Heading into the 2024 W7O Campout weekend, I was 36 points shy of Mountain Goat. K6ARK and I hit some strategic drive ups on the way down for 10 points, and then knocked out 24 points on the Siskiyou Crest. That left me at 998 points going into Saturday. I didn't want to activate just any summit for my MG, I wanted something that called back to the mountaineering I was doing when I first got licensed and learned of SOTA.
I hiked this with Bill K7WXW and my wife as part of a two summit hike. Bill did a good job of covering the hike. There is lots of overgrown shrubbery on the bottom half, but it is does not rise to the level of bushwhacking at this time. Give it a few more years wihtout trail maintenance and it will be more interesting. This was a enjoyable hike with great views and good 2m contacts into Portland.
I hiked this with Bill K7WXW and my wife as part of a two summit hike. I don't have much to add that Bill didn't say. There is a 1/3 mile section at the start that is a marshy, overgrown slog on a steep hillside. Bill got stuck in the muck a couple of times. I didn't know if I should help him or use him as a human bridge over the bog. Mosquitos in that section were horrendous. The rest of the hike was steep and trail finding was challenging. It did have wild lilies and other flowers that gave the hike some redeeming value. View from the top wa
Summary - Battle Ax, on the edge of the Beachie Creek Lionshead burn, is hiked from a trailhead above Elk Lake. The trail is often rough and rocky and the last quarter mile, steep. The hike from the trailhead to the summit is about 2.6mi and 1700ft. Trekking poles and shoes good on rock are handy. The summit is open, with the remains of a lookout and views of all the big mountains; you'll need a mast to put up an HF wire. 2M contacts, with a better-than-stock antenna, are possible. I did not turn on APRS and ATT digital service was in and out.
Table Rock lies between Summer Lake and Fort Rock in central Oregon. It's easily visible and obvious for miles--a large round platau surrounded by desert. Views are great, of course.
This is another peak in the Stimson family of parcels, specifically the region they call "Wildcat/Munson Creek". Pleasantly, this parcel is open to recreational walk-in access all days of the week from sunrise to sunset. Note though as with all Stimson property, it will be closed during the summer fire season starting at IFPL2 and higher. Access aside, it's a pleasant enough hike and nice open summit but not much for views. The ascent takes you around the back of Munsen Falls State Park. The path is a 2.3 mile hike one-way with 1700ft gain.
While we used motorcycles to get to this summer, a descent AWD car should have no problem with the road. There is enough space just to the south of the cow area to park one or two rigs and the hike is relatively quick. Not much in the way of shade so plan accordingly and bring extra water. This is pretty remote country but in the event of an emergency, you could likely get into the HiDARG Repeater on Sharps Butte [147.300+, T162.2].
Willamette Pass is a really fun activation if you are a downhill skier/snowboarder. The resort uses a demand pricing model so you can get really smoking deals on tickets if you can buy early or go on off days. We paid $34 per ticket for our April Saturday, not bad considering they also gave us $10 per person credit at the ski shop or restaurant.
NO VHF!
I'm not sure if Sheepy is technically "PNW" but I wanted to make sure those in the area know about this fabulous summit. It's a steep climb just over a mile up the SE ridge starting at the Tulelake NWR Headquarters-now I think Klamath Basin Refuges. It was an amazing experience of a hike with interesting plateaus and ridges and seeing and hearing plenty of songbirds, raptors, eagles, deer, etc. There is nothing to block your 360 view and it is absolutely amazing.
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.