Lots of folks have written about climbing Bandera Mountain – but very few go past the false summit at 5157 feet. The final half mile and 100 feet of elevation gain to the summit took me almost an hour – difficulties with route finding and boulder hopping might put Bandera into the “Not Recommended” list for some Activators. You might consider nearby Mount Defiance as it should be an easier six points.
Here is my video trip report from August 11, 2012 of Sauk Mountain in Skagit County, WA. This is a relativaly easy hike (less than 2 miles, about 1,200 ft. of gain) and is right off of Highway 20 near Concrete, WA. If you're traveling over the Cascade Pass, it's a must do. Be aware that it's a very popular hike.
The trail was difficult at this time of year with significant blowdown from an ice storm in February. I actually turned back twice but then decided to give it one more try. (Well, two more.) The attached photo shows the obliterated trail - the blowdown went on for almost a mile. I also hit continuous snow at 2200 feet (Augspurger tops out near 3700). I eventually lost the trail again in the snow kicking steps and then was postholing for about an hour.
Dog Mountain is a wonderful climb nine months of the year - but in March we went from spotty sun and 38F to snow blowing sideways at 25 mph and perhaps 27F in a partial white out. It's a bit less than eight miles round trip with 2900 feet of gain.
This is a straightforward drive-up activation about an hour south of Bend with great views. Paulina Peak and North Paulina Peak are both in the Newberry National&nbs
This would be a great activation on a mountain bike - the single track looks like a good time. On busy weekends hikers might be outnumbered by bikes - however, for this early fall, late evening activation I saw no one on the trail. The trail is about 4.1 miles one way with about 3/10 miles of that cross country and 1300 feet of elevation gain.
Sixteen miles of roundtrip hiking, even on a nice trail, is a long way to go for two points, but it might the easiest way to get to Buck Peak and it's a lovely hike just the same.
Lava Butte is an easy and fun four pointer if you are ever in Central Oregon. It is a drive-up summit part of the year. There is a sometimes staffed lookout at the top and enough room for operating and most any antenna. Since it is a popular spot, you could get plenty of questions about ham radio when it is busy.
I ordered a LiFePO4 battery, one what I wanted for a while. It is 12.8V and capable of deliver 26A. Capacity is 13.2Ah. This should be sufficient to operate the portable radios on maximum power. It weighs 1.9Kg. Now that I have a good battery, I do not want to carry the 897 any longer with the internal batteries. So it is time to get another radio, a lighter one. I looked around and at the end I decided on the 857. I think ICOM does not have any good SOTA capable radios. The 706 would be good, but cannot buy new it any longer, and I don’t want to wait for a good deal on eBay. I would not like to take the 7000 outdoors. Time to go down south into Oregon to buy a radio.
