the middle of the Mount Spokane Nordic Park, a premier location for cross-country skiing in Eastern Washington. Parking for the hike is easy. Simply park at the cross country ski area parking lot. You'll need a Discovery Pass when the ski area isn't open, and you'll need a sno-pass when the ski area is open.
Submitted by N0DA on
Summit:
This summit is only about a mile from a large parking lot on the road to the top of Marys Peak but it requires some strenuous up-hill bushwhacking from that readily accessible parking lot. There are some old logging roads in the area, mostly grown over with bushes, that will get you close to the summit but getting to a logging road from that particular parking lot was quite a workout. Looking at the satellite view there appears to be an easier, albeit much longer access route via a logging roads (for hiking) a bit farther to the north from where I started.
Submitted by N7KRN on
Summit:
It has been foggy around here all week long. Today was a good day to rise above it all and find some sunshine! Anderson Mountain's good access, gentle trail, and easy scrambling made for a rewarding summit to play radio on! Having plenty of time on top for a change made this a very pleasant activation.
. Discovery Pass is required for this area
Submitted by ND7PA on
Summit:
Marys Peak...(no aprostrophe is correct) why bother, everybody has been there...execpt for me. So off we went this morning after deciding to activate at 11:30pm the night before. Nothing like planning ahead. Ah, life on the edge is far more fun!
Submitted by K7ATN on
Summit:
A pleasant 2.5 mile (round trip) hike with perhaps 1000 feet of elevation gain ending in an operating position with a nice view of the Columbia River Gorge. There are some subtle archaeological aspects to this summit - hikers should be aware and read the signs to avoid disturbing any 'structures.'
Submitted by N7KRN on
Summit:
Wow... there must a lot of easier ways to get a 4-point activation. I knew there wasn't a trail to this peak and there would be some bushwacking involved because not many folks go there. But oh my gosh, this trip turned into an ordeal!
The Eaglet is located near Mount Pilchuck between Lake 22 and Heather Lake. The way to this SOTA adventure travels up the Heather Lake Trail (an extremely popular 2-mile hike) for about a mile which gets 600' of elevation gain out of the way. Then you leave the trail behind and the fun stops and the ordeal begins.
Submitted by KR7W on
Summit:
Sunday, Oct 6
High Rock Lookout is a popular 3.5 mile RT jaunt that gains 1400 ft. I will be the seventh SOTA op to activate this peak. This location is touted by outdoor photographers as the 'cat's meow' for mountain photographs. Also, this hike seems to attract those hikers (you've seen them) with no pack or jacket and only a bottle of water.
Submitted by KF7EHT on
Summit:
About 35 miles from downtown Spokane, Mount Spokane (aka W7W/WE-006 Jump-off Joe) is a fixture of Eastern Washington outdoor recreation. In the summer Mount Spokane State Park is accessible for road and mountain biking, hiking, and camping. The road is open to the 5880 foot summit when there's no snow from June-Octoberish. In the winter the Mount Spokane Ski Area is a decent local hill that draws people from around Eastern Washington.
Submitted by ND7PA on
Summit:
"The Twins" is a nice activation target just north of Hwy 58, east of Oakridge, Oregon. We took off 10/4 from the Willamette valley in dense fog and headed towards the Cascades to find the fog clearing by the time we reached Oakridge. The big soaking rains from the Chinese typhoon blown our way had no doubt left some snow so I checked several SNOTEL sites and found that very little snow had fallen and none was currently recorded at any of the sites I checked. Apparently, "The Twins" never bothered to check with the SNOTEL sites.