Nov 2, 2019 was the perfect day for climbing Mt. Carrie. The weather was cool and clear. Some snow up above Heart lake, but the Cat Walk (the unmaintained trail and scramble east of Heart Lake) was free of snow. That area would be very challenging with snow, and an ice axe and crampons would be a must.
Lummi Peak, WA | November 2019
Lummi Peak is a 2 point summit located in Whatcom County, WA. A short ferry ride will take you to Lummi Island, which was $13 for vehicle with driver (as of Nov 2019). After deciding to take a Friday vacation day, Jason KV7DX (previously KE7UIU) suggested Lummi Peak. He had activated the summit twice (Aug 17 and Dec 18), and it sounded like the perfect option for a cold and sunny November day. I was also excited to try out a portable setup for FT8.
Directions:
North Cinder Peak, Oregon | September 2019
Why
With the first four peaks in Cascades North being activated, I decided I needed to hatch a plan to hit the next two. This summit is over 8 miles from the nearest trailhead and 4500 feet of gain, and it's almost 5000 feet of gain from our trailhead, so I recommend doing it as an overnight. We activated this peak in conjunction with South Cinder, W7O/CN-005, and I strongly recommend if you put in the effort to do one that you make time for the other.
South Cinder Peak, Oregon | September 2019
Why
With the first four peaks in Cascades North being activated, I decided I needed to hatch a plan to hit the next two. This summit is over 7 miles from the nearest trailhead and 3300 feet of gain, and it's 4000 feet of gain from our trailhead, so I recommend doing it as an overnight. We activated this peak in conjunction with North Cinder, W7O/CN-006, and I strongly recommend if you put in the effort to do one that you make time for the other.
Summit 5230, OR | Oct 2019
Summit 5230 is located 23 miles (as the crow flies) South of Pendleton, OR. If you have the right vehicle and can tolerate a long bumpy ride in, this can be a drive up summit. It would make an excellent mountain bike-based activation. I would not attempt this summit without a GPS.
Swamp Peak, OR | October 6th 2019
We didn't see any swamps, and it certainly wasn't swamped with people!
Getting to the trailhead was straighforward by following the directions at https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/willamette/recarea/?recid=80972.
Copper Creek Peak, WA September 2019
Our first snow of the year. I have done all the 8 point summits in the upper Dungeness area that I can get to with a day hike except this one. It seemed like a relatively easy one, 6 miles in with a half mile off trail to the summit. It was a good day for it. About a foot of power snow at the summit, but the ground under the snow wasn't frozen yet, so I could still get good traction without crampons.
4220 D-Layer Mtn, WA | Sept 2019
WW7D and I were in the area for the WA State QSO party 'Salmon Run'. This was the 2nd summit we activated on this fine sunny day in Sept!
D-Layer is a great summit!! I guess I had low expectations based on the intel we had, but it is a really nice summit with a great view to the east.
Big Butte, WA | May 2019
I like big buttes, and I can not lie...
I don't have much to add that K7NIT didn't already cover in her excellent report.
West Twin Butte, WA | Sept 2019
WW7D and I were in the area for the WA State QSO party (Salmon Run). This was the 2nd summit we did on this extremely wet Sunday in late Sept.
The road up to West Twin Butte is really fun... if you are on a motorcycle! The last 1/2 mile of this road is heavily rutted out, and would be a challenge for a high-clearence 4x4. Most people will probably opt to park lower down and walk up the road.