Blogs

2.9 mi, +1,800 feet, -200 feet

This was my first summit, and I want to thank pnwSOTA.org for the recommendation for it as a first summit.  It was a blast!

I reached 18 stations, including the famous WG0AT in Colorado and OK2PDT in the Czech Republic -- all with a SOTABeams linked dipole on a fiberglass mast with 5 watts out from my KX3!  Amazing what CW can do.

I sat on a wet tree limb, fumbled with a pad to log QSOs while swatting away mosquitoes but it was perhaps the most fun I've had in ham radio.  I recommend it highly to anyone who hasn't tried it. 

I tried to access this summit from the Molalla River. There are three roads leading up towards it after crossing the North Fork of the Molalla on Dickey Priarie Road.   All three were blocked by Weyerhauser pay to play gates.

An easy road walk of a half-mile will take you to this summit. Of course, the road to get to the road walk is only suitable for vehicles with above average clearance.  

This is a bushwack - not too long - but through a cluttered forest floor with lots of vines, branches and logs to trip you up - so that you might wish it were shorter. Out of the way on the South Coast near Port Orford, it will not likely see much traffic as the relatively close by Humbug Mountain W7O/SC-192 features a nice trail all the way to the top. The forest road to Father Mountain will probably accommodate a thoughtfully-driven passenger car, but I wouldn't say it was Priusable.

Should you want to do this peak, here us the short version. Note that the long version is a cautionary tale.

Get yourself to Henry Hagg lake. Proceed around the lake until you find Scoggins Valley Road. Turn west here and proceed up the road. Note that you bear left almost immediately to stay on Scoggins Valley Road. After about two miles you will come to a gate. There is parking within sight of the gate.

This was literally my first activation.  I've been thinking about SOTA on and off for 7+ years now.  Ray & Max posted a trip that they took to this same summit maybe 6 years ago, but I took a different route.  Looking at the maps, and reading the rules, the route they took is along the OHV roads which are closed to vehicle traffic.  The entirety of Horse Ridge is closed to motorized vehicle travel.  Instead, I parked along the south edge of the Horse Ridge area along Ford road, along a spot where I could easily pull off and not be in the road itself.

3620 is a fairly easy summit to reach and activate when visiting the Camp Sherman-Upper Metolius River Area.  Access involves a half-mile hike up from Forest Route 1270 with about 300ft elevation gain.  The downside to this summit is the area was burned badly from past wildfires and the hike requires a bushwhack up an abandoned fire road. 

The summit is somewhat flat with a wide activation zone, but very brushy.  There are some live trees to hang a wire, but a support mast is recommended.  I had good Verizon service and was able to self spot.

The hike up Mount Teneriffe is not an easy one - in my opinion, it's the most strenuous summit one can find for 4 points. There are 2 main routes to the summit; the new trail / road walk, which is about 13+ miles round trip, or, the more direct route; Kamikaze Falls then up Serendepity Ridge.  I've done both routes multiple times - I prefer the much shorter Kamikaze Falls / Serendepity Ridge as it's only about 7.5 miles round trip. As this route is about half the length of the new trail / road walk, it's obviously steeper - really steep!

Tibbetts Mountain near the small town of Pashastin in Central Washington is one of my favorite early season SOTA destinations. Great views from the summit of the Enchantments and Stuart Ranges.

There are 3 ways to reach the summit; hike the trail (about 3 miles each way), hike the road (about 4 miles each way) or drive the rough narrow forest service road to within a half mile of the summit, then hike the last 1/2 mile with a few hundred feet of elevation gain. Google maps directions will take you to the summit, or within the last 1/2 mile of the summit.