Decent tree cover for most of the trail
Here's a near drive-up south of Estacada with a hike as short as a quarter mile and 200 feet of gain. Or, you can park sooner along the access road and have a bit more of a walk if you prefer. Along with Oak Grove Butte you might consider a double activation of W7O/CN-021 - Mount Lowe or W7O/WV-009 - Bull of the Woods.
UPDATE 2021 - Mount Lowe may have been damaged in the September 2020 fires. Check for access.
Nash crater (W7O/CM-100) is just south and west of where OR 22 intersects with
US Hwy20 near Santiam Pass. Take FS 2676 off of US Hwy 20. After a quarter of
a mile, take a left onto FS 723. Note that I found this area to be pretty much
unsigned with multiple roads going in many directions. Take a map and GPS. Its
confusing at times.
Follow FS 723 around the east side of Nash crater. Ascend to a slight saddle
and flat area on the southeast flank of the mountain. I found a small pullout
here and parked.
0.7 miles, +750 feet, 5.2 mile approach
Rock Island Butte is in the southern portion of the Absoraka-Beartooth Wilderness. We climbed it from the Chief Joseph Trailhead as part of an extended backpacking trip, but it is also reasonable to climb it as a day-hike. If camping overnight, there is an excellent isolated campsite on the south side of Widewater Lake near where the trail dips closest to the lake. There are also numerous campsites in the Widewater-Big Moose area.
Rock Butte is a short bushwhack with no views or other redeeming qualities in the Activation Zone. It's just past Timothy Lake east of Mount Hood. If you walk the last bit of road, it should be easy to travel in a passenger car.
(2.8 miles, +2,200 feet)
Haystack Mountain is a nice hike up a well-maintained trail. The summit is a large rockpile that has the scattered remains of an old fire lookout (“L-4” type lookout constructed in 1936 & destroyed on 1977). Although there is room to setup on the summit rockpile, there is a more comfortable flat area about 20-feet below the summit that is well within the activation zone. The trail may be accessed as follows:
Mount Pisgah is a 'near' urban summit just east of Eugene. It is known as Mount Pisgah Arboretum and as the Howard Burford Recreation Area. It's a short 1.5 miles, but steep with 1050 feet of elevation gain from the parking lot to the summit. It features some of the last remaining oak savanna that once dominated the Willamette Valley and the summit has good views.
Fielder Mountain, near Rogue River, Oregon is a relatively easy trip. The driving portion is only about 30 minutes from its start, the corner of West Evans Creek Road and Fielder Creek Road in unicorporated Jackson County, Oregon. Follow the road to the yellow gate, park, and walk the last mile or so to the peak. There are several large commercial communications sites, including cellular, VHF/UHF, microwave and FM broadcast (though I believe it's a translator, not a full-power FM). I noticed inteference only once, on 18 mHz.
One of the nicest hikes in the San Gabriel Mountains, Waterman Mountain is certainly worthy of repeat SOTA Activations, and this was our third time in about 2 years. Being graced with a very reasonable access, well graded trail and magnificent specimens of Incense Cedar (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calocedrus ) and Ponderosa Pine (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinus_ponderosa
Sky Mountain is a high point on the ridge directly across US Highway 2 from Stevens Pass Ski Resort. The summit is at Point 5,482 feet, and is not actually named on the USGS topo maps. Sky Mountain hike/scramble is only about 5 miles RT, and 1,700 feet elevation gain. Despite the relatively short distance and modest elevation gain, this scramble is not trivial. Tim, KG7EJT, tried it in winter, but turned back due to weather and avalanche hazard. So now we returned for a joint Activation in the last we
