Chelan Crest SOTA Outing July 23-25, 2016 – Part 4.   See separate reports on PNWSOTA website with background on the entire outing and day 1 & 2 description, with 3 other First SOTA Activations. The total trip was approximately 25 miles RT, with approximately 7,000 feet elevation gain, including ups and downs in between the various peaks. This is report 4 of 4, "Pyramid Mountain".  Pyramid was the apex of our 3 day 2 night SOTA outing, both in elevation and distance from the TH.  This 10 point SOTA Summit is 8,245 feet high, and affords some fantastic view of the Central and North Cascades, Lake Chelan and Eastern Washington.

This was my second activation of Kepros.  This is a long hike where you just need to keep going...  When it seems like you should be at the summit, it is still way off in the distance.  When you finally get to the base of the actual mountain, you have gone 4 miles, gained a bunch of elevation, but had just descended to almost the elevation of the car!  The final push to the summit is steep, but you are on a double track.  A set of hiking poles may expedite the steeper sections.

Treasure Mountain is a non-descript forested summit that is located south of Elliston, MT.  Head south on the Little Blackfoot road (which leaves the highway east of Elliston) and trend left up Telegraph Creek 3.0 miles later when the road forks.  Follow the Telegraph Creek Road SSE for 4.9 miles, and take the major turn to the right (westerly).  Continue across Telegraph Creek, and follow the road 0.6 miles to where it intersects the Treasure Mountain Road.  The Treasure Mtn. Road may be driven at least another 1.8 miles, except Oct.

Sky Mountain is a high point on the ridge directly across US Highway 2 from Stevens Pass Ski Resort.  The summit is at Point 5,482 feet, and is not actually named on the USGS topo maps. Sky Mountain hike/scramble is only about 5 miles RT, and 1,700 feet elevation gain.  Despite the relatively short distance and modest elevation gain, this scramble is not trivial.  Tim, KG7EJT, tried it in winter, but turned back due to weather and avalanche hazard.  So now we returned for a joint Activation in the last week of summer 2016 for what turned out to be the "The Great Tarzan Traverse" route variant. 

Plan a clear day for this trip since the mountain views (St Helens, Mt. Adams, Mt Hood, Mt Rainier) are spectacular from the summit area.  The views of the Mt St Helens north crater and blast zone are iconic.  This hike should be on the "must do" list in order to gain insight into the blast and destruction caused by the 1980 eruption.

Pansy Mountain is a challenging activation with a steep cross-country approach for the last half mile. Be sure to use a GPS or have a fantastic sense of direction so you can find you way BACK to the trail.

Chelan Crest SOTA Outing July 23-25, 2016 – Part 3.   See separate report on PNWSOTA website with background on outing and day 1 description. The total trip was approximately 25 miles RT, with approximately 7,000 feet elevation gain, including ups and downs in between the various peaks. This is report 3 of 4, "Olivia Mountain".  On maps, this summit is shown as Point 7,492 (feet), lying about 1.06 miles SE of the Big Boy of the neighborhood - Pyramid Mountain.  I suspect "Olivia Mountain" is the SOTA name for the peak.  We Activated "Olivia Mountain" on the same day as Graham Mountain.

You can get to Mt. McLoughlin by taking OR 140 west from Klamath Falls for about
36 miles. Turn right onto FS 3650, which is also the turn for the SnoPark. The
trailhead is up this road 2.4 miles and is well marked and has a toilet. FS 3650
is also about 0.5 miles west of MP 33 on OR 140.

The round-trip distance to the summit and back is 11 miles. The first few miles
are through very pretty forest. The gentle trail gradually then more abruptly
becomes quite rocky and rugged. It took me 4 hours, 40 minutes, all stops included,

I just wanted to add a few things to K7ATN's great write up about Hogback Mountain.

This hike is initially quite steep with about 1800 feet of elevation gained
in a short distance (<2mi?). There are dozens of informal trails up the ridge
that I saw. As such, there are an abundance of loose rock and eroding soil.
Its a shame that nobody has taken the initiative to put up a proper trail as
this area gets lots of visitors.

I went up directly from the spot K7ATN shows in the church parking lot. I

First SOTA Activation of Fourth Of July Mountain, a 4 point SOTA summit above the town of Manson, Washington, was accomplished on Saturday, September 10, 2016.  On a weekend trip to visit with our friends who have a vacation home in Manson, we took some time to Activate this peak.  The overall terrain is quite dry and arid, especially this late in summer.  The trail itself is non-descript, and the redeeming aspect of the activation are the great views from the upper slopes and summit of the mountain.  The weather was quite warm, and we were happy to have gotten a relatively early start.