Peak 2445 - just another nondescript peak in Oregon’s Coastal Range, or is it? It turns out that this is an easy drive-up peak a little more than a half hour’s drive west of Forest Grove and should be considered a good peak for SOTA beginners.
Birkenfeld Mountain is a summit that can be done as part of a challenging three peak traverse that would include Three Corner Rock-W7W/LC-101 and Greenleaf Peak-W7W/LC-104.
Mill Creek Buttes West is east of Mount Hood and inside the boundary for The Dalles Watershed. It is posted "NO TRESPASSING" and should not be activated. Nearby Lookout Mountain, W7O/CN-008 is a good choice.
Seeing that this is one of the closest, biggest peaks to the QTH, it was a no-brainer that we would make this an early target for our newfound SOTA fascination. On a nice Sunday afternoon, the sudden call was made that we should load up the Jeep and make the scramble up the hill.
Mount Sylvania is a suburban drive-up site in Lake Oswego with nearly panoramic views of the West Hills, Portland, and points eastward. Directional antennas up though microwave bands do well at this site. Despite its dense residential neighborhood setting the RX noise levels observed were low. A weather station and several vertical antennas are on the summit, but I did not observe these to create any tx/rx issues on any bands I tried.
Wind Mountain is a nice hike in the Gorge with good views (in clear weather). It's about 2.5 miles round-trip and 1000 feet of gain. There's no pass required at the trailhead and it's often less busy than nearby Dog Mountain.
Head east on Highway 14 from Stevenson, Washington about 6.2 miles to Home Valley. Then turn onto Wind Mountain Road for 1.0 miles to turn right onto Girl Scout Road and go about 0.6 miles. This leads to a large dirt parking area at the end of the paving near 45.7145°, -121.7533°. This is usually the best place to park.
5.8 miles, 3,200 ft
Beartooth WMA – Open May 15 - December 2
Directions (From Wolf Creek – North of Helena):
Drive-Up in Summer, Ski or Snowshoe up in Winter
Directions (should be drivable by mid-late June):
The weather cooperated for a fantastic turnout for the September 2017 Puget Sound Summit-to-Summit Party. Twelve operators on seven summits! Of course, there were also a good number of contacts "across the border" between W7O and W7W - with one QSO at 171 miles.
Here's who joined the Puget Sound Party -