Easy Trail

Here's a drive-up summit with a fire lookout (one you can rent) in Eastern Oregon. You might spring for a lookout reservation and enjoy being chased all day long - but you can also stay below te lookout on the road and let the occupants enjoy their solitude while you activate this peak.

Here's an easy road walk in Eastern Oregon of about 2.1 miles round trip and 400 feet of gain. Interestingly, there's only one "Lake Butte" in Oregon - and there's no lake near it.

Here's a nice 2.4 mile round trip hike on a quiet forest road, east of Prineville. Don't get this Wildcat Mountain mixed up with the other three summits with the same name in Oregon.

Humbug is a great hike on the South Coast, even if it is a steep six miles round trip and 1700 feet of gain. Find the well-marked and large parking lot for the trailhead about five miles south of Port Orford, Oregon on the west side of Highway 101. No parking pass is required.

After you climb about a mile, there is a slightly shorter (and slightly steeper) option to take the West Trail - I suggest that you try both, as the West has some nice peak-a-boo views, and the East has some amazing old growth. All trails are well-graded and likely busy during the summer months.

My first SOTA activity was activating VE7/GV-013 on a sunny day in October. I find this mountain a great place for local hams to experience SOTA for the first time.

VE7/GV-013, Black Mountain is located in Cypress Provincial Park, just half an hour drive from Vancouver. Parking at Lot 1 of Cypress Mountain Ski Resort is free and it is mostly empty in the morning, as long as it's not ski season.

I had mapped out three different routes to the summit “trailhead” and opted to drive up from the south off Nestucca River Road.  Turn north at an unmarked road/intersection .7 miles west of the NW Boundary Road/Nestucca River Road intersection.  Most roads in this area are unsigned. It is highly recommended to take a map and GPS for directional references. Drive for approximately 15 miles on well graded roads through typical forested areas, old clear-cuts and new logging operations. Once onto Toll Road heading east, turn right at an intersection near a map marker labeled BM 2776.

Had the day off from work and headed out to activate this summit with Dave, N7LKL. Turned out to be a great day with nice weather. 

We started off on 2m FM and each of us had at least 4 contacts in no time. And then proceeded to set up HF, where our good fortunes continued, reaching the East Coast. With the band conditions the way they are I consider that good DX, especially running around 4 watts from my MTR. 

This is a short one mile hike 400 feet of gain that you reach by driving about five miles on a poor road. There's some bushwacking required to make the Activation Zone. 

Here is a lovely hike in the south reaches of the Clackamas watershed. The hike is about 6.5 miles round trip and 1000 feet of gain. Although about two hours from Portland, it's also a nice drive to the trailhead with good signage along the way. Only the last half mile or so would be challenging in a passenger car. 

An easy one pointer in the Coast Range with a very short hike - using a GPS may help you find it in the maze of roads that is the Tillamook State Forest.