Summit is forested and/or has ample tree cover.
Mud Creek Ridge is a summit by Trillium Lake near Mount Hood that's good for a short backcountry snowshoe. Since there doesn't appear to be a trail, the best bet is to wait for three to five feet of snow to cover the brush and downed trees. The elevation gain is about 700 feet from the road and a total distance of about two miles one way.
A cold, windy & snowy winter activation of Amabilis Mountain, 4,580 feet, located east of Snoqualmie Pass, Washington, was undertaken by me and my SOTA Buddy - Tim, KG7EJT. The forecast was for a substantial change from the sunny but cold weather this area had been enjoying the previous week. The TH is easy to reach, most of the time, being right at Exit 63, Highway I-90. The route we took followed the XC Ski groomed logging road leading from the Lodge Creek / Swamp Creek Basin to the summit area of Amabilis. The route was 11.18 m
Woodpecker Hill is one of a cluster of four point peaks directly off of Oregon
Hwy 22 near the town of Detroit Oregon. Travel Oregon Hwy 22 east past Detroit
just about to milepost 62. Turn left onto NF-040 and travel for 4.8 miles till you
meet RD035 which turns off to the left. Go up RD035 for maybe a hundred yards
till you find a good wide place in the road to park.
On current topo maps, looking at the southern slope of Woodpecker Hill, you will
see a lower altitude teardrop-shaped open area with another oblong shaped open
Mount Bruno is one of a cluster of four point peaks directly off of Oregon
Hwy 22 just east of Detroit. Travel east on Oregon 22 past Marion Forks and
just past milepost 67, turn right onto NF2234. There was a sign there noting
that the road was closed ten miles ahead but you don't have to go that far,
so ignore it.
NF2234 is initially paved but turns to gravel in about 1.6 miles. The road is
easily passable with a passenger car. Continue on NF2234 7.5 miles. At this point
there is a triangle intersection, but you can't see all the corners. Turn right onto
Sheridan Peak is on the east side of the coast range, about 23 miles from Carlton, Oregon. Carlton itself is quite out of the way, being about 12 miles east of Newberg. But it's a nice short hike of about half a mile through some nice second growth woods, and the road is paved the whole way! (I.e.: if your GPS takes you to gravel, it's not the right way...)
Katsuk Butte is a nice little peak near both South Sister and Devil's Hill
in the Deschutes National Park near the Mt. Bachelor ski area. It's easily
reached from the Devil's Lake campground parking area. You will need to be
comfortable with cross country travel via map/compass/GPS as there are no
trails to this summit.
Katsuk Butte can be conveniently coupled with an activation of South Sister. I
spent the night in the very nice campground on the banks of Devil's Lake,
activated Katsuk Butte late in the afternoon, and left for South Sister early
Home is Tacoma, WA, but since I acquired lightweight QRP gear a couple of years ago, I’ve been tempted to take it with me when I travel. I finally did so, on a trip to visit family in New England.
Middle Mountain Oregon W7O/CN-075 is a pretty easy activation. From Hwy 26 travel approximately 28 miles north on Hwy 35 towards the town of Hood River. At 28 miles turn left (west) on Gilhauly Road. Shortly after turning on to Gilhauly Road there is a forest service gate that is normally open but just be aware of its existance. Travel 1.6 miles on Gilhauly Road. At 1.6 miles you will come to a fairly wide delta shaped "Y" intersection. Keep right at this intersection.
We spent the weekend climbing and camping at the nearby Spring Mountain climbing area. This is a great climbing area with nearby camping. Just a short distance away is Sugarloaf Mountain. It looked much forested and the road/trail access was questionable, but a previous activation said it was doable.
A four (4) point SOTA Summit, close in to Seattle Metro area. This makes a great first Activation objective. A quick return trip outing, just before the weather turned bad. We still ended the Activation early, as it started raining. Accompanied by my wife Sharon and our Labrador Retriever Dexter the SOTA Dog.
