A couple years ago William, W6BIL, reached out to me through a local facebook hiking page because I had a bunch of free local hiking books to give away and he saw I was a ham. He too was a ham but had not been operating for years. We touched base and I found out he hiked Nugget Butte fairly regularly but was not a summiter. I got info from William on the legality of hiking, he never had an issue but I eventually gave Gold Hill a call.
Date: April 3, 2024
Overview:
On a glorious day filled with exceptional weather and remarkable views, I embarked on a SOTA activation of Mount Erie (W7W/SK-169). This report chronicles my journey, equipment used, band conditions encountered, and memorable experiences during the activation.
Weather and Wildlife Encounters:
Summary - Mud Creek Ridge is a good winter cross country snowshoe hike with an open summit, peekaboo views of Mount Hood and places to hang a wire. The drive from Portland is about ninety minutes on a traffic free Friday. ATT digital service and APRS were both good. The hike starts on the road out of the Trillium Sno Park but soon veers off to pick up the nose of Mud Creek Ridge. GPS or a compass are required as the ridge is broad, and it is easy to wander off course on the way up.
You can access Baldy Mountain if you purchase a Weyerhaeuser permit https://recreation.weyerhaeuser.com. You will need the “Longview – St Helens” one. The permit is valid for a year and gets you a map that you can load into an app on your phone as well as a key to the Recreation Access Gates.
You can access Baird Mountain if you purchase a Weyerhaeuser permit https://recreation.weyerhaeuser.com. You will need the “Longview – St Helens” one. The permit is valid for a year and gets you a map that you can load into an app on your phone as well as a key to the Recreation Access Gates.
You can access 2060 if you purchase a Weyerhaeuser permit https://recreation.weyerhaeuser.com. You will need the “Longview – St Helens” one. The permit is valid for a year and gets you a map that you can load into an app on your phone as well as a key to the Recreation Access Gates.
You can access Wolf Point if you purchase a Weyerhaeuser permit https://recreation.weyerhaeuser.com. You will need the “Longview – St Helens” one. The permit is valid for a year and gets you a map that you can load into an app on your phone as well as a key to the Recreation Access Gates.
You can access Meridian Mountain if you purchase a Weyerhaeuser permit https://recreation.weyerhaeuser.com. You will need the “Longview – St Helens” one. The permit is valid for a year and gets you a map that you can load into an app on your phone as well as a key to the Recreation Access Gates. Take I5 N to exit 42, then Ostrander Road to Rec Permit Access Gate 010.
1470 is an unnamed summit near Granite Falls, WA. It is an easy 3 mile walk (6 mile R/T) up a good gravel road. Around 1000' of gain. This is a good candidate for a mountain bike trip. Some nice views of Pilchuck near the top.
This is a burned-over scattered forest summit with few live trees. Parking at the trailhead is limited but several places within 200’ exist. Finding a place without snags limited parking to a couple of areas west of the trailhead at the curve in the road. The one above the road is near an Idaho/Montana boundary post. That post was placed in 1905 at mile 393.121 per information received from W7LIX.