I had mapped out three different routes to the summit “trailhead” and opted to drive up from the south off Nestucca River Road. Turn north at an unmarked road/intersection .7 miles west of the NW Boundary Road/Nestucca River Road intersection. Most roads in this area are unsigned.
Signal Butte has been on my watch list for over a year and I was finally able to summit and activate it today. This peak had never been activated. Thanks to Nick KI7PTT for humoring me and coming along.
Directions: Take Sunset Falls Road east of Battleground to Sunset Campground. Turn right and cross the East Fork Lewis River on FS Road 41. Stay on FS 41 for approximately 9 miles to a large parking area atop McKinley Ridge. This is NOT the summit.
There is a sign posted at a gate that reads "No Trespassing - Private Recreation Lease." Access to the gate is along mostly graded gravel roads. I didn't pass the gate to hike to the summit for obvious reasons.
This must be one of the all time easiest summits to get to. The dirt road is graded with no gravel. The only way to know you're not on asphalt are the occassional potholes. The summit is very large and surrounded with trees that obscure any view of the surrounding vistas. There is a lot of trash scattered around from clay shooting with a large fire ring indicating a party destination. The actual summit is a small knoll to the west of the flat area where I set up both a 2m "J" pole and a random wire HF antenna.
Access to Saturday Rock summit is via NF-42 which begins at Sunset Campground at the end of NE Sunset Falls Road. The road is well graded, though peppered with its fair share of chuck holes. Follow NF-42 for approximately 9.4 miles to the intersection with NF-53. Continue on NF-53 for another 2.4 miles to the intersection of NF-53 and NF-38. Plenty of room to park at the intersection off the main roads.
Travel on Highway 6, and turn north onto Cedar Butte Road between milepost 17 and 18. Drive over the bridge and continue straight at the Muesial Creek Road junction (0.1 mile). There are signs at each junction that direct you to the Cedar Butte Trailhead, however, mark your mileage here and watch for posted signs. The trailhead is about 5.5 miles from this point, although the sign says 5.7. At 2.0 miles turn right at the “Y” intersection. At 4.8 miles, the Cedar Butte Road veers left.
This summit had never been activated and I now know why! The USGS maps would have you believe there is a road to the summit. There actually was a road when the forestry lookout was standing, but the last 1-1/2 miles of road is now overgrown and would take some guts and a great off-road 4-wheeler to traverse it. These same last miles are steep and unrelenting, though completely forested. When the so-called road ends. there are a few hundred feet of vertical trail required to reach the summt.