The activation report for Siouxon (rhymes with “Tucson”) Peak from 2013 (http://www.pnwsota.org/node/306) is still largely correct. I just put in Google maps “Siouxon Peak” as destination and “Gresham” as start. Note that you can still hike in from the Amboy side, doing it that way allows you to view waterfalls, but requires a stream crossing. I went through Carson, NF-64, NF-6403 as per the previous trip report. From trailhead to summit is 2.5 miles and 1300’ vertical climbing.
In July 2022, you did not need high clearance to get to the end of NF-6403. I was pleasantly surprised at the good condition of the roads, doable with a passenger car. I counted only a handful of potholes. There is 8.75 miles of dirt once the pavement on NF-64 ends. You do need to navigate around some blowdown, but most of it is cleared nicely. I stopped and parked about 200 feet short of the trailhead (45.99492,-122.10246), there is some branches near the end of NF-6403 that squeeze in and I was unsure about pressing through that one section. If you do, there is parking and trailhead just on the other side.
Since there was a fire in the area in 2020, there are road safety clearing operations still underway. I was delayed 25 minutes by a crew felling trees on NF-64. They said they had instructions to clear back 100 feet off of NF-64 to comply with OSHA regulations and would be working throughout the rest of summer 2022. Also, the bridge toll at Bridge of the Gods went up to $3 each way starting July 1, 2022.
The trail to the summit is a bit overgrown on the bottom section, you can see the trail okay, but lots of young trees, berry vines and huckleberry bushes are pressing in, so wear shorts at your own risk. The slide is still there, it is about 15 feet of very loose slippery sandy soil, but careful footing gets you across.
I only had one bar LTE on ATT, so I had data coverage for a while then dropped out. But the APRS from the summit is very solid. I did not get any FM QSOs into Portland on my HT, but was getting to Vancouver, and Salmon Creek 5x9.
Overall, a very pleasant activation. The hike up allows you lots of time under canopy in the shade. I hiked over to Huffman Peak after activating, so check out that trip report to get the trail conditions and summit info. I did both summits and activations Trailhead-to-Trailhead 8:45AM-4PM.
Summit pics posted to SOTA Atlas.
