Shady Trail

Columbia Mountain is easily my favorite hike in the Sherman Pass area. This 3.2 mile climb is not steep, almost always shaded and well maintained. The spring at the junction of trail 24 and the Kettle Crest trail still had a trickle in early September. There is a cabin at the top and several benches to set up. One of the few activations where I've been able to sit on a bench in the shade. I plan to return and camp at some point. Fun hike.

A steady, relentless 3000 ft climb over 3.6 mi to the summit.  The trail is mostly forested until you make the ridge, about 100 ft (elevation) of the summit, then you get spectacular views of Rainier, Adams, St Helens, and the Goat Rocks.  The summit is exposed with a few nearby trees.  It also is a repeater site for the USFS. When I was there, it was HOT and really no where to get out of the sun.

On a recent trip to Riffe Lake, I had the opportunity to activate this summit.

On a recent camping trip to Riffe Lake, I activated this summit after activating Burley Mountain (W7W/PL-039).  See my other trip report for directions to get there.

The route we took after Burley was to continue on NF-77 from the junction with NF-7605 and follow it until the junction with NF-202 at (46.344296, -121.927806)  There is a spur at this junction (NF-7700201 that heads north a short 1/4 mile to the summit.

The activation zone is a small clearing surrounded by trees with no view.

On the way over to Bend, I stopped to activate Black Butte.  I came on Hwy 20 and turned at NF-11 which is also the turn for Indian Ford Campground.  From there I followed north to the turn for NF-1110 (also known as Black Butte Rd) and on around the north of the mountain.  After a hairpin turn, there is one more sharp turn to the right which takes you to the upper trailhead.  The road up to the last turn was in good shape as of this writing.  The upper portion after the last turn was not as good but still very drivable.

This was my first summit on the day of the Central Oregon S2S party.

I had spent the night at the Pine Mountain Observatory Campgrounds which is FCFS so get there early.  If it's full, there are dispersed locations but it's hard to find one in the pitch black dark.  The observatory requires no headlights (only running lights) at the top so take that into account.

In the morning, I drove back down NF-2017 to the trailhead which also double as a cattle watering station.

This was my second summit for the day of the Central Oregon S2S party.

I had spent the night at the Pine Mountain Observatory Campgrounds which is FCFS so get there early.  If it's full, there are dispersed locations but it's hard to find one in the pitch black dark.  The observatory requires no headlights (only running lights) at the top so take that into account.

This was my 3rd summit while over in Bend area for Central Oregon S2S party.

I had activated Pine Benchmark and Pine Mountain earlier in the day and I drove from there. I took NF-2017 from the Observatory down to the valley.  However, that road is in very poor shape and high clearance is needed if you go that way. (If starting at the Observatory, travel time going back to Highway 30 to Road 23 is likely similar to taking rocky NF-2017 south).

My son and I got a late start on this one but decided to give it a try. This is a TOUGH hike and you could probably pick a better one if you are looking for 4 points. If you are looking for amazing views, solitude and a leg burner that you have the right hike. It is unlikely that you will see many people on this hike and it is likely that you will have to go over, under or around about 70 blowdowns. Many of the blowdowns are very easy but there are a few that will make you work a bit...especially on the way down. Glad to have checked this one off my list.

We headed up to Tropo after getting some excellent pointers from Etienne K7ATN.  He and Darryl WW7D were also up here a few days ago.

The route we took started from Morton, WA on Hwy 7 northbound.  Unfortunately, Google Maps wants to route through private gated property.  So we continued on north until NF-74 and turned off there.  We followed NF-74 to the crossing with NF-295.  Beyond that point, you will need to disregard your vehicle's paint job.  The scrub brush is very ingrown on the next section of NF-74.