The pnwSOTA website was created to facilitate communication between SOTA operators in the Pacific Northwest region, as well as show off some of the activities of the top-notch folks we have in the area. On this site you will find information about getting started in SOTA as well as details about summits and activations contributed by people that are operating here.
Update on Grass Mountain near Alsea ,OR
Summit:
W7O/CC-002
This is a quick update on Grass Mountain, W7O/CC-002, near Alsea, OR. In the past, this trail to a grassy meadow with nice views of the valley below was worth the time and effort.
Powell Butte HP is off limits
Summit:
W7O/CE-169
Powell Buttes HP is an RF intensive summit between Redmond and Prineville, OR. I believe that it is a VOR site in addition to the other typical radio equipment. It is clearly marked as off limits.
Give this one a pass.
Acker Rock is an awesome operating aerie east of Canyonville, OR
Summit:
W7O/CS-137
On June 7, 2017 my wife and I were in the region east of Canyonville, OR. After enjoying Pickett Butte, we headed to Acker Rock, another rock outcrop with a lookout perched on top. Both of these are 2 point summits.
Peak 6620 near Almo, ID
Summit:
W7I/CI-131
I was staying at The Lodge in Castle Rock State Park for a long weekend. This park is just north of City Of Rocks National Reserve which is a world class rock climbing destination. Though I am not a rock climber there are also a whole bunch of nice SOTA summits in the area. I picked CI-131 as I could see it from the front porch of The Lodge. In fact when I was on top, my wife, looking through binoculars, could see me waving at her. How often can your wife actually see you on a summit if she is not also with you?
The Devil made us do it
Summit:
W7O/CC-053
This was the last of four Elkton, OR area summits that we explored on May 21, 2017. With a name like that, we were a bit apprehensive, but we set off along a route I traced on a topo map. It starts by turning off of Highway 38 onto Wetherly Creek Rd. This took us into an intense logging area, but no one was working on Sunday.
Surrounding Bell Mountain, near Elkton, OR
Summit:
W7O/CC-061
The third of four Elkton area summits that we went after was Bell Mountain, W7O/CC-061. We tried two routes. One was based on Google Maps directions, and the other was finding a route on the USGS topo map.
Saddle Butte near Elkton, OR
Summit:
W7O/CC-058
The second Elkton, OR area summit on our exploration list was Saddle Butte, W7O/CC-058. The road to this summit starts near W7O/CC-80; but it looks considerably longer and more involved (I think it is called Little Tom Foley Rd). We headed out, and the road went through clearcuts and forests, but the dirt and gravel road quality was good.