This was a winter activation and I had hoped for a one-way ride on the Pomerelle Triple Chair lift. After an e-mail and phone inquiry I received no response. I then planned a hike from the Pomerelle parking lot along established roads to the top of the lift and then a very short hike to the summit.
Previous writeups and activations have accessed Wildcat via the Stimson parcel that starts at Northwest Hayward Rd. Email communication with Stimson confirms that they have closed this parcel to public access, and activators should not use this path. Signage has been mixed, but the core issue is firearms use in the area that bothers the private neighbor. According to Stimson, "The entry point is actually on their property and we try to be accommodating with our neighbors."
All is not lost! Fortunately the summit itself, and a complete path of access, is on public state land.
In looking for my next winter activation, I came across Tom Dick and Harry (W7O/CN-032) which is on the upper portion of SkiBowl West.
From Hwy 93, turn east at 42.06156, -114.67514. This is near mile marker 5 (5 miles north of the Nevada border/Jackpot). Take an immediate right and then left. Continue east up a well-graded road. The road begins to deteriorate after about a mile into deep ruts. A high clearance vehicle is recommended.
WW7D and I set out on an adventure to see if we could activate Cooper Mountain via snowmobile. We knew that it was theoretically possible since Cooper Mountain lies on a groomed snowmobile trail. The only intel we had was a 7 day old trail grooming report. We knew from past experience that we might arrive to find the snow park gated or the trail impassible due to downed trees, lack of snow, etc. We decided to roll the dice and make the long journey from the Seattle area to Chelan, WA.
Here is a pavement to trailhead activation if you find yourself in the Columbia River Gorge near White Salmon, WA. A short hike of 1 mile and 700 feet of elevation gain will get you the chance at this 2 pointer. The hike is mostly on a good gravel road and the last bit is easy cross country (for now) as they ran a cat over almost all of it, so not much to push through or step over. There are stumps around and a couple of tall “habitat trees” that are likely in the AZ if you need that sort of antenna support.
A friend from Eugene wanted to hit Mount McLoughlin in the winter and despite the drive distance from Beaverton, it looked like too beautiful a mountain to pass up. After picking up rental snowshoes from REI in Medford I made it to the Summit Sno-Park TH at sunset. Casey arrived shortly after and we made some quick dinner on our backpacking stoves then turned in for the night.
This was my second Winter activation attempt of this summit. The first one ended in an epic fail getting my Jeep stuck in the snow (see picture below). I had to do a self-recovery with my shovel and winch. Do not attempt to drive on the groomed "road." Though along the non-winter access road, this is a groomed "trail" for snowmobiles!
Best way to get to and hike Woodrat in my opinion is to take Sterling Creek Rd (several ways to get to Sterling depending on where you are coming from) and eventually turn on Woodrat Mt Rd 38-2-29. There is a sign and the road is paved most of the way. You will come to an intersection on the right where Bishop Cr meets Woodrat, keep going up Woodrat for another 3-4/10ths of a mile and there will be a rutty off road embankment on the left 42.22318,-122.98933. You'll have to find a pullout before or after to park.
I skied up Cooper Mountain on Feb 6, 2022 for its first-ever winter activation and my first trip up it. This looks to be a drive-up summit in the summer, but winter is a very different story unless you have a snowmobile (there is a groomed snowmobile trail all the way to the summit, so that would be quite easy). However, I do not have a snowmobile, so I made the trip on my new Altai Hok 125 cm skis.