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I did Chinquapin in June and Dec, both in the snow as there was a freak storm in June when I went up. Both times I have gone, I have come from W. Chinquapin Mountain Rd off of E Hyatt Lake Rd. Not sure if there is access the other side? The first time I did it after activating Greens Springs Mtn., 2nd time I did it after doing Table Mountain. A lot of SOTA up in this country! Everytime we go up in this area we stop for some lunch at Hyatt Lake Resort too. Nice place to take a break and spectacular views.
I went back up to Green Springs Mt for winter bonus since our snow levels are still high. When I first did it in June, I was in a freak snow storm and there was more snow and it was colder and wetter-but flowers! This trip I found a better path than the first. If you look at a satellite image you can see a bare patch at the southern edge of the summit. There is a somewhat clear path or old road from the main road up to the grassy area still in AZ, you can sort of see it on a map on the east side of the mountain.
I had planned a vacation with my son in Gilbert, Arizona the first week of November 2020 and asked if he could find a few SOTA summits we could activate together. I also flew my daughter in from out-of-state to join us. This is how it actually turned out:
Tuesday, November 3rd - Pinal Peak (W7A/AW-009) gravel road drive-up: 8 Contacts
Wednesday, November 4th - Christopher Mountain (W7A/AW-024) very rough access road & .5 mile hike: 13 Contacts
During a 12-day, Self-Guided tour through the Dolomite Mountains of Northern Italy, I had the opportunity to activate a few mountains that “happened” to be right along our route. I was with my XYL, Sharon, and 2 other couples, so my opportunities were somewhat limited by time and patience (or lack thereof) of my travelling companions. None the less, I managed 4 Activations. This report deals with the Activation of Monte Pic, I/AA-181. This easy to ascend peak is 7,753 Feet / 2,363 Meters in elevation. The reason I report this Activation on the PNW SOTA reflector is to illustrate the outstanding opportunities that await those that venture out to Northern Italy, Switzerland, France, Austria and Germany. These countries all share in common superb tourist infrastructure and ease of access to thousands of SOTA peaks, ranging from walk ups to world class alpine climbs. There is also the attraction of great food and beer, and hospitable local populations. Finally, there are also opportunities to reach out to local SOTA Activators, and perhaps go out for joint Activations.
Summit 4420 is located in the Crooked River National Grassland (Ochoco NF) and has good seasonal public access. I completed its first activation in late November 2020. Great views from the summit looking south over the Smith Rock State Park and west along the central cascade range.
Notes from my activation…
11.3-miles, +3,828 ft; -574 ft; From N. Fork Trailhead
I activated this as the first summit on a multi-day backpacking trip. We camped at Canyon Lake and climbed from there. There is also camping at Lake Otatsy and Camp Pass. The entire route, including the Lake Otatsy area was burned in the 2017 Rice Ridge fire, so care should be taken in selecting a camp to minimize the danger from standing dead trees. Most of the area around Canyon Lake is not burnt.
Sedgwick PK is located 9 miles South of Lava Hot Springs. One on the few drive up summits in Eastern Idaho.
Pasture Ridge is one of several SOTA summits near the Magruder Corridor. This corridor-road divides some of the most wild-country in Idaho, the Selway Bitterroot and Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness areas. The trail access to the summit begins at the Historic Magruder Ranger Station.
Gerakovuni is the highest point of Mount Othrys. We started in Almyros, about 19 km north of the peak.We did not follow the paint marks but used the GPS to bring us more directly to the summit. I'm not sure that was the best idea. I believe we may have passed through these two waypoints on the way to the summit.
39.06381, 22.70841 39.05323, 22.69743
The upland terrain is rocky and open, allowing easy cross-country.