This summit gets its name from its other peak outside of the AZ, it is not Bald and pretty thick brush, skinny timber/madrone. Not the easiest set up but doable.Great road up, paved first miles on May Creek and then right on Bald Mt Rd. No sign, the turn goes over a the creek with a drain pond on the left, at least in April. Drive up to AZ and find a location up bank to activate.
Bald Mt was #1 of 4 in a full day of activation
de AG7GP
This summit was just added to the database and it was a great hike. A nice ~2mi RT hike on a decommissioned road and dirt bike trail. Plenty of room to operate, shade or sun. Outstanding view of the Applegate Valley, Mt Isabelle, and beyond. This is the same parking location for hiking Isabelle so if you're feeling adventurous you could do both. Really adventurous Wellington Butte TH is just a couple miles away.
Goodnoe Benchmark is a unremarkable roadside activation - until you throw in the turbine blades whirring over your head. The summit proper is dominated by a wind turbine and the closest public place is only a fraction of a mile away - next to the gate for the property. Appropriately, the area is posted no trespassing, but there is a small pull off.
We detoured to Schonchin after going birdwatching at Lower Klamath NWR and Tulelake NWR, disappointed with so few birds and little water (Tulelake dry). It took a commitment to get over the Cascades from the Rogue Valley as there is a lot of snow, but once we reached the east side, the snow was minimal.
Lenhart Butte is a drive-up or near drive-up just east of Sandy, Oregon. The access is via paved roads. Your GPS will guide you to the parking area, 45.34611, -122.1697, or at least mine did.
The parking area is also in the activation zone, but is also pretty much in someone’s front yard.
Lava Butte is closed to vehicles in the winter, but open for hiking. You can park at the closed visitor center, or there's an option to pull off 97 near where the Lava Butte road passes the highway. From here there's a very short trail through the brush and you're on the road. We did this option which puts the hike at about 1.2 mi and 540' gain.
The road was mostly clear of snow and ice, with just a handful of spots that had it. We did not need the microspikes we brought in our packs, but had the temps been colder, they would've been neccessary in some spots.
The 5140 summit is a pleasant one mile hike from FR-2610 in the Ochoco National Forest. The turnoff to FR-2610 is right off of Hwy 26 and about 22 miles East of Prineville. I activated in the winter on snow shoes, I found a road bed for the hike up that may allow a near drive up in the summer.
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.
I took my kids on a snowshoeing adventure this past weekend. There were several SOTA activators scheduled to be out activating and we joined them for a fun time. The distance is around 1.7miles one way but we had very nice snow conditions.
Traffic was very heavy heading up to Mt. Hood and several vehicles turned around but we persevered and it eventually improved. It did add around 30mins to our arrival time.
Starting from the Frog Lake SNO-PARK and heading across the hwy slightly to the north is the Pacific Crest Trail crossing.
Bunsen Peak is an ancient volcanic cone characteristic of Yellowstone National Park. The peak is a very popular summit hike in Yellowstone Park near Mammoth Hot Springs. The trail is wide and even in October I found folks I could tag along with per the guidelines of not hiking alone in the Park.