An early ferry ride out of Anacortes took me to Orcas Island and, after a short drive, I arrived at the Cascade Falls trailhead by about 7 AM. My plans included biking in about 3 miles and hiking up the last 3/4 mile to the summit. Wrong. I was 1/2 hour into the ride when 2 facts became clear: 1. My hybrid bike was not up to the task of handling that muddy, rocky, slippery road - no matter how much air I let out of the tires. 2. My lungs, legs, and nerves weren't up to the task either. I took the bike back down to the truck and began again.

Thirteen operators on ten summits (two 4-pointers, two 2-pointers and the rest 1-point peaks). Three Activtitors encountered snow on their summits and one experienced snow falling - we were fortunate that everyone else had a dry activation under mostly cloudy skies. All activity was on 2m FM using 5W or sometimes less.

The following peaks are within the Bull Run Watershed Management Unit. The Bull Run Watershed Management Unit is formally closed to the public to protect the water supply for metropolitan Portland, Oregon. The unit is patrolled regularly by the US Forest Service and by City of Portland Water Bureau security staff.

There are at least four trails that approach the summit of Big Huckleberry Mountain - we choose the Pacific Crest Trail from the south for about 8.6 miles round trip and 1400 feet of net elevation gain (1900 total).

From Portland, take I-84 to Cascade Locks and cross the river for two dollars (2019 price).

Here's a six point summit to tackle on a nice summer day - we tried it with lots of snow and found a blizzard at the top in mid-April. The trail is on a road of about 7 miles round trip and about 1800 feet of gain. 

From Portland, take I-84 to Cascade Locks and cross the river on the Bridge of the Gods (toll).

Spring is here and it's time to get back out there and activate. We thought it would be fun to meet up with fellow Activators and to encourage new Activators. There are a number of SOTA peaks in and around Portland and we'd like to get activators up on all of them at the same time. We could all work each other on the air and then meet up after for an 'eyeball' QSO.

If anyone is up for some VHF fun over the next few weeks, try some SSB tonight around 144.200 starting at 7pm local time - or some 2m FM perhaps on 146.55.

Peterson Butte on the west side of Lebanon, Oregon is private with limited access. The Lebanon Trails Committee (http://buildlebanontrails.com) schedules occasional hikes on Peterson Butte - the last hike was planned for 12 April 2014 (http://buildlebanontrails.com/2014/03/14/april-12th-hike-at-peterson-butte/).

Ridgeway Butte, accessed by Ridgeway Drive on the east side of Lebanon, Oregon has signs indicating 'private property' and 'no trespassing'. The Lebanon Trails Committee (http://buildlebanontrails.com) schedules occasional hikes on Ridgeway Butte that are lead by the property owner, Rick Ely. The next hike is planned for October 2014.

On 27 March Etienne (K7ATN) and I activated Silver Star mountain. The weather report called for rain with a break around mid day. We headed to the trailhead, Route: Washougal, WA to Washougal River Road (approx. 10 mi), to Skye Rd to 412th AVE to Skamania Mines Rd. Follow the signs to silver star. We reached the TH at about 0840 and started up the trail. At about 1/8 of a mile the trail splits, take the right split. We found out the hard way and got about 1/4 mile down the trail before I checked the map and realized we were on the wrong trail.