Exposed Summit

This one was a workout.  The drive up was fairly straightforward: Exit 47 on I-90 to Tinkham Rd, then up the hill on NF-5510, until you reach the parking area and gate.  NW Forest pass required.  

Black Butte is one of those mountains that is very recognizable and easy to spot on the horizon. Not because it has any disctinctive features, but rather because it has none. It looms darkly over the desert of central oregon as a perfect cone, easily distinguished from its sharp and craggy neighbors like Mt. Jefferson, Mt.

When a more complex plan failed to come to fruition Friday night, we decided late that we would head to Lookout Mountain in Oregon for Saturday's activation. We had been there before, and it is one of our all-time favorite SOTA summits. Just before we were heading out the door Saturday morning, I realized I had forgotten to alert us because the decision had been so late. I was shocked to see that K7ATN was scheduled for the same summit that day!

UPDATE JUNE 2018 - Road 27 has deteriorated to the point that getting to the trailhead may prove challenging even in a Subaru Outback. It's certainly unpleasant and rough and slow going. So much so that you may want to hike a few more miles and have an easier time getting to the northern trailhead. 

This past weekend, Taylor K7TAY and I successfully executed our first overnight SOTA activation. We went to Waldo Mountain in Central Oregon, a 6-point peak with a three-mile (each way) trail ending at a spectacular view and one of the few remaining lookout structures in Oregon.

For Taylor's first post-surgery activation, we were looking for a summit we could nearly drive to in order to minimize the required walking. The morning of the trip was the first time she had donned her boots since the procedure, so we weren't sure how much walking she'd be up for. We had originally planned a 2-point summit in the coast range because we knew we could get within a few hundred feet in the Jeep. However, a late tip from N7AAM on Friday had us rolling towards Lookout Mountain on the Washington side of the gorge.

A short hike to Mount Defiance in Oregon is from Wahtum Lake Road and is about 3.6 miles roundtrip with 1140 ft gain. From Dee near Hood River, it's about a 10-mile drive on FR 2820 to the Upper Mount Defiance trailhead.

South Tiger Mountain is the easiest of a trio of peaks in the Tiger Mountain State Forest near Issaquah, Washington.

(Note of August 2018 - temporary closure of South Tiger Traverse - access from the north is still possible.)

I-90 Exit 25 for Highway 18 is the easiest way to reach the trailhead parking area. I've used the upper parking lot for two activations here - note that a Washington State Discovery Pass is required. There is an unattractive toilet at the upper parking lot.

A six-point SOTA on a Wednesday? You bet! The July 4th holiday made for a nice mid-week excursion to the hills to one of Washington's fourteen Goat Mountains. This one was twelve miles north of Mt. St. Helens.

After getting stopped at a closed forest road in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, we rerouted and arrived at the trailhead for Goat Mountain Trail #217 a little late. As soon as we stepped out of the Jeep, we knew that we were in for a bloody battle against the "skeeters." I think I was a pint low before I even started climbing.

Stats:
6.8 miles roundtrip
1761 ft elevation gain
Start elevation: 3463 ft
End elevation: 4962 ft

We parked at Falls Creek Horsecamp off Forest Road 65, about 16 miles north of Carson, WA. A call to the Gifford Pinchot National Headquarters a day earlier revealed 3-4 feet of snow at a berry patch just north of Red Mountain at a similar elevation. Begrudgingly, we attached our snowshoes to the back of our packs and then started out on Race Track Trail #171. After a short distance we encountered a kiosk that told us to bury our poop and fill out a wilderness use permit. We dropped a copy in the box and safely tucked away our copy for when a Ranger approached asking to see it.