N7KOM's blog

This was summit 1 of a 2 First Activation day with Hat Rock W7W/LC-017

9/25/2021 had a favorable weather forecast and also happened to line up with the first weekend where permits are no longer required. Casey (non-ham) drove out from Eugene and met me at the Devils Lake trailhead at 10pm (9/24). We slept a couple hours and started the climb at 2:10am. 

An outing to Pine Mountain offers an opportunity to activate 3 summits: W7O/CE-058, W7O/CE-068, and W7O/CE-176. After Pine Benchmark, I drove back to HWY 20 and headed west. I turned left on Spencer Wells Rd to head towards the OHV area. This summit was a bit of a weird one. There is a road all the way to the top. My efforts to get TO that road were thwarted by private property and no tresspassing signs. Perhaps it is possible to reach that road and take it up, but I was unsuccessful today.

An outing to Pine Mountain offers an opportunity to activate 3 summits: W7O/CE-058, W7O/CE-068, and W7O/CE-176. After activating Pine Mountain. I drove up the road to Pine Benchmark. The road at 43.80666, -120.94173 is gated, but not locked. I drove through and closed the gate behind me.

An outing to Pine Mountain offers an opportunity to activate 3 summits: W7O/CE-058, W7O/CE-068, and W7O/CE-176. I started the day early with Pine Mountain. The main road up the mountain is heavily washboarded. Take 43.80066, -120.93746 and head up the good forest road. A sedan will have no trouble. I parked at the broad saddle and found a trail heading up the mountain.

Squaw Butte in Washington is a good beginner bushwack hike. I met up with Tyler ND7Y at the Tillicum Campground and we parked our cars in a campsite near the trailhead. Tyler had found word of an old cattrack that leaves the Squaw Butte trail and heads to the summit. Overall this is an easy hike. The bushwack is manageable and the distance/elevation is reasonable. The trail to the cattrack is in good condition. Find the GPX track HERE. 

This was my first time up Barlow Ridge in the summer. Park at the Barlow Pass Sno-Park with a NW Forest Pass. The trail is well-marked, albeit the signs are up high due to this area's popularity during the winter. I encountered quite a few large blow down trees at the start of the hike, so be prepared for some significant tree scrambling. 

Brundage Mountain is short, but punchy. Don't let the distance to summit fool you. It goes from a road to a double track that fades into the brush. We mostly followed the gps track from K7MK. His track yields a good spot to cross the creek and keeps you out of the thickest brush. Where we deviated was on dealing with the block below the summit. We opted for climbers right on the ascent and climbers left on the descent. The right side is more rocky and feels like a stairmaster. The left side is more dirt, so more slipping. Pick your poison I suppose, both are steep. 

Cuddy Mountain, W7I/SR-055, is ALMOST a drive up summit, if your vehicle can handle it. The road to Cuddy and Summers requires careful driving, high clearance, and 4WD certainly helps. I was glad we gave an extra day for the snow to melt out because there were a couple spots that would've been more difficult to get through in the Explorer if it had been deeper. A couple mud pits looked suspect, but be made it through okay. The roads up here are frequented by off road enthusists and you'll likely see some UTVs, ATVs, and dirt bikers.

Trailhead: Goose Lake TH, Google maps will guide you there. 2WD is probably fine for this road.