With the first four peaks in Cascades North being activated, I decided I needed to hatch a plan to hit the next two. This summit is over 7 miles from the nearest trailhead and 3300 feet of gain, and it's 4000 feet of gain from our trailhead, so I recommend doing it as an overnight. We activated this peak in conjunction with North Cinder, W7O/CN-006, and I strongly recommend if you put in the effort to do one that you make time for the other.
Summit 5230 is located 23 miles (as the crow flies) South of Pendleton, OR. If you have the right vehicle and can tolerate a long bumpy ride in, this can be a drive up summit. It would make an excellent mountain bike-based activation. I would not attempt this summit without a GPS.
Our first snow of the year. I have done all the 8 point summits in the upper Dungeness area that I can get to with a day hike except this one. It seemed like a relatively easy one, 6 miles in with a half mile off trail to the summit. It was a good day for it. About a foot of power snow at the summit, but the ground under the snow wasn't frozen yet, so I could still get good traction without crampons.
If you want to practice being a mountain goat, this is the summit for you. This peak is technically in NE Oregon, but you drive there from Eastern Washington. The access road near the summit is better suited for high clearance vehicles and has space for 1 car to park. From there you will need to traverse to the summit without a trail up some very steep terrain. You can navigate around the treed sections easily, so although it is very steep with delicate footing, you won’t have to bushwhack.
Eagle Cap is a gem of the Eagle Cap Wilderness of the Wallowa Mountains of Northeast Oregon. We approached from Lostine, Oregon for a total hike of about 20 miles (32km) round trip and 4,000 feet of gain (1220m). The trail is rocky in places and often steep. We enjoyed an overnight stay in the Lakes Basin with a side trip to Eagle Cap. Only some of the 19 ten-point summits in the Wallowas have an established trail - this peak is very approachable, despite the long hike required.
Park Butte was one of my favorite hikes this year, and is a 6 point summit located near Mount Baker in Whatcom County, WA. Thank you to Todd W7TAO for his YouTube SOTA videos, which sparked my interest activating. Definitely enjoyed hiking near Mt Baker, the views, and activating near the lookout. Since it is a heavily trafficked trail, this was mid-week activation.
Crater Peak is a pleasant trail hike in Crater Lake National Park. It's been covered in a trip report by Phil-NS7P, so this should be considered a supplement. It's about 6.4 miles round trip, and although the sign at the trailhead says 765 feet of gain, that's net - the gross is more like 1,364 feet with all the ups and downs along the trail.
One of the many summits named "Lookout Mountain" in Oregon - this one is west of Sunriver and is a near drive-up with a half-mile road walk and about 200 feet of gain. It's also easy to reach by following GPS map directions.
Snowking is quite the challenge to get to. The road to the trailhead, not so much. Travis, my climbing partner, and I accessed the trail head via Highway 20, and then via Cascade River Road in Marblemount. Forest Service Road 1570 takes off on the right just after mile marker 14, to get you to the trailhead. There is a couple of Creek crossings, but We went on a thursday night and suffered for the first five miles of super steep climber's trail.
This blog entry is for those wanting to hike to the Mount Hebo summit in lieu of driving. Drive up Mount Hebo Road from Hwy 22 approximately 4.5 miles to the Hebo Lake Campground. There is a day use parking area at the campground with a $5 day use fee. The Pioneer Indian Trail begins from the parking area and heads south into the forest. The trail is well defined and meanders for 4 1/2 miles through the forest with occassional meadows to just below the Mount Hebo summit. Don't be fooled by the