I had hiked into the Independence Lakes area a few days earlier and was blown away with the beauty of the ancient glacier bowl where the lakes are located. From the lakes you can see Cache Peak to the south dominating the skyline, thus my interest was piqued. From summitost.org:
This was a first-time activation of the summit. There are two summits very close to each other with a shallow saddle. I ignored my GPS and arrived at the false summit and had to scurry over to the actual summit. This was a 400-foot (only 20-foot elevation) mistake.
July 12th, 2023. This no-name peak, first activated by ND7PA in 2015 (thanks for the article), is found by taking Big Lake Rd (BLR - aka NF-2690) south from US 20 at the Santiam Pass, across from Santiam Sno-Park, approx. 90 minutes east of Salem and 60 minutes northwest of Bend.
Lovely mostly shady hike to a peak with a good view of mt hood. Highly recommended activation.
There are a few routes to get to Mount Defiance. We took the hike from Warren lake described here on Oregon Hikers (different from 2012 trip report).
Black Butte is a moderate hike, with phenomenal views of the Central Oregon Cascade range. There is an active fire tower that should be avoided, as the public is not allowed near the tower during fire season. The hike is a 2.1 mile, steady pitch that ascends 1600ft from the parking area. Getting to the trailhead can be done in any passenger car, though the last mile is a bit rough due to a lot of runoff from the heavy snows this past winter. From US Highway 20 turn South on FS-11, then take a left on FS-1110 to the parking area.
I was surprised to find what looked like an un-activated drive up summit only an hour drive (to the base) from Bend, OR. From Bend, head South on 97 and take the exit for South Century Drive. Head through Sun River on Spring River Rd, which turns into Conklin Rd. Hang a left on Upper Deschutes Road aka NF 40. Follow this and it crosses Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway afterwich it becomes NF 4630. Hang a right on NF 640 and follow past Little Cultus Lake. I parked at the pullout at 43.81061, -121.88230.
WV-117 is a long walk along a mostly exposed route to a completely exposed summit. In fact, it was a very sunny and very warm hike that was much longer than expected. I estimated based on what I could see with my eyes from the Santiam Canyon (and what I could see in satellite imagery) that there'd be no shade, and possibly no trees either. I guessed about a 3/4 of a mile shorter than reality. But I was mostly right - there was only one treed spot along the 4.5 mile route up that offered any relief from the sun, and there were none for either shade or suitable a
June 24th, 2023. Trout Creek Butte (TCB) is the site of a now defunct fire tower 7 straight line miles to Sisters, OR and 21 or so to Bend, offering great views to the south of the Three Sisters and Black and Millican Craters to the west.
NC-069 is one of the handful of 2 pointers in the Oregon NC region, located in the Tillamook State Forest. It's fairly remote, past Cedar Butte or Triangulation depending on the route you choose to take, but it can be paired with either one in a day. It requires a short but strenuous climb with bushwhacking, and rewards you with a nice open summit area with good views of the surrounding peaks and valleys.