Summary - East Crater is approached via good trails and a steepish bushwhack through burn terrainFrom the Thomas Lake trailhead, hike both East Crater and Gifford Peak as a ten mile outing with 2500 feet of gain. From Carson, WA take Wind River Highway up and all but the last bit of the two hour drive (from Portland) is on paved road. A NW Discover Pass is required and this is a popular area, so the parking will be tight on weekends. 2M contacts into Portland, Hood River and Mosier are possible and setting up an HF wire is easy. This is a "choose your adventure" ascent. You should be comfortable with a compass or have reliable GPS for navigation. This is definitely not a bushwhack to try in poor weather.
TL;DR - Indian Heaven is a beautiful (and popular) wilderness area west of Mount Adams with a chain of peaks (Red, Gifford, Lemei, East Crater, Bird, and Sawtooth) and the PCT running through it. The best time to hike is in the late summer or early fall, after the bugs are gone, while the meadow/marshes are mostly dry, and before the rain and snow begin. The ambitious could probably summit all of these six peaks in two or three very long days. My outing was somewhat less demanding: East Crater and Gifford Peak via a ten mile loop that included two stiff bushwhacks. While both summits are near good trails, this is a "choose your adventure" outing: the summit climbs are cross country in complicated terrain, so map and compass skills are a must, as is comfort negotiating thick brush, snags, and the like.
After consulting with Tyler ND7Y, I took the Wind River Highway up to NF6507 to NF65. All but the last couple of miles are on paved road and 2WD easy. The drive from Portland is roughly two hours. A NW Discover Pass is required to park. This is a popular trailhead. I arrived at 700AM on a Saturday to claim the last spot.
From the lot, take Thomas Lake Trail #111 roughlly 2 miles. Here a trail heads east toward East Crater while the Thomas Lake trail turns south toward Gifford Peak. Follow this through older forest, alpine meadowns and around several lakes until you reach the PCT. The East Crater will be looming in front of you. Continue going east and up until you get onto the crater rim. You can stop here if you like, as it is in the AZ, or you can pick your way around the rim to the trig point. I did this along the southern side which ends in a climb up very steep, loose volcanic dirt and rock before scrambling through one of the gaps in rocky promenience that tops the summit. It is easy to set up a wire here and I made four contacts on two meters within minutes of turning on my HT. I had no problem spotting with ATT cell service, so I didn't turn on APRS.
You can come back down the same way or, if you are going on to Gifford and want to save a little walking time, pick your way down the SW side. Be careful as it is easy to go too far south and end up in a gully that you'll have to climb back out of to get to PCT. Don't try this if you aren't comfortable making and staying on a compass bearing!
All in all, this is a nice hike and a relatiively straight forward bushwhack, at least if you are good with a map and compass. On a clear day, the views from here are awesome. This is one of those places for hanging out for a bit!
Info on Gifford Peak can be found here.