I hiked this with Bill K7WXW and my wife as part of a two summit hike. Bill did a good job of covering the hike. There is lots of overgrown shrubbery on the bottom half, but it is does not rise to the level of bushwhacking at this time. Give it a few more years wihtout trail maintenance and it will be more interesting. This was a enjoyable hike with great views and good 2m contacts into Portland.
I hiked this with Bill K7WXW and my wife as part of a two summit hike. I don't have much to add that Bill didn't say. There is a 1/3 mile section at the start that is a marshy, overgrown slog on a steep hillside. Bill got stuck in the muck a couple of times. I didn't know if I should help him or use him as a human bridge over the bog. Mosquitos in that section were horrendous. The rest of the hike was steep and trail finding was challenging. It did have wild lilies and other flowers that gave the hike some redeeming value. View from the top wa
Summary - Mount Beachie, on the edge of the Beachie Creek Lionshead burn, is hiked from a trailhead above Elk Lake. The fire burned over the top here, so it is a little desolate on top. 2M contacts, with a better-than-stock antenna, are possible. I did not turn on APRS. The trail is rough the whole way and by turns, steep, rocky, buggy, boggy, and overgrown.
The Spence Mountain Trail climbs about 1800 ft in 7 miles. Its not ever terribly steep but climbs steadily without much relief. There are plenty of gorgeous views to the South and West.
The mountains near Marble Mountain hold snow for longer at a lower elevation than other nearby mountains, so keep that in mind. Even at 2600 feet elevation, which is pretty low, there was still 2 feet of snow on the road all the way up to where I left the road to bushwhack the rest of the way to the summit.
There is a bridge out but someone has laid the guardrails from the old bridge across the creek and that works for crossing on foot. You could carry a bike across if needed.
Summary - Termination Point, near Old Man Pass Sno Park (west of Indian Heaven Wilderness) is an easy drive from Portland by way of Carson. If you don't want much of a hike, you can drive up most of the way after turning from NF31. Just stop along the way wherever you decide that the giant mudholes or the sound of paint being scratched is more than you can bear. The final summit hike is very steep (trekking poles are a good idea) if short. ATT cell service is servicable, APRS is good, two meter contacts unlikely.
There are several trip reports available for Rock Peak, WA. I used: https://www.summitpost.org/rock-peak/709367 which had correct directions. It is also accurate about the hike up being a short, steep, slippery ascent with medium density forest floor brush. Peakbagger has several other reports (https://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=16430)
Pansy Mountain has not been activated since the 2021 fires. I originally intended to do both Pansy Mountain and Bull of the Woods, but I did not get an early enough start for a late autumn hike. Getting there is straight forward. A high clearance vehicle is helpful for a couple of sections, but it is probably not absolutely necessary. Follow the directions from the Forest Service:
Getting There: DO NOT USE GOOGLE MAPS TO GET HERE!!!! Google maps will lead you straight to a gated road. Have your GPS open or a map next to you while you try to navigate this. From highway 14, turn North on Rock Creek Driver like you're headed to Skamania Lodge. Continue half a mile and then turn left on Foster Creek Road. Next turn left on Red Bluff Road which will become CG-2000. Continue a little less than a mile until you see the intersection with CG 2022 splitting up the hill to the left.
This no-name summit just East of Dog Lake was the last of of three activations during the Annular Eclipse weekend of October 2023.