Treacherous Trail

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

Pansy Mountain is a challenging activation with a steep cross-country approach for the last half mile. Be sure to use a GPS or have a fantastic sense of direction so you can find you way BACK to the trail.

Cruising through Chemult Oregon at 6:40am, the dashboard said the outside temperature
was 29 degrees. This was far cooler than we anticipated for our attempt on Mt. Thielsen.
A few years ago, my son Andrew and I tried this summit but were driven off by mosquitoes
and our lack of DEET. I actually inhaled two of the beasts and slapped my glasses off my
face several times before we literally ran back to the safety of our car. The Diamond Lake
area is legendary for mosquitoes.

This morning was different. It was a brisk 36 degrees at the Mt. Thielsen trailhead. Seeing

Here's another summit in the Diamond Lake area to activate if you have a few hours to spare - it's a short hike, but there's no trail. And note that there are three Oregon summits with this same name.

Ben Smith (Peak 2592) is a summit with a short but steep hike in the Coast Range of Oregon - specifically in the Tillamook State Forest. Roads in the Tillamook Forest are usually good - however the signage and documentation are remarkably poor. What's on the ground doesn't necessarily match your GPS map or what in Google Earth and vice versa. Roads are passable in a passenger car.

Access:  Since SR26 is closed from the north due to a washout, you must come in on SR26 from the south. Take SR25 south out of Randle then SR99 west towards Windy Ridge.  At approx 11 mi in, take SR26 north for about 1 mi to the Norway Pass TH parking area.  Restrooms are available.

Note:  The Independance Ridge trail is closed due to a washout.

Just north of Detroit, Oregon are a nice bunch of summits - Peak 4740 is more of an...let's say...adventure. From where I parked it's less than a mile to the top - some on a rough road and some "cross-country" travel. The summit does have good views, even if it's a little challenging to get there.

Tanner Butte is perhaps the most remote SOTA summit in Oregon's Northern Cascades. Despite many resources that point out the trail length at 17 miles, measured from the GPS track it shows up as right at 20 miles round trip, with 4500 feet of elevation gain. You won't see many other hikers on these remote trails. NOTE that this area burned in the Eagle Creek Fire in 2017 and trail conditions have likely substantially changed.

Broken Top is an eroded stratovolcano about 25 miles west of Bend Oregon in the Three
Sisters Wilderness. It can be reached by traveling to Mount Bachelor on the Cascades
Lake Highway (County Hwy 46) and then continuing west towards to the Green Lakes/Fall
Creek trailhead. Round trip to the summit and back is about 12 miles. The summit reaches
an altitude of 9175 feet.

A Northwest Forest Pass is required to park at the trailhead, or a one day pass can be
picked up at the trailhead for five bucks. A no-cost permit for entry to the wilderness

Outerson Mountain is a practically unknown destination very near the very busy trailhead for Triangulation Peak. A short hike on an old abandoned trail will gain you the summit and fantastic views of Mount Jefferson and many Cascade Range peaks.