Trail requires special care due to difficult or technical obstacles
East Crater Summit can be accessed from the Northwest via PCT (See http://www.pnwsota.org/blog/k7ahr/2020-october-10/east-crater-wa-september-2020 ) or from the east side via East Crater Trail #48 (https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/giffordpinchot/recarea/?recid=31748). This report is for the east side access. It is 4.7 miles round trip with 1350 feet of vertical gain.
Weaver would possibly be a bit easier with some trail maintenance but the real challenge is the last ascent. Basically all of the 1000' gain is in the last half mile out of about 2 miles OW. Park at the trailhead for Rogue/Umpqua Divide Trail 43.04046, -122.45929. You will hike around the westside of Jackass Mountain then start hiking around the eastside of another peak between Jackass and Weaver. This is where it gets tricky. I continued down trail and then went off trail to summit and it was pretty difficult.
Bill K7WXW is an early riser, and I was stoked to find someone keen to get up South Sister for a sunrise activation. We set out from the trailhead in the dark at 2:12am PST. Bill had an issue with his headlamp battery. Luckily, I had a spare headlamp to loan him. With that sorted, we hit the trail.
Broken Top has been on my list for a few years. Trip reports vary in difficulty, so I finally had the chance to check it out solo.
From Green Lakes TH I hike / jogged (hogged?) to Green Lakes in about an hour. From there the trail cuts between the lakes and then steepens. The trail up the Northwest Ridge saddle is sandy and steep. I took a break in the saddle to refuel for the steep ridge climb.
W7I/SI-151 is located near Lava Hot Springs Idaho. The summit is on Idaho Public Land but accessed through posted private land. You MUST get permission from the land owner who is generally reasonable when permission is asked and he has no cultivated crops.
This is a two pointer just outside of Plains Montana. It's a 13 mile drive on forest service roads and then a difficullt scramble over steep, heavily wooded terrain. Add to that the Forest Service cut down hundreds of juvenile trees two years ago in an attempt to eliminate potential fuel for fire prevention. You have to step over many many logs to get to the summit. The scramble is just about two thirds a mile so it's very doable. The view from the top is worth it. Cell coverage is excellent. Carry bear spray as we spotted one on the drive up.
Needle Point is the lowest 10 point summit in Oregon. It is not the easiest. It is located in the Eagle Cap Wilderness in north eastern Oregon. Access to the trail head is via Union, Oregon.
It is a nineteen mile round trip hike with 5000 feet of total elevation gain.
The trail head is the Main Eagle Creek Trail head at 45.0680, -117.4068.
Proceed up the Main Eagle Creek Trail to the fork at 45.1191, -117.3520.
Mt Adams in summer is a popular climb and has variable conditions. Anyone attempting Adams should be familiar hiking with crampons and ice axe. Glissading skills will help and if you're new, you'll be an expert by the time you are down the mountain.
Great Vistas from the Termination Point summit!
Termination Point was the site of a now abandoned FS Lookout. Kreske's book says it was built in the 1930s but later abandoned. The view of Adams, Rainier, and St Helens are majestic and with a little hike to the south, Mt Hood. The summit is small, about 20' x 20' but with steep dropoffs to the east - great RF takeoff angles.
Round Top is a nice mostly drive up activation. Being me, I had to do it the hard way: Mountainbiking from Gale's Creek Campground. It is an 18 mile round trip ride with ~3000' elevation gain.
I recommend doing some stretches or warmups before heading out because the hardest part of this ride is the first few miles: steep trail that gets the blood moving. Overall the trail is a singletrack and mostly follows the creek through the forest. Not much for views, but there are the occasional waterfall and views of Gale's Creek.
