This pleasant summit requires a nice, moderate hike through a forested area, coming out onto a wildflower filled hillside meadow. The summit is at the top of the meadow. There are interpretive signs and a bench that provide a good operating position. The summit is reached after about a mile hike with about 400’ of elevation rise. There are trees for antenna supports or a mast can be lashed to sign posts, etc. A view back down the meadow will show the ocean, coast and parts of Florence.
To get to the trailhead, take US Highway 101. Turn east onto Herman Cape Rd about 8 miles north of the US 101 and Oregon 126 intersection in Florence. Go about 0.8 miles and turn left onto Cape Mountain Rd/Herman Peak Rd/ NF-789. Follow this for about 2 miles and turn left into the Dry Lake Horse Camp parking area. You can either park in a cleared gravel lot on the left or turn right into a shady parking area. Go into the shady area. Check out the trail head sign and then head onto the well developed trail through the forest. Signs appear at several locations to help you stay on the correct route.
This activation date provided a big surprise. The summit is several miles north of Florence and back from the ocean a few miles. I ordinarily would not expect much snow. However, by the time we arrived at the trailhead, the parking lot had about six inches of snow. We headed up the trail, without snowshoes. I didn't even have boots - just waterproof low cut hiking shoes.
The snow was reasonably deep all the way up. Up to 18" in places. I sank into the snow up to my shins with almost every step. We stuck it out and enjoyed the view from the summit down the snow covered meadows toward the ocean. You never know what to expect on a SOTA activation! Our Great Pyreneese dog, Gordy, felt at home and loved the snow.
