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
This summit is a long ridge located between Vernonia, Oregon and Saddle Mountain. Here are the directions to get there.
Pt 5635 (W7O/CE-276) is in the Ochoco NF approximately 1.5 miles east of Ochoco Divide Campground on Hwy 26. The summit’s proximity to the highway offers a nice SOTA option when traveling through the area with FS campground accommodations nearby. Another summit, Ochoco Mountains HP (W7O/CE-080), is also just a short drive from the campground.
This area has been affected by recent fires, yet there are good sections of live trees along the hike and on the summit that offer shade. The campground was saved and is in good condition.
Peak 4260 is 1.8 miles RT hike and about 600 feet gain.
Depending on how far you choose to drive, Gray Butte will be a 1.4 mile road hike (OW) with about 1200 feet gain. There's another summit that could add another two points with 1.8 miles of hiking. Although I was thinking that the road might require high clearance, a Prius drove up after me - so know your vehicle.
Pine Ridge is a steep hike of a little less than one mile (OW) and 800' vertical, close to Gray Butte-W7O/CE-180 and Grizzly Mountain-W7O/CE-135 so you might consider doing other peaks in the area. Do not confuse this "Pine Ridge" with the W7O/CE-157 "Pine Ridge" about 50 miles to the south.
Lookout Mountain is a lovely hike of about 1.75 miles (OW), close to Round Mountain-W7O/CE-045 so you might consider doing both of those peaks. Note that there are MANY Lookout Mountains - this one is east of Prineville.
Round Mountain is a road hike of about 2 miles one-way and 1000 feet of gain. It's close to Lookout Mountain-W7O/CE-039 so you might consider doing both of those peaks.Note that there are FIVE Round Mountains in Oregon, with one in CE near Lakeview. This is the Round Mountain east of Prineville.
