Decided Labor Day was a good day for activatiing Larch Mountain on the Washington side. Larch Mountain is the highest point in Clark County and is easy to access with most any two-wheel drive vehicle. We had great weather and enough chasers to make the activation a success. This route would also be good in the winter for a snowshoe activation.
Trail starts at the east end of the Johnston Ridge Visitors Center parking lot. Need a USFS permit to park there. Trail is good most of the way and there is information on the hike here. You can actually see the peak from the trailhead and the majority of the trail is out in the open so make sure you bring sunscreen. Bring plenty of water as there is none along the trail. The hardest part is the last 3/4 mile which is steep climbing with switchbacks. Ran into lots of people along the trail but only 3-4 back towards the peak.
Spent the weekend at Eagle Crest just outside Redmond, Oregon and decided to activate Cline Butte which is nearby on MLK Day. Left the trailhead at 08:00 with very cold (25 degrees) clear conditions with patches of snow on the ground. Followed a road most of the way to the top then cut off on a jeep trail the remainder of the way. Trip up is a little less than a mile with a 800 ft elevation gain. I added a map from Google Earth with the route I took up.
This was my first SOTA summit activation. Due to the weather (rain and heavy fog) I chose a summit close to home. Davis Peak is a major radio repeater site about 13 miles east of Woodland at Exit 21 from I-5.