Blogs

Summary - An hour to the trailhead from SE Portland, followed by a 1.5 mile steady climb along a well-used (by ATVs) forest road, Bob's Mountain is an easy morning activation. There are trees for hanging wires, an open view a bit below the summit (but still in the AZ), and open space to operate. APRS two way worked well, ATT data was okay.  Given the ATV traffic, this hike is better done on a weekday. You'll find a GPX track, beginning in Cape Horn, covering the drive and hike here:  http://www.pnwsota.org/content/gpx-track-lc-139

Summary - Saturday Rock is easy to get to, about two hours from Portland, has awesome views and a short, sometimes gnarly and steep, bushwhack. Park at 45.85645, -122.17190 and follow the ridge to the summit. The first clear area you encounter on the top isn't it, keep going!  Trees to hang wires, easy 2M QSOs, good APRS connectivity, spotty cell service. National Forest parking pass required.

Coming from Eugene, this trip takes about 30 minutes. After heading east on Hwy 126, get off on the 42nd exit  and take Marcola for around 6.5mi. Shortly after passing the golf course, take a left on Hill St and turn right at the Mohawk General Store onto Donna Road, then left soon thereafter onto McGowan and continue on for a while. While the road is passable in a passenger sedan, as several vehicles in the area demonstrated, there are plenty of potholes further up, so it's best to go slow and keep your eyes peeled for hazards.

I approached from Duffy lake Trailhead. As I did Red Butte on the this trip. http://www.pnwsota.org/blog/kf7sey/2021-july-12/red-butte-or-july-2021. This area requires a Central Cascades Wilderness Permit.

Start at Duffy Lake trailhead. https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/willamette/recreation/recarea/?recid=4296 

My wife and I first attempted this a few years back, but only got to within 1/2 mile of the summit and I did not want to leave her at the car.  We returned on 7/10/2021 so I could get this fairly easy first activation.

The forest service roads are easy to follow to and we parked at 48.8231, -121.9244. A motorsycle might be able to drive closer to the summit. 

The 1/2 mile to get up was 400' in elevation gain. I started out too quickly and had to ratchet it down. I foloowed the road to the end and then traversed to the summit. 

When planning a trip to see family in Idaho, I was looking for summits around Spokane that could be "quick side-trips".  Mount Spokane W7W/WE-006 was my first choice, and the summit that I activated on the way there.  Steptoe Butte was chosen for the drive back home.  Both have been activated multiple times, are easily accessible (drive-up or near drive-up), and have great views.  

K7ATN reported poor road/driving conditions when attempting to get to the Zig Zag Mountain trailhead on the south side of Zig Zag Mountain. This report shares activation information for the north approach from Riley Horse Campground. The drive can easily be done in a passenger car (recreation permit to park). There are two options from this point, I took Cast Creek trail, and it was 12.8 miles RT with 3900 ft vertical climbing total.

We have been planning this climb for over 18 months. Our entire family was going to do the adventure in June of 2020, but COVID closed the park. Really I began planning before that. Shortly after I started SOTA, I began refining my kit and learning CW with the intent of one day being prepared for this mountain.

Our group:

This summit had been activated in 2018. It has also been reported as summited in PeakBagger several times.  When I went to attempt it, there were fire danger signs and "No Public Access" signs posted at the bottom gate.  There appeared to be active logging operations and it was forecast to be extremely hot and dry weather, so these signs may be temporary.  But as of now, no access.  I will remove this post, if another activator posts that it is again opened up.