Forested Summit

Just past Oregon wine country resides Sheridan Peak W7O/NC-009. This peak has an elevation of 3000ft and resides in the heavily timbered coastal range. For beginners to SOTA, this is perfect place to start and gain experience. This peak resides in the Nestucca Recreation Area, specially created to manage the impact of an extensive and wonderful network of OHV trails. There are specific restrictions within this area, so please check with the BLM before you camp or light fires.

Bobs Mountain is fairly close to Portland, and with a short respite from the rain, an activation plan was hatched. I had the company of Grover, KG7O for a joint activation. We had a good time on the short hike to the summit on a four-wheel drive road and had a sucessful first time activation for this peak.

2012-02-12 Tumtum Peak W7W/RS-059 CN96br59

I could not go out for a long time. I had a lot of problems and was afraid of avalanche danger. Previous weekend I went out for an expedition hike towards Ararat peak. Avalanche danger was low, with declining tendency. Despite this I still did not want to go on any steep open terrain. Many would not think that even a small amount of snow can kill you.

Even more updated here: http://www.pnwsota.org/blog/k7atn/2021-june-07/updated-monte-carlo-wa-june-2021

The trail was difficult at this time of year with significant blowdown from an ice storm in February. I actually turned back twice but then decided to give it one more try. (Well, two more.) The attached photo shows the obliterated trail - the blowdown went on for almost a mile. I also hit continuous snow at 2200 feet (Augspurger tops out near 3700). I eventually lost the trail again in the snow kicking steps and then was postholing for about an hour.

Let's start by making sure we are talking about Oregon's Larch Mountain and not one of the two Larch Mountains in Washington, and not the one in Idaho either.

Sixteen miles of roundtrip hiking, even on a nice bit of the PCT, is a long way to go for two points, but it might the easiest way to get to Buck Peak and it's a lovely hike just the same.

On our way into the Gifford Pinchot National Forest heading to Lookout Mountain that morning, we noticed that we passed Trout Creek Hill on the right, with what seemed like open roads heading in the general direction. Taylor made note of the route we'd need to take on the topo maps, assuming all the roads were actually open. We figured that we might at least drive up towards this one after we finished at Lookout Mountain, even if only to survey the potential. As it turned out, this became our third and final summit of our whirlwind ten-point day.

A few weeks ago I had a minor toe procedure that left me out of commission and unable to hike. To slowly get back in the swing of things, KK7DS and I planned to summit Lookout Mountain (W7/LC-066) after a tip from N7AAM. This particular summit is mostly accessible by car and requires minimal hiking. As we drove along FR 43 to Lookout Mountain, I saw "D-Layer" mountain come into view on the topo map. There were no roads leading to the top, but the topo lines gave the appearance that it would be a relatively easy bushwhacking adventure over a short distance. We decided to scope it out on our way back from Lookout Mountain.

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.