K7ATN's picture

South Sister, OR | June-2012

Summit: 
W7O/CM-001

The gate just past the Mount Bachelor ski area on the Cascade Lakes Highway opened just two weeks ago Friday - there is still plenty of roadside snow on the five miles from the ski area to the Devil's Lake trailhead. There's some shoulder cleared near the trail and a bit of space at the entrance to the trailhead parking lot - we bivyed there in the vehicle for the night and got ourselves up at 4am for a 5am start. There is no trail sign or anything to indicate where the trail starts - we scoped it out for bootprints in the snow during the last of the daylight the night before.

NS7P's picture

NS7P activation of Walker Point, W7/CC-027, on June 14, 2012

Summit: 
W7O/CC-027

This summit is a fairly easy trip from the Eugene, OR area.  The 4.1 mile drive up to the trailhead is steep in places, but passible with a standard car.  The short (quarter mile) hike to the top is easy, and the top is broad and generally flat.

KK7DS's picture

Three Corner Rock, WA

Summit: 
W7W/LC-101

Taylor (K7TAY) and I went back to the Northern Columbia River Gorge area for yet another four-point summit in Southern Washington today. The weather was forecast for 70F in the valleys and clear skies; we were not disappointed.

N7AAM's picture

My First Activation

Summit: 
W7O/NC-038

After attending Dan and Taylor's (KK7DS & K7TAY) seminar at SEAPAC, I was inspired to give SOTA a try.

KG7E's picture

First Activation. Leslie Butte

Summit: 
W7I/CU-345

Wanted to try out my gear so I hiked up this butte which is right behind my house. About 1000 ft straight up. No trail to speak of, just a lot of loose rock.  Set up my Buddipole and tuned it with a small analyzer. Operated 20m CW with my Elecraft K-1 and mini-paddles. Battery was an 1800mAh 12 volt model airplane Li-Po I had laying around the shop.  It wasn't until I quit that I realized I never used the auto-tuner in my K-1, so who knows how much my 5 watts was throttled down. I'll try to remember that next time.

AE7LD's picture

Saddle Mountain

Summit: 
W7O/NC-002

This is a well-used, highly-trafficed trail.  There is plenty of parking, but you may want to get to the trailhead early as the parking lot does fill up.  There are restroom facilities at the trailhead, but they may be seasonally open.  The summit has a hand rail that can be used for antenna guy lines.

 

K9VD's picture

Little Baldy

Summit: 
W7W/SK-168

My Adventures in fitness and SOTA continue!  This was a fun one, spur of the moment decision to do it.  Hours drive to the trail head, hour up, 30 minutes operating, hour down and an hour drive home.  The view from the top was really nice and there was a ledge with a really good drop off as well!

 

GPX and Google Earth files here.

 

KK7DS's picture

SeaPac SOTA Meetup

This coming Friday night (June 1, 2012) there will be a gathering of PNW SOTA people in Seaside, OR for dinner. This pre-SeaPac event will occur at 6:30pm and is open to anyone interested or participating in the SOTA program in the area. Come by to share your experiences and otherwise mingle with like-minded SOTA addicts.

K9VD's picture

Three Lakes Hill

Summit: 
W7W/SN-178

I wanted to do an easy one on my own after my first activation with a group.  This summit was one that I knew I could drive up.  I hiked the last quarter mile to the actual summit and used my hand held for the activation.  Had fun and Yukon and I got a bit more exercise.

NS7P's picture

Grass Mountain Activation on May 19, 2012 by NS7P

Summit: 
W7O/CC-002

My wife, Christina, and I activated W7/CC-002 on Saturday, May 19, 2012.  Here is a brief account of the day.


I will not add to the directions to the trailhead found in N7UN's and other's descriptions. It took close to 40 minutes on dirt roads to go from Alsea to the trailhead.  Park near the yellow gate and proceed past the gate onto the trail.