Marys Peak...(no aprostrophe is correct) why bother, everybody has been there...execpt for me. So off we went this morning after deciding to activate at 11:30pm the night before. Nothing like planning ahead. Ah, life on the edge is far more fun!
Snipes Mountain is a fairly easy one-pointer just a short distance off I-82 east of Sunnyside, Washington. Access is by a rental car "suitable" dirt track about 1.3 miles from the West Sunnyside exit.
I'd had an idea for a while to treat my wife with a combo SOTA/romance trip
to Mt. Bachelor. During the summer, they have what they call "Sunset Dinners"
at the Pine Marten Lodge. This lodge is at the terminus of the Pine Marten chair
lift at 7775ft. My idea was to take the lift to the lodge in the morning, summit
and do SOTA stuff, then hike back to the lodge for a nice dinner. Well, things
got busy and I decided to do it next year. But my better half secretly booked
the restaurant reservation for my birthday (9/1) and thus this trip began.
Trail starts at the east end of the Johnston Ridge Visitors Center parking lot. Need a USFS permit to park there. Trail is good most of the way and there is information on the hike here. You can actually see the peak from the trailhead and the majority of the trail is out in the open so make sure you bring sunscreen. Bring plenty of water as there is none along the trail. The hardest part is the last 3/4 mile which is steep climbing with switchbacks. Ran into lots of people along the trail but only 3-4 back towards the peak.
Elephant Mountain - interesting name for a small peak in central Washington, not too far from Yakima. For the right vehicle it might be a drive up - our rental car found the steep road to be a bit much and we hiked the rest of the way to the summit.
We climbed a little less than a mile and 500 feet to the top and then perhaps 50 yards farther east. The views once past the repeater sites are excellent and if you are thoughtful about supporting your antenna using a small shrub, you are set.
Activation of Mount Langley, 14,042 feet, High Sierra's of California, Inyo County. Sunshine, blue sky & endless granite...but with a little price to pay.
The Hike (Scramble) is 4.75 miles south - southeast of Mount Whitney, California, and 9.5 miles southwest of the town of Lone Pine, California. This was a father / son outing with my 28 year old son, who lives in the Los Angeles suburb of Sherman Oaks (sea level), and I, a 62 year old who resides in Bellevue, Washington, at the high altitude of 728 feet.
First Activation of Cirque Peak, 12,900 feet, High Sierra's of California, Inyo County. Sunshine, blue sky & endless granite...but with a little price to pay.
UPDATE July 2021 - The lookout is sometimes staffed by a person (at that lookout for 42 years) that incorrectly believes that ham radio requires a Special Use Permit at this location. It is recommended to not activate at the summit or discuss radio with this person, but activate out of sight of the lookout tower off the road.
This was a fun activation of Mt. Hood. I decided to splurge on weight and bring the FT-817 and Buddipole (no coils) for 6m and 2m SSB. Once I got the antenna up, I found a number of chasers waiting on 50.125, so I'm glad I brought equipment for 6m. The mast was supported by shoving it into the hard snow on the summit.
