ND7PA's blog

An FYI to those heading towards the coast range of Oregon; above about 2500ft there is quite a snowfall. Today I venturedup Mt. Hebo (ele, 3185ft) and found about 18+ inches of snow at the first apparent summit where all the radio towers are. There were several 4x4 trucks up there in various forms of "stuck". The last mile to the first summit was single-track and very slick. Chained up about 2mi from the summit and it was still "interesting" in my Honda Pilot 4WD. Coming down, chains were a must. It was pretty clear and about 30deg with light wind.

We have some friends who relocated to White Rock, NM and over Thanksgiving we
went down to visit. My friend and I looked up local SOTA peaks and found that
the Cerro Grande trailhead was only 30 minutes from his house. In fact, a ton
of nice ten-pointers are close to White Rock.

We took NM Hwy 4 from White Rock past the "T" intersection with Hwy 501 and
ascended the southern flank of Cerro Grande. In a slightly flat area, on the
right, about a half a mile before descending down into the Valles caldera,

Outerson Mountain is one of a trio of summits near Triangulation Peak located
just east of Detroit Oregon. Outerson Mountain, Timber Butte, and Triangulation Peak
are all within about 2 miles of each other and would be a good set of summits
to do in a day and more importantly, one car trip.

Outerson Mountain is reached by taking Oregon Hwy 22 east from Idanha. Just east
of Idanha, (MP 56.2) take NF2233 left. The turn here is also marked as "McCoy Park".
Mc Coy park is a popular motorized off-road vehicle recreational area. Follow NF2233

Woodpecker Hill is one of a cluster of four point peaks directly off of Oregon
Hwy 22 near the town of Detroit Oregon. Travel Oregon Hwy 22 east past Detroit
just about to milepost 62. Turn left onto NF-040 and travel for 4.8 miles till you
meet RD035 which turns off to the left. Go up RD035 for maybe a hundred yards
till you find a good wide place in the road to park.

On current topo maps, looking at the southern slope of Woodpecker Hill, you will
see a lower altitude teardrop-shaped open area with another oblong shaped open

Mount Bruno is one of a cluster of four point peaks directly off of Oregon
Hwy 22 just east of Detroit. Travel east on Oregon 22 past Marion Forks and
just past milepost 67, turn right onto NF2234. There was a sign there noting
that the road was closed ten miles ahead but you don't have to go that far,
so ignore it.

NF2234 is initially paved but turns to gravel in about 1.6 miles. The road is
easily passable with a passenger car. Continue on NF2234 7.5 miles. At this point
there is a triangle intersection, but you can't see all the corners. Turn right onto

Katsuk Butte is a nice little peak near both South Sister and Devil's Hill
in the Deschutes National Park near the Mt. Bachelor ski area. It's easily
reached from the Devil's Lake campground parking area. You will need to be
comfortable with cross country travel via map/compass/GPS as there are no
trails to this summit.

Katsuk Butte can be conveniently coupled with an activation of South Sister. I
spent the night in the very nice campground on the banks of Devil's Lake,
activated Katsuk Butte late in the afternoon, and left for South Sister early

Dutton Ridge is one of many peaks located within Crater Lake National Park. There is no
established trail up the ridge but it is easily reached by taking the rim road east from
the lodge.  Once passing the trailhead to Sun Notch, the road rises to a very wide curve
that straddles the shoulder of Dutton Ridge. There is a pullout in the apex of the corner.

Park at the pull-off and proceed directly uphill staying just to the right of the trees
in the open pumice plain. The terrain is very soft especially at the beginning but gets

Mt Scott is the highest point in Crater Lake National Park. It is also the only place wherea normal camera lens can capture the entire lake. Its a popular summit and receives a lot of traffic. The trail-head is on the eastern side of the park directly off the rim road. It's 2.5 miles to the summit with about 1200 ft of elevation gain.

The trail begins in a nice hemlock forest that transitions to scrubby pines with less and less shade or wind breaks available. If its a hot day, take plenty of water and sun protection.

Applegate Peak is located within Crater Lake National Park. It was named for Oliver Applegate,
an early Oregon pioneer. There is no established trail to this peak but it may be accessed via
a southern route directly from the Rim Road as described by K7ATN, or from Garfield Peak as
described here.

The trail to Garfield peak begins behind the Crater Lake Lodge. Hike to Garfield peak, take a look
at the lake, then backtrack about 50 yards to where the trail rounds the south end of the peak.

On Sept 12, 2015, I had intended to activate several peaks in Crater Lake National Park.
Having read Etienne's blog entry that Llao Rock was closed, I had written it off but thought
I would ask when I arrived. Since it had been about two years since the closure, perhaps the
area had been rehabilitated.

When getting my entry pass at the north side of the park, I asked the Ranger if the Llao Rock
area was closed to hikers. He said no, but that all areas of the park were open except where