The second Elkton, OR area summit on our exploration list was Saddle Butte, W7O/CC-058. The road to this summit starts near W7O/CC-80; but it looks considerably longer and more involved (I think it is called Little Tom Foley Rd). We headed out, and the road went through clearcuts and forests, but the dirt and gravel road quality was good. We felt more and more optimistic as we traveled further up into the hills.
However, bit by bit the road was getting more narrow and grassy. I got out several times to move blowdown wood out of the way. The blowdown got more and more tree like and harder to pass. Finally (after about six miles on this chase), we encountered large rocks that had fallen onto the road. Not wanting to add more significant scratches to our faithful Highlander, and feeling like it was only going to get worse, we backed up a few hundred yards to locate a wide enough spot to turn around. With the summit still miles away, walking seemed to be a bad idea. We reluctantly headed back out.
Two summits down, and two to go.