I was driving back to Portland from Northern California and taking Highway 97 for the scenic beauty. There are a number of 4 and 6 point summits in the region with easy-ish access, so I thought I'd try one or two along the way. A forest service employee recommended Orr Mountain, which has great views, a nice open area at the top and an active fire lookout.
TL;DR - Posts on official Multnomah county blogs indicate that E Larch Mountain Road is closed at the ten mile gate for 2023, see: larch mountain road closed and multnomah county larch mountain, so this hike starts at the gate. Note that it requires a 1.6 mile traverse along the road before turning onto FS road 315 (which intersects with trail
My second bust in the Tatoosh Range! These peaks are far enough from PDX that 2m won't reach, and despite the proximity to Seattle, there happens to be a big chuck of rock and ice in the way. I knew it would be a stretch, but was hopeful the extra time on the summit would give me a chance to round up four contacts. Nope. Advice: either bring a beam antenna, your HF rig, or coordinate with other activators and chasers to make sure you can get it done.
Steep, but Priusable route for activating Peak 2905. A one way hike of about 0.9 miles and 100 feet gain. The AZ is on Stimpson Timber land.
I thought I would do an update and pull together the two trip reports for this summit.
http://www.pnwsota.org/blog/k9wbz/2019-april-23/w7onc-060-lone-ridge-act...
http://www.pnwsota.org/blog/n7un/2016-september-07/lone-ridge-w7onc-060
It is 9.5 miles round trip and 1200 feet of gain from the gate to the summit.
This makes it a very nice biketavation as the slope is usually managable on the bike with a few hike a bikes here and there. The road is good gravel and goes all the way to the top. The views are wonderful.
May 28th, 2023. Trip #3 up Rocky Top for me and activation #2. But this time we were a party of 7, 5 of which were general class operators.
Dusk Point is a 1.8 mile round trip (500 ft vertical) hike off of FR-2364 in the South Olympics. Access is straightforward (once the snow melts!) but FR-2364 does require a high clearance vehicle. The summit is exposed with limited to no shade even though some trees line the perimeter. I did not have any ATT cell service but there is excellent APRS two-way messaging to enable spotting.
Badger Peak is a easy 4 pt summit. Mostly a drive up with about a 1 mile hike to AZ. There is about 650 ft of vertical lift from the parking place.
Parking for Monument Peak summit (aka Peak 4740) is on Monument Peak Road (MPR) about 7.5 miles up from the Monument Peak Trailhead at the south end of Gates School Road. Gates School Road is at milepost 33 on OR-22 east of Salem. I recommend parking here: (44.6966, -122.3343), the junction of MPR and what is now a washed out logging road - 2WD vehicles need not apply.
The summit of Maryhill Benchmark (aka Juniper Point by the locals) is a drive-up radio site located on private property. Public drive-up access is restricted due to multiple private properties, the Tuolumme Wind Project Authority Project and a locked gate. The facility has 24/7 onsite security and patrols. There is a Radio site on Maryhill Benchmark and service personnel have an easement to travel to the summit. I maintain equipment at this radio site.