ViewVoting details

Elk Mountain, WA June, 2025

NN7O's picture
Summit: 
W7W/LC-153
Voice Cellular Coverage: 
Decent, workable
Data Cellular Coverage: 
Decent, workable
Cellular Provider: 
Verizon
APRS Coverage: 
Don't know

This is the Elk Mountain east of Gray's River, WA, just off WA Highway 4.

Turn off is exactly at mile marker 22 on WA 4; turn south onto a broken asphalt road and in about 1/4 mile you come to the Hancock Forest Management gate.  There is nothing prohibiting non-vehicular entry--just no camping and no campfires. Plenty of parking near the gate.

From the gate it is almost exactly five miles to the summit on very good gravel logging roads.  If the gate was open (and you trusted it to stay open) you could drive up in almost anything.  The logging roads were well-shown on my Garmin Earthmate app--basically, you just stay on what looks like the main road.  The walking is easy--ups and downs until the final little climb at the end.

As of June, 2025, the area hasn't been recently logged, and it was quite a nice hike through the forest--lots of daisies, dandelions, and foxglove.

Plenty of room to set up in AZ.  I found a nice rock to sit on, and others to hold the mast.  There are also trees around the AZ. Cell coverage very good on the summit.

Activation was all HF.  I tried a few quick calls on VHF, but I didn't try very hard. 

Kind of a long walk for 1 point, but it was a beautiful day and a nice summit.