Blogs

Chelan Crest SOTA Outing July 23-25, 2016 – Part 3.   See separate report on PNWSOTA website with background on outing and day 1 description. The total trip was approximately 25 miles RT, with approximately 7,000 feet elevation gain, including ups and downs in between the various peaks. This is report 3 of 4, "Olivia Mountain".  On maps, this summit is shown as Point 7,492 (feet), lying about 1.06 miles SE of the Big Boy of the neighborhood - Pyramid Mountain.  I suspect "Olivia Mountain" is the SOTA name for the peak.  We Activated "Olivia Mountain" on the same day as Graham Mountain.

You can get to Mt. McLoughlin by taking OR 140 west from Klamath Falls for about
36 miles. Turn right onto FS 3650, which is also the turn for the SnoPark. The
trailhead is up this road 2.4 miles and is well marked and has a toilet. FS 3650
is also about 0.5 miles west of MP 33 on OR 140.

The round-trip distance to the summit and back is 11 miles. The first few miles
are through very pretty forest. The gentle trail gradually then more abruptly
becomes quite rocky and rugged. It took me 4 hours, 40 minutes, all stops included,

I just wanted to add a few things to K7ATN's great write up about Hogback Mountain.

This hike is initially quite steep with about 1800 feet of elevation gained
in a short distance (<2mi?). There are dozens of informal trails up the ridge
that I saw. As such, there are an abundance of loose rock and eroding soil.
Its a shame that nobody has taken the initiative to put up a proper trail as
this area gets lots of visitors.

I went up directly from the spot K7ATN shows in the church parking lot. I

First SOTA Activation of Fourth Of July Mountain, a 4 point SOTA summit above the town of Manson, Washington, was accomplished on Saturday, September 10, 2016.  On a weekend trip to visit with our friends who have a vacation home in Manson, we took some time to Activate this peak.  The overall terrain is quite dry and arid, especially this late in summer.  The trail itself is non-descript, and the redeeming aspect of the activation are the great views from the upper slopes and summit of the mountain.  The weather was quite warm, and we were happy to have gotten a relatively early start.

In the last few years, I've developed a desire to activate the top 10 summits in the
Willamette Valley region. Miller Mountain is in that list but I've put it off because
its so far from the valley. Its located in south-central Oregon, closest to the town
of Chemult. I guess the placement algorithm treated it like a lost sock that you can't
throw away but you're not sure where to put it.

My approach to Miller Mt. was to take US Hwy 97 south towards Chemult, Oregon. About
0.5 mile north of Chemult, FS 9772 heads west. This road is also marked "Walt Haring

Mount Bailey near Diamond Lake is a great hike to fantastic views but it requires some effort to get those views - with a hike of about 10 miles round trip 

There's enough room to pull a vehicle off to the side by the gate on Heimer road.  This is an easy trek with a very gradual elevation change.  The trail is a nice groomed gravel road that leads all the way to the summit. 

 If you keep veering right at all the forks in the road, evenutally you will end up at the summit on a nice wide gravel plot perfect for setting up a decent station.  Not a whole lot of shade to be had here, unless you climb off the path.

 Fox Butte is a 6 point summit with a retired lookout tower.  The butte can be found by taking US 20 to a turnoff to the right (south) that is just east of the closed Millican Store (about 25-30 miles east of Bend, OR). The road to the butte is about 25 miles of rough gravel.  It will take an hour or so.

This nice and easy activation was suggested by K7ATN. It is reached by driving east from Bend, OR on US 20 for about 60 miles. Turn north onto Lizard Creek Rd a short distance west of Hampton, OR and follow the main gravel road about 7 miles to the top. Ignore the side spurs that are posted and often gated.

Access Info:  There may be other routes for this summit but I choose to park at the Stavebolt Creek gate off Logan Rd.  Gated parking for about 4 cars at 46.0828, -123.8339.  

The hike on good logging roads is about 3.5 miles to 46.0724, -123.8095.  Then a well-traveled game trail begins a bushwhack of about 200 vertical feet to the summit.  The AZ is all undergrowth with no real clear areas.  Ugly, really.