For anyone heading up to Mount Hood or headed from Portland into Central Oregon, Clear Lake Butte would be a nice stop on the way. It's a well graded and mostly paved forest road, suitable for biking or bringing along those that aren't big hikers. And no one would mind arriving at a classic fire lookout.
SeaPac, the ARRL Northwest regional hamfest is June 5 to June 7, 2015. We are having a Friday night SOTA gathering, much like the past few years. We have reserved the banquet room at the the same pizza place we have met before - looking forward to seeing SOTA folks there!
If you are interested in an atypical activation, this rock might be just for you. A low elevation early spring attainable summit. Located in a WA state park North of Coulee City, WA. Much more expansive than Beacon Rock and depending on the day of the week, fewer visitors.
Great views and clear terrain for miles. Elevation at top is 2285 feet with a quick gain of 650 feet from the TH thru a steep slot in the cliffs which can be loose rock at times.
Steamboat Rock State Park offers campsites and boating opportunities.
I've had my eye on Union Hill (W7W/KG-142) for the entire 9 months I've been activating SOTA summits. Why, you ask? Several reasons. First, it is the closest summit to my QTH. Secondly, the summit is on a piece of undeveloped forest that invites exploration. And if those reasons are not enough, the summit had never been activated.
With a clear weather window during a wet week, my wife and I decided we should go hike/run up Lucky Peak. The trail head is only a couple miles from our house so we spend quite a bit of time on the first few miles of the trail. This would be our second time hiking all the way to the top. It would be the first time hiking/running the peak with the SOTA gear on my back though!
...
Our first activation of Bald Mtn in 2015 was very satisfying even on the overcast and misty day we did it. But opt for a sunny day if you can - the views at the top are really worth it. On a clear day, you will be rewarded with a wonderful vista of the Spada Reservoir and the mountains beyond. The pictures here were taken when we went back in 2016.
Despite a propensity of warm sunny weather lately, Saturday brought dark overcast skies and the threat of rain in the northern Puget Sound for our Summit to Summit party. That didn't discourage our activators.
Saturday May 16, at noon, ten operators on nine summits participated
in the Willamette Valley S2S party. The weather was pretty much typical
Oregon/Washington spring-like, with fog and rain reported at most
summits. All activity was on 2m FM with most folks running 5 watts.
We had some good DX:
NS7P <--> AE7RP 172km (106.9mi) {NS7P @ 5W)
K7ATN <--> KG7O 180km (111.8mi) {K7ATN @ 5W, KG7O @ 30W}
NS7P <--> KG7O 206km (128mi)
Stack Rock has become more accessible over the last few years due to private land being converted to public access. A private donation made it possible for the Land Trust of the Treasure Valley to purchase private land around and on the way to Stack Rock. More information here at this LINK. The trail is widely used by hikers, mountain bikers and is now used by those that have drank the SOTA Kool-Aid!
The payoff for this relatively short non-technical summit is huge! Fantastic 360° views from the summit. Closest prominent peaks include, Mount Baring, Glacier Peak and the Monte Cristo Group. I'd been to the summit of Beckler several times prior to learning of SOTA. I recalled the location of Beckler Peak was quite remote; there are no major towns within a 40 mile radius of the peak, and, Beckler is surrounded by many higher peaks.