Peavine Mountain is a drive-up summit a bit east of Mount Hood, accessed mostly on paved Forest Service roads. You should consider this summit in the Mount Hood 2m FM "dead zone" as we were not able to raise anyone on 146.52, even after begging on the Mt. Hood repeater. Also, APRS and cell service were marginal or non-existent, so that spotting was a problem.
This is a summit that you'll want a good GPS and map for, as the directions below should be considered approximate. There could be other ways to get to this summit as there are a maze of roads in this area - these directions are reasonably straightforward. In the height of summer your car will get a heavy dose of dust, and in the wet, one of the roads may be slick with mud. Still, Peavine Mountain is a drive-up summit that could be done in a passenger car - although for some of the potholes you may want a bit of ground clearance.
From Highway 26, take paved Oregon Skyline Road (NF-42) south past the snow park areas for 13 miles. Turn right onto dusty Peavine Road and travel for 2.6 miles.You will find a "Y" pullout here with road NF-4661 blocked off. If you want to hike to the summit, this is your spot - 1.3 miles on a sometimes steep and rough road with lots of deadfall. Otherwise, continue on Peavine 2.3 miles where you'll turn left onto the other end of NF-4661. Travel the decent gravel of NF-4661, winding around the summit ridge for 3.9 miles. A left turn heading uphill will take you to the expansive summit area after about a quarter mile.
There's a bunch of room at the flat and wide summit area - and decent trees on either side for stringing antennas.
For other summits in the area, you'll pass by the gate to the 5 mile RT hike to Clear Lake Butte off NF-42.
