Summary - Mud Creek Ridge is a good winter cross country snowshoe hike with an open summit, peekaboo views of Mount Hood and places to hang a wire. The drive from Portland is about ninety minutes on a traffic free Friday. ATT digital service and APRS were both good. The hike starts on the road out of the Trillium Sno Park but soon veers off to pick up the nose of Mud Creek Ridge. GPS or a compass are required as the ridge is broad, and it is easy to wander off course on the way up.
TL;DR - Mud Creek Ridge is south of Mount Hood in the cluster of hills that includes Veda Butte, Ghost Ridge and Eureka Peak. The hike in starts at the Trillium Sno Park (sno park pass required in the winter months) and follows the road down to Trillium Lake. At roughly one mile from the parking lot (where the road bends) turn east for a quarter mile and then south to follow the nose of the ridge up to the summit. As the nose is broad, a compass heading will be handy for the straightest line up. When the snow is deep, as it usually is in late February and early March, it is not a hard hike but be wary of tree wells, which are plentiful and deep.
On top you will find an open summit with trees for wires and lashing a mast. ATT cell service was very good as was APRS, so no problems spotting. Given the location and the surrounding hills, I did not try two meters. Over the trees to the north you will see the top of Mount Hood (on a clear day, anyway).
Overall, with a good snowpack covering the brush, this is a good winter hike. While the Trillium sno park lot is big, this is a popular destination year round, so an earlier arrival is usually a good idea.