Blogs

When the snow is gone, this is a easy two point summit not far off of Highway 26 east of Mount Hood.

On a training hike for our Switzerland Hiking / Climbing tour next July / August.  Accompanied by my wife Sharon and our Labrador Retriever Dexter.  Rattlesnake Mountain is a relatively easy 9.2 miles round trip (including preliminary walk to trail head from parking lot), gaining 2,500 feet +/- to a summit elevation of 3,517.  TH is is easily accessible from my home QTH in Bellevue, WA.  I-90 east to exit 32 in North Bend, then good but windy paved road to Rattlesnake Lake area.  The hike is through mostly wooded terrain, with some sections

All of our trips to Lopez Island seem to involve a bike ride, and today was no exception. After a brisk ride in this year's annual Tour de Lopez, KG7JEH and I left the latex-clad crowd at the finish line for some SOTA de Lopez action. As it turned out, that action didn't last too long before my battery was down to 10 volts and I called it a day.

This Friday afternoon activation happened on a cool day with the sun breaking through a few clouds for a beatiful sky above the epic scenery. It takes a ferry ride from Anacortes to Orcas Island to get here, but it's sure worth the trip! The main road goes from the ferry dock right through Moran State Park. Turn left at the Y onto the Mt Constitution road, which can take you all the way to a sizeable parking lot at the top.

An early ferry ride out of Anacortes took me to Orcas Island and, after a short drive, I arrived at the Cascade Falls trailhead by about 7 AM. My plans included biking in about 3 miles and hiking up the last 3/4 mile to the summit. Wrong. I was 1/2 hour into the ride when 2 facts became clear: 1. My hybrid bike was not up to the task of handling that muddy, rocky, slippery road - no matter how much air I let out of the tires. 2. My lungs, legs, and nerves weren't up to the task either. I took the bike back down to the truck and began again.

There are at least four trails that approach the summit of Big Huckleberry Mountain - we choose the Pacific Crest Trail from the south for about 8.6 miles round trip and 1400 feet of net elevation gain (1900 total).

From Portland, take I-84 to Cascade Locks and cross the river for two dollars (2019 price).

Here's a six point summit to tackle on a nice summer day - we tried it with lots of snow and found a blizzard at the top in mid-April. The trail is on a road of about 7 miles round trip and about 1800 feet of gain.

Peterson Butte on the west side of Lebanon, Oregon is private with limited access. The Lebanon Trails Committee (http://buildlebanontrails.com) schedules occasional hikes on Peterson Butte - the last hike was planned for 12 April 2014 (http://buildlebanontrails.com/2014/03/14/april-12th-hike-at-peterson-butte/).

Ridgeway Butte, accessed by Ridgeway Drive on the east side of Lebanon, Oregon has signs indicating 'private property' and 'no trespassing'. The Lebanon Trails Committee (http://buildlebanontrails.com) schedules occasional hikes on Ridgeway Butte that are lead by the property owner, Rick Ely. The next hike is planned for October 2014.

On 27 March Etienne (K7ATN) and I activated Silver Star mountain. The weather report called for rain with a break around mid day. We headed to the trailhead, Route: Washougal, WA to Washougal River Road (approx. 10 mi), to Skye Rd to 412th AVE to Skamania Mines Rd. Follow the signs to silver star. We reached the TH at about 0840 and started up the trail. At about 1/8 of a mile the trail splits, take the right split. We found out the hard way and got about 1/4 mile down the trail before I checked the map and realized we were on the wrong trail.