Good Views From Summit

Just a couple of notes about Grizzly Mountain.  First, dont try to google map the directions to the road (NW Grizzly Mountain Road).  Ive been up there many times since I grew up over there but never tried google just to see what it said.  Today I did. Im not sure where google was going, but Im sure it would have never actually gotten me to the correct turn off.  Id still be wondering through the sage brush on the completely wrong side of the mountain.

So in my continuing series on how to summit the easy way, I loaded up the family for the tail end of spring break and headed over to Bend, OR.  The weather was gorgeous with just a bit of wind blowing.  That contributed to delaying my activation time by an hour due to the lift not yet in service.  In the meantime, we skiied the lower slopes.  Snow was icy in places particularly the sides of runs and the upper reaches.  Once the Summit lift opened, I grabbed my pack and headed up.

If ever in the area I highly recommend detouring up to Agency Hill. The mountain itself recently burned in the 2-4-2 Fire but the view from above is amazing. You look down at Crooked Creek, a winding creek in the basin that eventually gets to Agency Lake. Upper Klamath, Shasta, Mountain Lakes caldera, Crater Lake rim, McLoughlin, Pelican. You can see so much. This whole area has a lot to offer. Lots of eye candy! High clearance vehicle recommended. Follow any map straight up to summit. Plenty of area to set up but you may get a little sooty and it can be dusty.

A cluster of summits  in the northern Klamath Basin have been on my list for a while but it is quite a drive and wildfires and smoke have also stopped me. However, with the limited snow, I thought I would see if I could make it work for Wocus and Little Wocus Butte before the end of winter bonus, making the day trip a bit more worth it. It took a little bit of effort and luck to make it happen. This summary is for both since I did both in one day and encourage others to possibly give it a try too.

A cluster of summits  in the northern Klamath Basin have been on my list for a while but it is quite a drive and wildfires and smoke have also stopped me. However, with the limited snow, I thought I would see if I could make it work for Wocus and Little Wocus Butte before the end of winter bonus, making the day trip a bit more worth it. It took a little bit of effort and luck to make it happen. This summary is for both since I did both in one day and encourage others to possibly give it a try too.

This was a winter activation and I had hoped for a one-way ride on the Pomerelle Triple Chair lift.  After an e-mail and phone inquiry I received no response. I then planned a hike from the Pomerelle parking lot along established roads to the top of the lift and then a very short hike to the summit.

Previous writeups and activations have accessed Wildcat via the Stimson parcel that starts at Northwest Hayward Rd. Email communication with Stimson confirms that they have closed this parcel to public access, and activators should not use this path. Signage has been mixed, but the core issue is firearms use in the area that bothers the private neighbor. According to Stimson, "The entry point is actually on their property and we try to be accommodating with our neighbors."

All is not lost! Fortunately the summit itself, and a complete path of access, is on public state land.

In looking for my next winter activation, I came across Tom Dick and Harry (W7O/CN-032) which is on the upper portion of SkiBowl West.

From Hwy 93, turn east at 42.06156, -114.67514. This is near mile marker 5 (5 miles north of the Nevada border/Jackpot). Take an immediate right and then left. Continue east up a well-graded road. The road begins to deteriorate after about a mile into deep ruts. A high clearance vehicle is recommended.

WW7D and I set out on an adventure to see if we could activate Cooper Mountain via snowmobile. We knew that it was theoretically possible since Cooper Mountain lies on a groomed snowmobile trail. The only intel we had was a 7 day old trail grooming report. We knew from past experience that we might arrive to find the snow park gated or the trail impassible due to downed trees, lack of snow, etc. We decided to roll the dice and make the long journey from the Seattle area to Chelan, WA.