Sherman Peak has an exposed summit / activation zone. I hiked to the summit from Trail 72 along the western slope. Be prepared to hike through large boulder fields; trekking poles helped greatly. Plan to use a mast if using a wire antenna. I ended up using a trekking pole and the tallest dead tree which put my EFHW at around 6' off the ground.
On a recent trip to Riffe Lake, I had the opportunity to activate this summit.
On the way over to Bend, I stopped to activate Black Butte. I came on Hwy 20 and turned at NF-11 which is also the turn for Indian Ford Campground. From there I followed north to the turn for NF-1110 (also known as Black Butte Rd) and on around the north of the mountain. After a hairpin turn, there is one more sharp turn to the right which takes you to the upper trailhead. The road up to the last turn was in good shape as of this writing. The upper portion after the last turn was not as good but still very drivable.
This was my first summit on the day of the Central Oregon S2S party.
I had spent the night at the Pine Mountain Observatory Campgrounds which is FCFS so get there early. If it's full, there are dispersed locations but it's hard to find one in the pitch black dark. The observatory requires no headlights (only running lights) at the top so take that into account.
In the morning, I drove back down NF-2017 to the trailhead which also double as a cattle watering station.
This was my second summit for the day of the Central Oregon S2S party.
I had spent the night at the Pine Mountain Observatory Campgrounds which is FCFS so get there early. If it's full, there are dispersed locations but it's hard to find one in the pitch black dark. The observatory requires no headlights (only running lights) at the top so take that into account.
Bill K7WXW is an early riser, and I was stoked to find someone keen to get up South Sister for a sunrise activation. We set out from the trailhead in the dark at 2:12am PST. Bill had an issue with his headlamp battery. Luckily, I had a spare headlamp to loan him. With that sorted, we hit the trail.
I did not know this area was so badly burned before I left. It was a pretty depressing sight. Flip side is no trees equates to good views. The whole area is thousands of acres of burned standing timber so not the safest or most predictable trip. There was some salvaging going on when I went but I predict there can be days of no operations and windfall will start bringing some trees down. They have cleared the uphill of the paved road going up but not the side roads you take to Althouse and Tanner.
Broken Top has been on my list for a few years. Trip reports vary in difficulty, so I finally had the chance to check it out solo.
From Green Lakes TH I hike / jogged (hogged?) to Green Lakes in about an hour. From there the trail cuts between the lakes and then steepens. The trail up the Northwest Ridge saddle is sandy and steep. I took a break in the saddle to refuel for the steep ridge climb.
My wife and I camped at Camp Misery TH and then I got up at About 7 to make the 3.23 mile walk to the summit. Starting elevation was about 5,700' and the summit is just over 7,500'. Great views at the top and I have never been to this summit when there was not goats. I counted between 10-12 different goats on the summit today.
Went to Little Applegate after Applegate. It was a jeep road the last bit on RD 4513-300, off of road 4518. I started the hike up at 42.68112, -121.70485. There is a bit of an open path up to the summit using an old grown over road. Easy trek, about 1mi RT. The mountains around here are some of my favorite to hike because of the ground. Most everywhere is a layer of pine needles over pumice so it is like walking on a soft cushioned ground.