Trail requires special care due to difficult or technical obstacles
I leave Seattle with grandiose plans. Three days, three eight pointer on the east side of the Cascades. This side is not that wet, as in theory Rainier blocks most of the moisture. Rainer rain shadow. Thus, trails melt out much more quicker over less snow. Forecast is quite bad for the first day, but all sunny for the rest. Again things turn out little different than planned originally.
Diamond Craters is administered by the Bureau of Land Management as an Outstanding Natural Area. This is a great example of Oregon High Desert and although it’s not on the way to anything, it is very much worth visiting. It is about 55 miles southeast of Burns, Oregon. From Burns, take State Highway 78 southeast for approximately 2 miles. Turn right onto State Highway 205 and travel south for 46 miles to the Diamond Junction.
After activating W7W/SK-113 the evening before (see trip report for Second Hop Summit), we rose from our camp in the gravel pit. We made hearty breakfast and broke camp but before leaving we found a few lonely tin cans in the gravel pit to practice our marksmanship.
Even more updated here: http://www.pnwsota.org/blog/k7atn/2021-june-07/updated-monte-carlo-wa-june-2021
There appears to be a false summit around 5160 feet near the "end" of the trail to Bandera that is about half mile and 80 feet of elevation gain to the actual summitr.
From Seattle: Go east on I-90 and take Exit 45 and turn under the freeway. Follow the road and turn left at a branch after about half a mile and continue on a traverse for another three miles or so to the trailhead parking lot. The road can be driven by any passenger car. The elevation gain is about 2,100 feet. A Forest Pass is required for parking.
Peak 4980 is an easy activation just south of Mount Hood, Oregon (even if the road is horrid). It has great views (in the right weather) and some wilderness character about it. And there is an old trail that makes access fairly easy.
The Chasers for SOTA have consistently been the heroes of my activations, being there for me in a myriad of ways and ensuring my success.
The trail was difficult at this time of year with significant blowdown from an ice storm in February. I actually turned back twice but then decided to give it one more try. (Well, two more.) The attached photo shows the obliterated trail - the blowdown went on for almost a mile. I also hit continuous snow at 2200 feet (Augspurger tops out near 3700). I eventually lost the trail again in the snow kicking steps and then was postholing for about an hour. I ended up being an hour and a half late to my activation altogether.
The roads in this area to access Little Glass Butte might be Ok in a very carefully driven passenger car, but high clearance is recommended. If you are traveling through eastern Oregon this is a worthy six-point peak to check out, especially along with an activation of nearby Glass Butte. The cross-country route finding is pretty straightforward and you'll find a challenge only from the juniper trees checking the clearance of any antennas on your backpack.
While in town for the Hells Canyon Relay race, Taylor and I planned to hit two 10-point summits in the Joseph, OR area, our highest elevation and point value yet. What started off as a well-planned day trip unraveled into a messy situation. This is a long report, but worth the read!
The trail is called the "Starway Trail" but it could be better named the "Stairway Trail" as it is one of the steepest trails I have ever hiked - but the views from the top are worth it. And then, the peak should also have the SOTA vanity name, "Starway." The elevation gain is in the order of 2400 feet in just over two miles and pretty much relentlessly climbs for the first half of the hike. Note that this peak can also be approached from Silver Star (from the south) with less elevation gain, although the trail is a bit faint in places.
