Howlock Mountain had caught my eye during the 2023 W7O Campout. It was an unactivated summit off trail north of Thielsen and south of Tipsoo. For 2025, Adam K6ARK and Mark KD7DTS proposed doing the ridge traverse from Tipsoo (W7O/CS-195). After some VHF shenanigans on Tipsoo, we backtracked on the trail briefly before leaving it and descending south.
4460 (2-point summit) is one of a cluster of summits south of Oakridge, OR in the Willamette National Forest. This summit is a short bushwhack/hike off of an "OK" road, but route selection to the top will likely affect your enjoyment.
Timbered Knoll (2-point summit) is one of a cluster of summits south of Oakridge, OR in the Willamette National Forest. This summit is a short bushwhack/hike off of well maintained road, but route selection to the top will likely affect your enjoyment. It can be combined with Holland Point and 4460 pretty easily in a single day.
Twin Lakes Mountain is a 4-point summit located in the Umpqua National Forest. It can be reached from Hwy. 138, approximately 58 miles east of Roseburg, OR. From there, 9 miles of forest road yields a 2.6 mile hike (each way) on well maintained trail, with views of Diamond Peak, Twin Lakes and other local features. This would be a good stop on the way to Diamond Lake and environs. This summit is close to Illahee Rock, which is on the north side of 138.
Here is one of eight Lookout Mountains in Oregon (10 if you count Big Lookout Mountain and Little Lookout Mountain). This is a short hike of one mile RT with 600 feet of elevation gain. The trail is mostly good, but a bit overgrown in places. The drive is easy and can be accomplished with moderate clearance. You can get to within a mile of the summit with most other vehicles. Here are the directions:
Find the North Umpqua Highway (AKA OR-138) and travel to Panther Creek Road (AKA NF-4741) near Apple Creek Campground, 43.3060, -122.6772 .
Access to Wocus and Little Wocus are off of Kirk Road. I drove from Yamsay Mtn so was driving SW on Kirk to make a loop. For Wocus, turn off of Kirk at 42.805317, -121.688200. For my activation I found an abandoned forest road that was hikable. I parked at 42.812600, -121.681117. See image below.
This summit had only been activated one time, 10 years ago, so I was not sure about how well this activation would go. Short version: one of the best SOTA activation experiences out there. Worth the drive east of the Crater Lake area. Put it on your list!
For the most part all of K7ATN's blog post here(http://www.pnwsota.org/blog/k7atn/2019-september-06/eagle-cap-or-septemb...) is current and probably some of the best info you're going to get. One thing to note earlier in the summer is the possibility of snow. Unfortunately I don't have a picture of the more direct approach, which I labelled 1 in the map, but much of the trail was under steep snow field.
4.4 Miles; +2,056 ft; -235 ft; On-Trail
Description
This is a pleasant on-trail hike with a gentle grade. The final mile of the ascent is extremely scenic. There is plenty of room for antennas within the activation zone.
Franzi, WE7CAT, just activated this peak. She found the last 1/4 mile road to the summit closed with a gate saying no trespassing. Looking at maps on our GAIA app, it looks like there is a section of the activation zone on the west that is on public land. To keep it legal, she hiked up through the bushes, approaching the summit from the west. She said the manzanita bushwack wasn't terrible.