The weather cooperated for a fantastic turnout for the September 2017 Puget Sound Summit-to-Summit Party. Twelve operators on seven summits! Of course, there were also a good number of contacts "across the border" between W7O and W7W - with one QSO at 171 miles.
Here's who joined the Puget Sound Party -
We had great weather and great participation in the September 2017 Willamette Valley Summit-to-Summit Party.
W7O/NC-071, listed as summit number 3058, is a part of what is more commonly referred to as Hembre Ridge. While formally Hembre Ridge is the ridgeline that runs northeast to southwest, summit 3058 is the highest point in this massif. I’ll leave it to others to quibble about whether this summit should be renamed.
Very Short Hike (0.1 Miles, +144 ft.)
Directions:
From Townsend – Drive east 2.4 miles on Hwy-12
Turn left and drive North 15.6 miles on Hwy 284
Turn right and drive 6.4 miles up Confederate Gulch (Good gravel Road)
Turn left and drive 3.3 miles up FS-4161 (Good USFS dirt road – may want some clearance)
4wd + Short Hike
Directions:
Exit east from Exit 85 on I-15
Drive 4.3 miles south on Hwy-91
Turn left on Burma Road – Continue 3.1 miles
Turn left on 2-track at Chokecherry Gulch (by gravel pit)
4wd + Short Hike (0.9 Miles, +631 ft., -215 ft.)
Directions:
Exit east from Exit 85 on I-15
Drive 4.3 miles south on Hwy-91
Turn left on Burma Road – Continue 3.1 miles
Turn left on 2-track at Chokecherry Gulch (by gravel pit)
We had grand plans for the weekend and then saw them all melt away after a couple of received phone calls. By Sunday afternoon, the sobering reality of a totally adventureless weekend was weighing heavily on us. As my hope faded, Mrs.
NOTE in January 2021 - This summit has been posted PERMIT REQUIRED FOR ALL ACCESS by Weyerhauser. See photo below.
I read up on K7ATN's activation from 2015 and spent a fair amount of time looking at the maps. It seemed like there was an easier way to the summit than the highly rutted road that he had taken. Sure enough, there are good roads all the way to the bottom of the approach.
Access to Saturday Rock summit is via NF-42 which begins at Sunset Campground at the end of NE Sunset Falls Road. The road is well graded, though peppered with its fair share of chuck holes. Follow NF-42 for approximately 9.4 miles to the intersection with NF-53. Continue on NF-53 for another 2.4 miles to the intersection of NF-53 and NF-38. Plenty of room to park at the intersection off the main roads.
Willamette Valley and Puget Sound Summit-to-Summit (S2S) Parties
Saturday, September 23, 2017 at 18:00 UTC (11am local)
Frequency: 146.58-fm