Forested Summit

Overview

For this activation, I followed the recommendation made by N7LF in

I took my kids on a snowshoeing adventure this past weekend.  There were several SOTA activators scheduled to be out activating and we joined them for a fun time.  The distance is around 1.7miles one way but we had very nice snow conditions.

Traffic was very heavy heading up to Mt. Hood and several vehicles turned around but we persevered and it eventually improved.  It did add around 30mins to our arrival time.

Starting from the Frog Lake SNO-PARK and heading across the hwy slightly to the north is the Pacific Crest Trail crossing.

Canuck Peak is a forested summit in far northwestern Montana. The summit is identified only by three summit trails all heading downhill, a sign pointing to American Peak and a recently burned cabin. The trail to Canuck Peak is part of the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail system Congressionally designated in 2009. The one-mile trail portion to Canuck Peak is a well-maintained easy grade.

Summary - 2466 (Amplifier Peak) is on Weyerhauser's Longview land northwest of Merrill Lake and is most easily accessed through a gate on Kalama River Road. The highway drive from PDX is roughly eighty minutes; to the trailhead, plan on another forty minutes or so along logging roads to the summit. The last part of the drive is through an active logging area and the road is often closed, so you may want to have a backup plan.  Don't count on two meters to make your four QSOs. Cell phone service is marginal, and APRS pings get picked up.

Summary - Birkenfeld Mountain from the east side is a steep, mostly pathless, ridge bushwhack to a brushy forested summit.   The approach via CG2020, is a logging road with some very steep sections that can also be used to reach Greenleaf Peak.  Drive time to the trailhead was about 90 minutes.

Summary - Frog Lake Buttes doesn't have views but is a nice hike in the summer and a good snowshoe or ski destination in the winter.  Park at the Frog Lake Sno Park and you have a choice of three routes: a 2.5 mile service road (the usual winter route), a 4.5 mile trail hike that starts on the PCT and winds around to the northwest side of the butte, or a 2.5 mile trail hike up the east side.  Two meter contacts into Portland and Vancouver will be tough without a yagi or j pole, self-spotting is easy, and APRS digis ping.

Summary - Big Bull is one of three peaks (LC-100, LC-091, LC-068) in the Northeast corner of Weyerhauser's Longview land. It is a drive up roughly two hours from Portland, much of it over logging roads. There is a very short hike (twenty yards)  to the densely forested summit and the best operating position is in an opening a little below the top.  Don't count on two meters to make your four QSOs. Cell phone service is marginal, and APRS pings get picked up.

Peak 6100, which I am calling Lemcke Peak, as the only thing near it with a name is Lemcke Spring.

Cougar Rock is a six point peak near John Day Oregon. It is 3 miles round trip with 750 feet of elevation gain. Roads are good to the trailhead at 44.5806, -118.7918. The start of the hike is a rough road that was closed to motor vehicle travel when we were there. The road walk is about ¾ of a mile, but doesn’t gain much elevation. So enjoy that part of the walk. We turned off the road at 44.5825, -118.8026.. It’s a bushwhack from there. There are some dead fall to step over, but mostly its just steep.

This was the first summit we did at the start of our 5 night camping trip, combining SOTA and CQP throughout the week. We camped just below the summit on road 3615-011. It was a beautiful drive in across a very large meadow then into the timber. From 3615-011 turn left on RD 208 and it is up to your vehicle how far you can make it up. We parked about 42.29882, -120.25346. Easy trek up an old road then a short final climb off track. Only about .75 mi RT. Great views of east through the timber, a little bit harder to see other directions.