Monument Peak is an exposed summit. There are some stands of trees well within the activation zone, if needed. I secured my mast to a leg of a small canopy (gotta love those drive-ups). 40m and 20m netted eight contacts in quick succession and then the chasers went quiet. I’ve stopped trying VHF/UHF in this area due to the lack of chasers (sparse population). If you type “Monument Peak” into your driving software, it will direct you to the USGS Monument Peak which is not the SOTA Monument Peak.
Clear Lake Tower Operator Info
Please follow K7ATN's previous report for directions to this summit.
In 2022 the tower lookout is Michelle who has been there for 8 seasons. Very friendly and ham-radio accomodating. Like other fire tower operators, announce yourself so Michelle knows you are there. There is a public port-a-potty and a picnic table that can be used. With permission, i hung one end of my EFHW from the tower structure, actually my rope supporting the EFHW.
PEAK 6901, IDAHO, JULY 2022
This summit is located approximately 16 miles North of Soda Springs Idaho. Take State Highway 34 north to Blackfoot Reservoir. You will need to turn to your left off of highway 34 when you see the Blackfoot North access road. This road is accessible to passenger cars. Travel west approximately 2.25 miles on this road. Watch for a fence line going up a ridge on your right. There is a place to park at
Termination Peak Re-Deux
Great Vistas from the Termination Point summit!
Termination Point was the site of a now abandoned FS Lookout. Kreske's book says it was built in the 1930s but later abandoned. The view of Adams, Rainier, and St Helens are majestic and with a little hike to the south, Mt Hood. The summit is small, about 20' x 20' but with steep dropoffs to the east - great RF takeoff angles.
Bunker Hill, OR | July 2022
This is the fourth summit I activated with my Dad while visiting Lemolo Lake KOA.
From the KOA, we drove across the dam on NF-2610 and right onto NF-2612. Then left onto NF-700 and again left onto NF-920.
Kelsay Mountain, OR | July 2022
A third summit I worked with my Dad while at Lemolo Lake KOA.
This summit is a careful drive-up with a nice turnaround at the top.
I put up the mast and EFHW antenna and proceeded to work a nice combination of 40/20m stations.
No 2m stations were heard.
We packed up and headed on to Bunker Hill (W7O/CS-090).
These 4 Lemolo Lake summits could be easily done in a day if you have the time.
I split them into 2 mornings as we were visiting Crater Lake during this trip.
Elephant Mountain, OR | July 2022
This was another summit I activated with my Dad while staying at Lemolo Lake KOA.
NOTE: This one has a final section that could be hazardous to your vehicle's paint job. The last segment after the turn off is a bit overgrown.
To start with we turned off NF-2610 from the KOA and went up NF-200 until the unnamed logging road at (43.298183, -122.229812) and continued west on to the spur road.
Basket Butte, OR | July 2022
NOTE: did I mention how many mosquitos this summit has?
I worked this summit with my Dad while staying at Lemolo Lake KOA.
The climb is very straightforward but I would bring a bug screen as they were alerted to our presence and followed us up the whole way. Once we killed off all the brave ones and we cooled off, it settled down to a reasonable experience.
Round Top, OR | July 2022
Round Top is a nice mostly drive up activation. Being me, I had to do it the hard way: Mountainbiking from Gale's Creek Campground. It is an 18 mile round trip ride with ~3000' elevation gain.
I recommend doing some stretches or warmups before heading out because the hardest part of this ride is the first few miles: steep trail that gets the blood moving. Overall the trail is a singletrack and mostly follows the creek through the forest. Not much for views, but there are the occasional waterfall and views of Gale's Creek.
Umpcoos Ridge, OR | July 2022
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.