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Pansy Mountain, OR | August 2014

K7ATN's picture
Summit: 
W7O/WV-010
Voice Cellular Coverage: 
No service at all
Data Cellular Coverage: 
No service at all
Cellular Provider: 
T-Mobile
APRS Coverage: 
Good digi echos

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.

The Pansy Lake Trailhead is off NF-6341 and near 44.9° -122.1164° - There's a good wide spot in the road here. From Portland (per the Forest Service map) go east on US Hwy 26 to Sandy. Turn right (southwest) on OR Hwy 211 and travel 6.1 miles to OR Hwy 224. Turn left (southeast) on ** OR Hwy 224 and travel 30.6 miles to Clackamas River Hwy (Forest Road 46) (approximately at milepost 50). Take the right fork onto Clackamas River Hwy and travel 3.7 miles to Collowash Road (Forest Road 63). Travel 5.7 miles on Forest Road 63 and turn right onto Forest Road 6340 (Pansy Basin Road). Travel 7.8 miles on Forest Road 6340 and you will come to a fork in the road (6340 and 6341). Take the right fork (which is still 6341) and follow it for approximately 3.2 miles until you come to the trailhead parking area on the right side of the road (approximately 0.2 mile before the road turns to dirt). (You can also get there on Highway 224 via Estacada to the point marked ** above.)

Hike the Pansy Lake Trail #551 about 1.5 miles, past Pansy Lake, to the saddle where there is a junction with Trail #558 that heads east towards Bull of the Woods. Bull of the Woods (W7O/WV-009) would be an option for a second peak.

From this trail junction you will go cross-country to the summit. A GPS is nearly essential here - especially to find your way back - please mark a waypoint for this trail junction! (It may be near 44.8809° -122.1125°.) Although the summit is less than a half mile from this point, it is through a burn with lots of downed timber and rough terrain. I can suggest that you start in the southwesterly direction towards the open areas and avoid heading west on the more heavily timbered ridge.

The summit is a lovely narrow ridge with a block of rock that makes a nice operating position and it has some views. There are a number of trees for rigging antennas on this rarely visited spot.

Here is a description of trail #551:
http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5398410.pdf

To continue to Bull of the Woods from the junction, take Trail #558 west about 1.1 miles to the junction with Trail #554 and head up about 0.6 miles to the Bull of the Woods lookout. You can head down the Bull of the Woods Trail #550 to turn west on the Dickey Lake Trail #549 to return to Trail #551 and back to the car. Note that the map included in the NF document above does not show the Bull of the Woods Trail #550 in the right spot.