The double summit activation of Sunrise Peak and Jumbo Peak is under 9 miles RT and 3500 feet vertical climbing. My milage was off a bit due to probing for a south approach on Jumbo. There are a number of trip reports floating around on the web, I would rate this activation as an “advanced” SOTA adventure. I started from Sunrise TH 262. Google Maps routed me to this TH with no issues. It took me 1.5 hours to get to the trailhead departing from Mossyrock, WA. The final few miles of the road are dirt in good shape and the last few hundred yards is a bit rutted and steep to the parking area at TH 262. Ample parking at TH or just down from it at the final corner.
Reports of this being a challenging hike due to the footing being rutted by motorcycles is accurate. At about 1 mile you come to a junction of Trail #261A which leads to the top of Sunrise Peak. It is also a multi-use trail and there are deep ruts carved into it, especially on these spur trails that go up and back down Sunrise peak. The outsides of your feet begin to really feel it as you go. In addition, huckleberries encroach on long sections of the trail, and in wet conditions, the water from them soaks you and fills your boots with water, so if conditions look to be wet have waterproof pants.
I summited Sunrise peak in a cloud in damp conditions, and things were quite slippery on the rock surfaces at the summit (the weather cleared later in the morning for my summit of Jumbo). There is a handrail at the summit to allow you to hang on as you get to the top. I activated in the AZ just below the start of the handrail. On a hot day, shade would be hard to come by. I used a tri-pod and vertical whip which is my “bald summit” antenna configuration. You could tie a mast to the railing if needed.
After the descent from Sunrise I headed towards Jumbo Peak on the Juniper Trail. I had it in my head from (mis) reading a number of write-ups that access was easier from the south. That is not the case. The trail does go around the west side of Jumbo and on the south side of the summit there are really nice views. But access from south is a cliff wall. There are some GPX tracks of the summit ascent from the “trail” North of summit on Peakbagger, but when I looked at K7AMM’s SOTA Atlas pic and saw the comment about “very difficult bushwhack on North Route” and mixing up the various write-ups I had read. I ended up summiting from the west side. That route is also a challenging bushwhack with medium to high density growth and poor footing. So I’m not sure what to recommend! It looks to me like the trail for the North summit approach is at: 46.31030, -121.77055. My west side ascent point is at: 46.309983, -121.770500. Your mileage may vary!
Total hike and activation time for my day (from TH and back to TH) was 8:30AM to 5:30 PM.
