In my continuing series on easier/shorter approaches to summits, I found a back-side social trail to Barlow Ridge summit.
Originally I was just going to bushwack it (0.6 mile and 400' elevation gain) but upon arrival I discovered this path.
Puffer Butte is located in Washington’s Field Springs State Park in the very southeast corner of the state. The hike is less than a mile and 400 feet. There are plenty of Trees on the summit for hanging wires. I had spotty Verizon coverage. For more:
https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/puffer-butte#hike-full-description
The Weyerhaeuser gated entrance is about 3 miles east of the Dole Valley Rd turn from the NE Sunset Falls Rd. It appears that Jack Mountain is located on Weyerhaeuser private property and based on the below picture of the signs, access is not allowed without a Weyerhaeuser Recreational Access Permit. Jack Mountain is in the Yacolt Permit area. Their website says the permits are "Sold Out". I also saw a permit price of $300 which is beyond my SOTA budget!
Runt Mountain is a SOTA peak at the top of the chairlift at Lookout Pass Ski area. Lookout Pass Ski area is on Interstate 90 at the Idaho/Montana border.
From Idaho, take exit 0 on Interstate 90 and turn right into the parking lot of the ski area. You will have to purchase a lift ticket ($13) for the ride up the main chair. I activated this in the summer as they open the area up to hikers and mountain bikers. You might be able to activate this in the winter but with much more difficulty with skiiers buzzing by you.
This was part of a two-summit dayhike to FR-002 and FR-005.
On the way over to Bend, I stopped to activate Black Butte. I came on Hwy 20 and turned at NF-11 which is also the turn for Indian Ford Campground. From there I followed north to the turn for NF-1110 (also known as Black Butte Rd) and on around the north of the mountain. After a hairpin turn, there is one more sharp turn to the right which takes you to the upper trailhead. The road up to the last turn was in good shape as of this writing. The upper portion after the last turn was not as good but still very drivable.
Bill K7WXW is an early riser, and I was stoked to find someone keen to get up South Sister for a sunrise activation. We set out from the trailhead in the dark at 2:12am PST. Bill had an issue with his headlamp battery. Luckily, I had a spare headlamp to loan him. With that sorted, we hit the trail.
Broken Top has been on my list for a few years. Trip reports vary in difficulty, so I finally had the chance to check it out solo.
From Green Lakes TH I hike / jogged (hogged?) to Green Lakes in about an hour. From there the trail cuts between the lakes and then steepens. The trail up the Northwest Ridge saddle is sandy and steep. I took a break in the saddle to refuel for the steep ridge climb.
We headed up to Tropo after getting some excellent pointers from Etienne K7ATN. He and Darryl WW7D were also up here a few days ago.
The route we took started from Morton, WA on Hwy 7 northbound. Unfortunately, Google Maps wants to route through private gated property. So we continued on north until NF-74 and turned off there. We followed NF-74 to the crossing with NF-295. Beyond that point, you will need to disregard your vehicle's paint job. The scrub brush is very ingrown on the next section of NF-74.
This was my second time to visit Huffraker. Last year, the property owner had closed the area due to fire danger. This year, it was reopened. However, last year I was able to drive all the way to the edge of Gifford-Pinchot NF and park. This year, there was an incredible amount of blowdown that had not been cleared which added another 4 miles to this hike bringing it to overall 6.3 miles RT. It may be that, due to the late season snow, once the mushroom pickers get busy some of the blowdown will get cleared.