Pass Required at Trailhead

Browder Ridge is one of those hikes that you really don't want to tell anybody about. Its well known for its wildflowers and mentioned as an alternate to crowd-packed Iron Mountain/Cone Peak. Unlike the more popular Iron Mountain loop, Browder Ridge stays in bloom far into summer. It has a number of great views and dramatic old growth fir/hemlock/cedar forests. I was there in early August and there were an amazing number of flowers and blooming things.

No Joke on Jester Mountain, but Mr. Murphy (as in Murphy's Law) showed up. Fall is nearly in the air.  The flowers are long gone, replaced by late season berries and mushrooms.  Air temperature when leaving the car at 9:00 AM was 44 degrees F.  Crossing Snoqualmie Pass, the weather was rainly, foggy & windy.  It did not look promising, but the anticipated East Slope of Cascades Rain Shadow was in effect, and we had a glorious day in the Wenatchee mountains.

This is an easy hike in the Washington Olympics that is not far from Highway 101.

Mount Walker is a nice drive-up or summit hike just off Highway 101 on the east side of the Olympic Peninsula. There is a good view of Puget Sound from the summit and thus it makes for a good spot to try your hand at VHF/UHF contacts.

Stevens Peak in Mount Rainier National Park, is a committed alpine climb. It's recommended you prepare carefully 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, mixed rock and snow, rock climbing, and challenging terrain.

There are two Unicorn Peaks in Washington - this Unicorn Peak is in the Tatoosh Range in Mount Rainier National Park. Unicorn Peak is a committed alpine climb - it can't really be considered a hike.

Easy 2 Mile RT (or less) leads to this fantastic overlook of the Teanaway River Valley, Mount Stuart Range, Mount Rainier, Mount Adams and hundreds of other Cascade peaks.

All SOTA contacts were on 20M SSB, using my 20M inverted V dipole suspended fron a 22 ft. Carbon Fiber fishing pole.  I made 12 contacts in 8 states over approximately 30 minutes. 

This is an easy drive up summit. Less then 1/2 mile easy walk to the top. Lots of deer in the area! One small buck walked right up to us and then followed us to the summit. Great views of hurricane ridge though we only go spotty views because of the clouds. Great 6 point activation. Campground within one mile of the summit

Setup: PFR3, MP1 SuperAntenna, TeNeKe

Headed up to the hills for an activation with my two oldest daughters. Nice big parking lot at the bottom and a nice easy 2 mile walk to the summit. This is in forest service land so you can camp on the summit. Nice spot with small fire pit. One day I may try this. Trees are encroaching the summit so spotty views. Nice big area to set up on the summit. I used SMS text for spotting with success.

Setup: PFR3, SuperAntenna, TeNeKe.

On 21 June the family and I headed out to Ritzville, WA to pick up my oldest daughter, Lily. Of course you know that I cannot drive 2/3 of the way across the state of WA and not find a SOTA to do.