Easy Trail

An easy one pointer in the Coast Range with a very short hike - using a GPS may help you find it in the maze of roads that is the Tillamook State Forest.

Rogers Peak is the highest point in Tillamook County and the highest also in W7O/NC. It's fairly easy to access, given a good road that is fine for passenger cars, a road walk after a gate, and a final ascent using an overgrown cat track that leads you almost directly to the summit. 

John, Ralph and myself (Eric) made the trek to the summit of St Marks. The hike is very popular with 200+ on the trail on a nice week-end. The first half of the trail is well groomed and easy walking. The trail improvement stops about half way and from there on the trail is easy to follow but it is very root infested and so one needs to be constantly watching where one steps.

Approxamatly 1 1/2 hours out of Boise. Reasonably passable roads. (all wheel drive Volvo XC-90).

BC-074 is first on the ridge line and has a nice open summit. Good views down into Pionneerville to the North and Horse Shoe bend to the South. Walk up to the summit is about a 1/3 of a mile and not to bad. I used a large pine tree to hang my antenna from but there is also a pole on the summit; however it does not have a halyard.

Directions: Take Sunset Falls Road east of Battleground to Sunset Campground. Turn right and cross the East Fork Lewis River on FS Road 41. Stay on FS 41 for approximately 9 miles to a large parking area atop McKinley Ridge. This is NOT the summit.

Poor McDonald, like Rodney Dangerfield, it gets no respect. And honestly, that’s not fair. Sitting in line with the heralded Mt. Ashland (W7O/CS-019), McDonald is easy to access, has a great operating position, and spectacular views of the Siskiyous in all directions. If you are activating Mt. Ashland, you absolutely must make it a double if the roads are open and clear.

Zero Butte is just west of Condon, Oregon and is an easy drive-up summit. Take Highway 206 4.5 miles west from Condon and turn (left) west onto Richmond Road. Continue 1.5 miles to an unmarked dirt road heading off to the left. This is about where the unexpected subdivision ends and where what looks like a former military installation begins. The dirt road was easily passible in a passenger car for the 0.9 miles to a fence and a gate where the high point is located. 

Grizzly Mountain is an easy drive-up summit about 9 miles west of Prineville. The views are great and the road passable in a passenger vehicle - perhaps slowly in the rocky places. 

Scouted the summit while in the area. Too far into the Coast Range for 2m contacts in the valley. Might be good for S2S contacts or other bands. Summit is easy to drive to approaching from the east, less than a mile off Boundary Road between the Trask & Nestucca drainages, no low-profile vehicles but anything else should be fine. Can drive right to the top, which has decent views and might make a good place to camp out.

This summit is an easy driveup, though low clearance vehicles will have trouble with the last half mile or so. Even better, park at the bottom of the steep hill climbs and hike in or pick up the unused motorcycle trail (starting near 45.3353, -123.559) that crosses over the summit and follow it up. The hill is accessed by Boundary Road, which is accessed from the upper reaches of the Trask drainage or a variety of roads that climb up from the Nestucca.