This one-point summit is likely not worth the time driving 40 minutes RT on forest roads. In fact, the roads in this area are quite convoluted - I found it best to navigate using GPS with turn-by-turn directions. You may end up bushwacking through a tangle of coastal brush...or get lucky and find a way to the path visible on sattelite images that I found after the fact. Any "hike" might be less than 0.10 mile and several hundred feet of gain.
Cady Mountain, W7W/RS-084 has been on my radar for a while. My wife's family owns a home in Friday Harbor so I have always wanted to activate this summit. I was bummed by ATN's report that it would be difficult to activate from the south side because of private property, so I did not think I could. I arrived here on Saturday and I started looking at GAIA GPS. I could see there was public property owned by the San Juan County Land Bank to the north of the summit that was still in the AZ. I could see a hiking trail just below it. I decided to give it a try.
I got on here to correct/ edit my previous blog but realized I never did a first! I've done Burton a few times and it isn't that significant in features. Just an easy stroll through the timber. Plenty of area to set up. A nice easy trek, shaded summit but no view. No established trail but the dead end road you can continue on by foot and there are other cleared out areas from logging roads many years ago. For some reason I get discombobulated easily coming down Burton and sometimes come to far left nearly missing the spur. If you are like me, keep a tracker going.
The Nestucca River Byway is a very secluded and off-the-beaten-path route through the North Coastal Range, between HW6 to the North and HW18/HW22 to the South. It's paved from Carlton at least as far West as the turnoff South to Willamina, but not maintained in the winter, so the sign says when approaching from the East from Carlton.
McMurray Benchmark is a 1-point summit located near I-5, just northeast of Stanwood, WA. I had driven by the entrance (where you turn north onto 12th Ave NW) in the past, but saw a no tresspassing sign and wasn't sure about driving up the road. This time, after I turned onto 12th Ave NW and drove 0.5 miles to the parking area... I was surprised at how many cars were parked at the trailhead. As long as you fill out the waiver form near the entrance, you are not tresspassing when you hike to the summit. Below is a link with more information about the area.
I read Tim N7KOM's summit report from last week and decided to get while the getting was good. Things were still pretty much as he described from the previous weekend. The 2 trees were still blocking the road. The good thing about that is that there is a wide spot in the road just around the previous corner to park. There was only one other wide spot after that to park before the gate and nowhere to turn around.
Treefall has been cleared!
When I did this activation there was treefall at 45.64442, -123.54488. This added approx. 1.5-2mile-ish round trip to the hike.
Buck is pretty much a drive up summit if you have the right vehicle. It is one I pretty much just do because I am near and its 6 points, nothing hugely spectacular. Maybe nice if looking to do a shaded one during the summer. There are 2 peaks to the summit that are both in the activation zone. I have always gone to the one the SOTA marker is on but the other I think may offer view? I'll have to remember that for next year.
Treed area, pretty flat, plenty of area to operate.
The summit of Biddle Butte (aka Mount Zion) is a drive-up radio site located on Corps of Engineers property. Public drive-up access is restricted due to private property and posted no trespassing signs. The private Mount Zion access road goes through the front yard of a residence with posted no trespassing signs at both ends of their property. Partway to the summit above the nearby residence is a locked gate. Radio site service personnel have an easement to travel to Biddle Butte.
This Wildcat Mountain is the one south of Mt. Hood and is just an hour east of Portland, reachable on a paved road. The 2 mile (OW) trail is pleasant with a bit over 1000 feet of gain. In a few places along the trail there is some nice scenery but the summit itself is surrounded by trees and thus has no views.