Good Views From Summit

I completed the first-ever activation of Wapato Peak today (Peak 3380). Wapato Peak has no official name in the SOTA database, but several sources mention this one so it's the name that I will use.

There is no established trail, but the hike is fairly easy, with only ~800 feet of elevation gain and a 1.5-2 mile round trip. It is steep at times, but I found it manageable with trekking poles and ordinary hiking boots even with an inch of snow on the ground.

W7O/SC-214 was a nice little mountain that I did after Holcomb Peak. Basically you drive past Holcomb peak a bit SE and it's pretty self explanatory of where to go. You'll take a small spur road and depends on your vehicle how close you can get. You can park in some large pullouts just a little ways up the road or jeep it another 1/4mi or so. Depends on how much pinstriping you're looking for, it gets narrow with sharp manzanita and no easy turnaround. 

Snow was coming soon so I really wanted to get out and try and get a few new mountains in before winter came. A couple on my list were Holcomb peak and a no name summit right next to it, SC-214. I put these on hold before because they are a drive to something that I've never been to and have no info on, however with winter bonus and no snow yet, it made the trip worth the risk. My 1st summit was Holcolmb Peak which looked like it had the possibility of being a drive up if timber corp allowed, but much of the mountain and surrounding area had no trespassing signs.

Rock Candy Mountain is an old US Forest Service Lookout site. The summit views are great with cliff cirque basins full of chipmunks, golden-mantle squirrels and chirping pikas, and distant high peaks of the Cabinets Mountains to the south, the Selkirk Mountains to the west and into Canada to the North.

Winchester Mountain Lookout was a dramatic hike with views of Twin Lakes and the surrounding mountains. The hike is 3.4 miles and 1,300 feet of gain, and I tracked a approximately 4.1 miles total due to last remnants of snow right before the trailhead in July. A NW Forest Pass is required.

I completed the first activation of Tenas Mountain today. The hike I took and the peak itself are both located within Indian Dan State Wildlife Recreation Area. My route is about a 4 mile round trip with 1000 feet of elevation gain. I parked at the parking area at (48.11129,-119.86790). A Discover Pass is required. The last two miles of the drive was on a dirt road, but it was in excellent condition. From the parking area, I hiked along an old double track road towards the summit. It's easily visible from aerial imagery.

On a recent Sunday, I drove up CG-2020 from Stephenson to the saddle where 2025 and 2026 split off (around 45.717500° -121.980944°) and parked on the side of the road.  From there I walked down the eastern branch of the roads that meet there towards Greenleaf Peak.  The other road that goes southeast heads towards the same direction but it seems to go down hill so I chose the other side of the ridge.

Ice Cave Mountain (Peak 2220) is a moderate hike that requires some route finding, with no established trail. Parking is along the shoulder of a paved road at an elevation of 1350 feet. I estimate that the hike is about 1.5-2 miles round trip, with about 900 feet of elevation gain. The peak and the approach are all on public land.

The recent Grayback Mountain WA pnwPOTA Blogs by K7ATN (11/03/2021) and KJ7EHA (04/12/2021) highlight the recent difficulties of gaining public access to the summit. In the past, Western Pacific Timber LLC (WPT), the State of Washington and the few private property owners didn’t restrict entry to walk-in visitors, horseback riders or hunters – just unauthorized motorized vehicles. Ironically the inviting “Feel Free to Hunt” come on in sign is still near the main gate. However, I noticed a pair of new No Trespassing signs approximately 1,500 feet from the main gate.

Summary - This is an easy climb up a series of switchbacks cemented to the side of the basalt plug that is Beacon Rock. Given the proximity to Vancouver and Portland, the short hike, and the fabulous view, this is a very popular destination. For uninterrupted operating time you'll want to combine arriving early, bad weather, and mid-week day. HF operation is possible, 2M contacts are easy, APRS and phone service are good. Parking requires a Washington Discover Pass or a ten buck day pass.