A pleasant activation nearly any time of year near Draper, Utah.

I had been wondering about the peak Thomas Cairn for awhile after
elk hunting in the Snow Peak area in Linn county this year. Although
it was not eligible for winter points, I just had to get up there
and see what it looked like up close.

Thomas Cairn is in an remote part of Linn county closest to the
town of Scio. I got there by first going to Scio then taking Oregon
226, 6.75 miles to the Camp Morrison Road. This turnoff is easily
identifiable by the Hannah covered bridge there.

Follow Morrison Camp road for 4.7 miles to a unmarked, nondescript

On a quck training hike for our Switzerland Hiking / Climbing tour next July / August, I decided to throw in my 2M HT at the last minute.  Wilderness Peak is an easy 4 miles RT hike gaining 1200 feet, to a summit elevation of 1,600.  It is easily accessible from my home QTH in Bellevue, WA.  Park on SR900 (Issaquah - Renton Road).  The hike is through mostly wooded terrain, with some sections of lovely old growth Douglas Fir and Cedar trees.  One (1) hour up and 48 minutes down.  A few other hikers and trail runners en route.

Here's a quick report on my activation yesterday of W7I/NI-106, ie, 6114. The mountain is on the Idaho-Montana border, just off Interstate-90, and across the valley from the Lookout Pass Ski area. This area seems to get snow when other places don't.  So although the ski season has been rather boring here, this hike provided a nice opportunity to get into the woods and do an activation again. 

This yet unnamed peak deserves a good name as it's a very worthwhile activation. It's a bit out of the way but very quiet compared to nearby Lookout Mountain and the views on a clear day of Mount Hood are excellent. These are directions from the NORTH - this road is suitable for HIGH CLEARANCE vehicles that you don't much care about.

Another highly recommended hike and activation - this one in the Clackamas River drainage.

Enjoy bushwacking? Like to climb over (and under!) a maze of large, downed trees? We've got a great SOTA summit for you in the Clackamas River area.

28 October, 2013    Bandera Mtn    W7W/KG-073

Our original hiking destination for this day was going to be 7000 ft Norse Peak, an 8 pointer, near Crystal Mtn Ski Resort, a bit north and east of Mt Rainier National Park.  The Mt Rainier WX report predicted 30-40 MPH winds at Paradise and Camp Muir in the National Park.  We took off for our backup hiking destination:  Bandera Mtn.

One of the most gorgeous hikes I've taken in Oregon, it's clearly popular during the 'summer' season but we had it all to ourselves this spectacular November Sunday. Note that there are four "Huckleberry Mountain" in the Oregon ARM - one of them is also in WV and is also 2 points - make sure you get yourself to the right one.

Goat Peak - W7W/MC-026 – 13 October, 2013