Green Mountain can be accessed by trail 110 (open to OHV and bicycles) from the west or southeast, or by bushwhacking from a spur off Spring Creek Road, SE of Orr Creek Sno-Park. The spur is narrowed by overgrown brush and trees, and the last 500' are deeply rutted, requiring a high-clearance vehicle. Deadfall across the road is likely, as this road seems mostly unused. There's a nice place to camp with a stone fire ring off a righthand spur toward the end of the road.
Blogs
Thunder Mountain, Idaho | September 2023
AA6XA first activated Thunder Mountain on 14 October 2017. His write-up is a great description of the area and his ascent from the east of the mountain. You can find the link to his write-up on the SOTAmaps Summit page. Ignoring his mention of “cliffs” I opted to plan a route from the west. The directions below describe the drive to the beginning of the west ascent.
5220 (Watson Ridge), OR | July 2023
Route
Here is a link to the route we (KC7JNU, KK7DAK, KK7IUD) followed to and from the peak as well as additional data; there is a screenshot below of the same route. As can be seen, we started and ended our route to the north of the peak.
Mount Pisgah
Mount Pisgah is one of two Mount Pisgahs in Oregon, this one is near Prineville, the other near Eugene. The one near Eugene is a nice hike, this one is a tedious drive up.
The map shows several ways to get there. We drove on forest road 22 past Walton Lake. The pavement ends a bit after the lake. There is a connector road 150 and then we were on Summit Road, aka 2630.
Captain Gray Mountain, OR | September 2023
Captain Grey Mountain is a road walk of a few miles gravel through a mix of forest and clear cuts.
Wizard Island, OR | September 2023
Wizard Island was on my “Must Do” list since I learned it was a SOTA summit and it did not disappoint.
Ball Butte, OR | September 2023
FS-370/380 are both unmaintained roads and high clearance/4WD vehicles are highly recommended. FS-370 from Todd Lake to the intersection with FS-380 is passable in a less capable vehicle but FS-380 is very rough. I have driven both in the past in a front wheel drive Honda Element and we did see several passenger cars in the parking area but you have been fairly warned. There is not an established trail and the approach involves some steep and loose cinder slopes. I would classify this as an intermediate to advanced hike, requiring good fitness and route finding skills.
signal peak wa | september 2023
Summary - A drive up on the west end of the Toutle range.
spud mountain wa | september 2023
Summary - A short but very steep scramble up game trails will get you to the top of this very visible summit in the Toutle Range.
castle peak wa | september 2023
Summary - a soaring rock summit visible from 4562 with awesome views of MSH, Castle Lake, Mount Adams and Mount Rainier. The summit road is 2WD friendly and the hike is steep but short. Bring a mast and don't count on two meters for contacts.