Good Views From Summit

Dragontail Peak, near Leavenworth, WA, is a committed and remote alpine climb - it can't really be considered a hike. This trip report can only give an impression and some basic facts - you will need to prepare carefully and appropriately by reading guidebooks and climbing websites, and making sure you have the necessary skills, experience and equipment. You will need to be able to handle wilderness route finding, high angle snow ascent and descent, rock climbing, and challenging terrain.

Mount Baden-Powell is 2,865 meters, 9,399 Feet High.  Blue Sky & Rarified Air.

Throop Peak is 2,785 meters, 9,138 feet elevation.  Blue Sky & Rarified Air.

On a brief vacation in Southern California to visit family, I managed to activate three (3) SOTA peaks.  This is report 1 of 3 for this trip.

San Gabriel is 1,878 Meters, 6,161 feet elevation.  It is a 6 point SOTA Summit.

This Friday afternoon activation happened on a cool day with the sun breaking through a few clouds for a beatiful sky above the epic scenery. It takes a ferry ride from Anacortes to Orcas Island to get here, but it's sure worth the trip! The main road goes from the ferry dock right through Moran State Park. Turn left at the Y onto the Mt Constitution road, which can take you all the way to a sizeable parking lot at the top.

There are at least four trails that approach the summit of Big Huckleberry Mountain - we choose the Pacific Crest Trail from the south for about 8.6 miles round trip and 1400 feet of net elevation gain (1900 total).

From Portland, take I-84 to Cascade Locks and cross the river for two dollars (2019 price).

Here's a six point summit to tackle on a nice summer day - we tried it with lots of snow and found a blizzard at the top in mid-April. The trail is on a road of about 7 miles round trip and about 1800 feet of gain.

On 27 March Etienne (K7ATN) and I activated Silver Star mountain. The weather report called for rain with a break around mid day. We headed to the trailhead, Route: Washougal, WA to Washougal River Road (approx. 10 mi), to Skye Rd to 412th AVE to Skamania Mines Rd. Follow the signs to silver star. We reached the TH at about 0840 and started up the trail. At about 1/8 of a mile the trail splits, take the right split. We found out the hard way and got about 1/4 mile down the trail before I checked the map and realized we were on the wrong trail.

A very long day to get ten points - the usual for the Northwest.

UPDATE: There may be No Trespassing signs on this approach now.

Re Horse Ridge Initial Activation 23 Feb 2014.

Ray KG7AV, Max KF7MAX