It was a bit surprising that this summit had not been activated. It is a fairly easy hike but it does require a back country permit for access in the Three Sisters Wilderness, which may have put some folks off. Also, Todd Lake is quite busy in the Summer tourism months and permits are limited, though we had no trouble getting one a couple days prior to our planned outing.
Mt. Bailey is a 5 mile, 3600 ft ascent with a few tricky sections to test your hiking mettle. There are two access points, one is easily reached via any passenger car, the other would require a high clearance vehicle and possibly all wheel/4 wheel drive. Its a beautiful hike, but can be hot and buggy so bring plenty of food/water and bug spray (Ben’s 30% DEET worked well for us). I would consider this an intermediate hike due to the elevation gain and some of the exposure, but bringing a new/young hiker along is reasonable with the proper support.
Black Butte is a moderate hike, with phenomenal views of the Central Oregon Cascade range. There is an active fire tower that should be avoided, as the public is not allowed near the tower during fire season. The hike is a 2.1 mile, steady pitch that ascends 1600ft from the parking area. Getting to the trailhead can be done in any passenger car, though the last mile is a bit rough due to a lot of runoff from the heavy snows this past winter. From US Highway 20 turn South on FS-11, then take a left on FS-1110 to the parking area.
W7O/CE-300, aka 4420, is located in the Crooked River National Grassland just north of Smith Rock State Park. It is a moderate hike but due to the difficult access, I would qualify this as a intermediate SOTA. It could be approached via foot, off-road vehicle/motorcycle, 4x4 horse or bicycle. The hike up once off trail is off-camber but is very navigable. I would suggest trekking poles for help with footing. Once on the summit ridge, its an easy hike to the top. I rode my mountain bike and it took me about an hour and fifteen minutes to get to the top from the Skull Hollow trail head.
Hager Mountain, W7O/CE-028 is a moderate to hard hike depending on the length you choose. It can be done as either an 7.5,6 or 4.5 mile RT depending on where you park. Parking at the trailhead on FS RD 28 is the easiest access with longest hike, but if time or energy is a concern driving up the 28-000012 road a couple of miles is worth it. Bring plenty of bug spray and extra water... also some kind of shade if you have it, summit is pretty exposed. There is a picnic table, vault toilet and the fire lookout on summit.
W6/NW-388 is a pretty summit with views of Shasta Bally to the West and Lassen/Mt Shasta to the East. It overlooks the Whiskeytown Lake to the west and the greater Redding area to the east. Simple route finding and around a 3 mile round trip made me wonder why it hasn’t been activated more frequently, I being the second.
Cline Buttes is a moderate hike/ride, depending on your approach. The traditional mtb route is to start off the quarry road on the east side and climb the Cline Butte XC Trail around the west side interconnecting with FAA access road to the summit. There is a short cut near the summit that keeps you on the west side of the butte and drops you out right at several big rocks that are in the AZ and can provide some wind protection. 2M can work well but having had one failed activation for lack of 2M contacts, I highly suggest bringing and HF rig as well.
This is a pretty easy hike, with some elevation gain. My watch clocked 1070 ft of gain in 2.6 miles from where we parked the truck.
KK7HJL and I had been wanting to get out and do more activations during our Holiday break from work responsibilities.The weather and social calendars colluded to prevent us from making it happen until the last day of our break.