Easy Trail

NF-2611 road leads to two summits north of Highway 126 near Leeburg, OR. Coming from Springfield, go about 27 miles east of the Main St/126 intersection. Turn north on NF-2611 (near MP 34) and follow the main road 4.5 miles to a large intersection and clearing. Each summit is worth two points.

As you enter the intersection, a steep uphill road is on your right. A locked gate and no trespassing signs make this summit off limits. It is Mt Hagan, W7O/CM-120.

Had fun today Sunday 5/7 up at Skyline Ridge in West Linn. I got a last minute notice that Etienne K7ATN and Glenn KG7TDC were going up to this park not far from me, so why not? I loaded up the KX2 and my new toy the W4OP loop.after working a few guys on 146.52 (KG7VAK and NS0TA) we set up the loop on a camera tripod. we tuned  it up on 20 and Glenn worked a few using my paddle as a straight key, and then I took over for a quick 11 Qs-into the Midwest, southeast and CA All the sigs were strong - goes to show the band may be open even if you don't hear anything!

(0.2 miles, + 155 feet)

This summit is on USFS land & is covered by the Beaverhead-Deerlodge-Central map.  The area is open to motorized vehicles on designated routes Dec.3 – Oct. 14.

The trailhead may be approached either from the north (Moose Creek / Maiden Rock I-15 exit), or the south (Melrose I-15 exit).  The northern road has two stream crossings that could be problematic during high runoff.  The road from the Melrose exit (Trapper Creek Road) is better. 

(0.6 miles, + 560 feet)

This summit is on USFS land & is covered by the Beaverhead-Deerlodge-Central map.  The area is open to motorized vehicles on designated routes Dec.3 – Oct. 14.

(1.5 miles, + 930 feet)

From I-15:  Take Exit-99 (Moose Creek) & head east up the Moose Creek Road towards the Humbug Spires Wilderness Study Area.  Drive 2.9 miles up the Moose Creek Road (gravel) & park on the left side of the road near the fenced culvert that conveys flow for the drainage to the north under the road.  It is likely best to climb directly up this drainage.  I will describe the route that I took, which is a bit more circuitous, but still quite nice.

A bit of research showed several gems waiting to be Activated, while the high country is still buried in deep, unstable snow.  Tibbetts Mountain is a 4 point SOTA Summit, of a modest 4,115 feet elevation.  It has a fantastic vantage point, overlooking the beautiful Wenatchee River Valley, the City of Wenatchee, and several towns lying along SR 2, the major east / west highway connecting western and eastern Washington State.  We opted for the more reasonable north approach, which is mainly a very steep forest service road, with about 1/4 mile of easy off road clim

We finally got to Activate Old Pass Hill, after snowshoeing by it a number of times before.  Old Pass Hill is a 4 point SOTA Summit of 4,885 feet elevation.  In winter, the route is mostly avalanche free, and so is a semi popoluar snowshoe trip.  A nice spring day, right before a change in weather, yielded a mostly sunny early morning, with increasing wind and clouds later in the mid day.  The temperature at departure from the TH was 37 degrees, and the snow was firm enough to hike on without snowshoes.  On the return trip, it had warmed up en

(0.6 miles, 500 feet)

This is a short climb that is located immediately adjacent to I-15 south of Great Falls.  It was first climbed by Merriweather Lewis on July 16, 1805.  Lewis described it as follows:

(1.3 miles, 970 ft)

On a family vacation to the Lake Tahoe Basin in Nevada and California, I was fortunate enough to Activate 4 peaks in 3 days.  This is a description of the Mount Watson Activation, number 2 in the series.  On this Activation I had the pleasure of meeting up with a "local" Activator from Reno, Nevada, K1LB - "Woody" Brown, so that we could do a joint Activation of Watson.