Summary - Butler Butte is part of a three summit group on Weyerhauser land that is about two hourse from SE Portland. Getting to the summit requires a short hike from a logging road. The summit is small, densely forested and without views. Don't count on two meters to make your four QSOs, cell phone service is marginal at best, and APRS pings get picked up. It can be done as part of a three or four summit day if you plan carefully.
East Crater Summit can be accessed from the Northwest via PCT (See http://www.pnwsota.org/blog/k7ahr/2020-october-10/east-crater-wa-september-2020 ) or from the east side via East Crater Trail #48 (https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/giffordpinchot/recarea/?recid=31748). This report is for the east side access.
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.
Columbia Mountain is easily my favorite hike in the Sherman Pass area. This 3.2 mile climb is not steep, almost always shaded and well maintained. The spring at the junction of trail 24 and the Kettle Crest trail still had a trickle in early September. There is a cabin at the top and several benches to set up. One of the few activations where I've been able to sit on a bench in the shade. I plan to return and camp at some point. Fun hike.
A steady, relentless 3000 ft climb over 3.6 mi to the summit. The trail is mostly forested until you make the ridge, about 100 ft (elevation) of the summit, then you get spectacular views of Rainier, Adams, St Helens, and the Goat Rocks. The summit is exposed with a few nearby trees. It also is a repeater site for the USFS. When I was there, it was HOT and really no where to get out of the sun.
On a recent trip to Riffe Lake, I had the opportunity to activate this summit.
On a recent camping trip to Riffe Lake, I activated this summit after activating Burley Mountain (W7W/PL-039). See my other trip report for directions to get there.
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.
This was my first summit on the day of the Central Oregon S2S party.
I had spent the night at the Pine Mountain Observatory Campgrounds which is FCFS so get there early. If it's full, there are dispersed locations but it's hard to find one in the pitch black dark. The observatory requires no headlights (only running lights) at the top so take that into account.
In the morning, I drove back down NF-2017 to the trailhead which also double as a cattle watering station.
