I could not go out for a long time. I had a lot of problems and was afraid of avalanche danger. Previous weekend I went out for an expedition hike towards Ararat peak. Avalanche danger was low, with declining tendency. Despite this I still did not want to go on any steep open terrain. Many would not think that even a small amount of snow can kill you.
After activating W7W/SK-113 the evening before (see trip report for Second Hop Summit), we rose from our camp in the gravel pit. We made hearty breakfast and broke camp but before leaving we found a few lonely tin cans in the gravel pit to practice our marksmanship.
Even more updated here: http://www.pnwsota.org/blog/k7atn/2021-june-07/updated-monte-carlo-wa-june-2021
Peak 4980 is an easy activation just south of Mount Hood, Oregon (even if the road is horrid). It has great views (in the right weather) and some wilderness character about it. And there is an old trail that makes access fairly easy.
Devil's Peak is an easy hike, even if it's not an easy drive. After starting your hike from the Turnaround Trailhead you'll be at the summit after only a mile and a half and 700 feet of ga
When I heard that the long-standing dry and sunny weather we'd been having for weeks was about to end on Friday, I cleared a day off work on Thursday and determined to take another stab at Mt McCausland. The drive to the trailhead is pretty straightforward.
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.
Let's start by making sure we are talking about Oregon's Larch Mountain and not one of the two Larch Mountains in Washington, and not the one in Idaho either.
UPDATE MARCH 2022 - Permits required weekends April 23 to June 12, plus Memorial Day.
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 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 0.3 miles of that cross country and 1300 feet of elevation gain.