Forested Summit

After reading K7EEX's warning about Stimson land, I reviewed the maps and Peakbagger reports, and found that a 2.6-mile trail existed starting right from the edge of US 26, up Shields Road, and staying on Tillamook State Forest land for the majority of the trip. In fact, this summit can be activated without ever stepping foot on Stimson land, as the boundary of their land is just a little higher than the activation region, but Stimson has a permissive access policy for non-motorized, leave-no-trace day use, so read their stipulations and head right up.

Half Wave on Full Wave...barely Worked! 

On Sunday, April 28, 2019, My SOTA Buddy, Tim, KG7EJT, and I headed to Church...Mountain that is.  For SOTA purposes, this smallish peak, along the Wenatchee River, in the deep Tumwater Canyon area, is called Full Wave Mountain.  On USGS maps it is referred to as Church Mountain.

I had been looking for springtime Activations on Un-Activated peaks to venture out to, while the high country is still buried in snow, and access to trail heads is problematic.  Full Wave Mountain came up in my search.

I've been up on Whale Head a few times and it looks like it's time to write up a trip report! This has been a "near drive-up" summit, however with the growth of slide alder into the road you may park and walk earlier that the gate.

I just wanted to post a quick update on W7O/NC-044 the previous write up is still accurate but as I understand some people have found it posted no tresspassing I just wanted to post an update from my recent activation there. 

Here's a nice 3 mile snowshoe or cross-country ski in the winter. OR...you may be able to drive within about a half mile in the summer. For a good ski experience, you might want to have at least 3 to 5 feet of snow on the ground - see the depth measure in the first photo below.

Here's a long snowshoe in winter - 7 miles round trip and 800 feet elevation gain. The lookout is rented in the winter, so be sure no one is there if you climb up the stairs to take advantage of the additional height. 

Taking Gooseneck Rd off of Highway 22. Same approach as nearby Dorn Peak W7O/CC-013 http://www.pnwsota.org/blog/ki7emx/2017-december-10/dorn-peak-oregon

Once you leave pavement on to gravel, follow road for 2.4 miles. You will come to an 3 way intersection at 44°59'16.96"N 123°30'32.75"W (44.988044° -123.509097°). Turn left here. If you are going to Dorn Peak take the right - it will take you all the way to the summit.

"5580" is a four-point summit approximately 25 miles northeast of Prineville, OR. It is fairly easy to reach by roads with a short pack to the summit. The summit was activated for the 1st time on 24-Nov-2018 by Roland - K7FOP and myself Shelby -N7SHG.

UPDATE Dec 2021 - Badger Butte (and other summits in the area) are not accessible from Dec 1 to April 1 due to closure of NF-48 and other routes to vehicles more than 50 inches wide. SO - if there's snow and you've got a snowmobile, have at it. See the photo below.  

Here's a nice 2.4 mile round trip hike on a quiet forest road, east of Prineville. Don't get this Wildcat Mountain mixed up with the other three summits with the same name in Oregon.