Easy Trail

Peak 1650 is the highest point in the Drift Creek Wilderness area, a special area that preserves some of the oldest trees on the Oregon Coast and a nearly pristine ecosystem along the creek.  To get to 1650, set your GPS to the Horse Creek North Trailhead at 44.4411, -123.9091.  There are multiple paths through the paved and well-maintained gravel roads eventually getting you to the trailhead where you’ll find spots for five or six cars.  Along the road you’ll get glimpses at the backsid

Lilly has been on my list for a while as Matt, KC7OOY, mentioned it was a beautiful mountain. I am so glad I finally made it. As with many summits in the area, what you see on a map isn't always the truth when it comes to roads so I didn't go the way I had planned but it was a beautiful hike with great window views of Scraggy Mountain, White Mountain and others around the Red Buttes Wilderness through the timber. Along the trek are some very fascinating rocks. Lots of quartz that looks like lumps of snow from a distance and shiney silver mica like stone.

The trail is a relatively easy 7 mile hike round-trip with elevation gain of ~900' 

There is an excellent view from the summit of Tolmie Peak towards Mt. Rainier on a clear day.

It can get super busy on weekends with folks dragging their picnic baskets up to the top, especially around the firewatch tower.

The trail has been reopened since the 2020 fire in the area. Logs have been moved from the trail, and it is in excellent condition. This hike is relatively flat, gently sloped, and beautiful, well worth checking out.

Flagtail Mountain is not close to any population center. You can get to it from John Day by traveling south on US-397 and then turning west onto Izee Paulina Lane. Travel this paved road to 44.1618, -119.2511 and turn onto a good gravel road. Drive about five miles to an active lookout. 

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.

This is an easy summit to activate. It's just very remote. A large fire lookout is on top of the peak but was not manned the day I was there. 

Driving directions: From Yaak, Montana drive 17.5 miles south on 58. Take a left turn onto FS Road 309 and drive 5.27 easy miles to the trailhead. Here there is a winter ski/snowmobile hut with toilets and a large fire pit. Apparently this is a popular winter headquarters for cross country skiing and snowmobiling. The summit is an easy but steep 0.75 miles past the gate on the Forest Service road.

This summit became accessible to the public 2021 thanks to the hard work by a lot of individuals, Private Landowners, The Five Valley Land Trust, Nature Conservancy and the City of Missoula.  The summit is private property and contains numerous communications towers.  However, the new public access trail provides access to near the Activation Zone.

I think there are 2 ways to get to Arbuckle Mountain. But I only did this one. I don’t recommend this route unless you are a 4x4 enthusiast or maybe by mountain bike.

From Willow Creek Road out of Heppner which turns into NF-53 then turn onto NF-170 (45.16615, -119.23569). This quickly turns into high clearance and eventually into 4wd road. However, it is only 3 miles to the top. I would not recommend this road if it is not dry. There are several turns required, but I did not document them as I took several wrong ones.