My wife, Christina, and I climbed Mt Scott, the highest point in Crater Lake NP. At 8938' ASL, it is an 8 point summit (just shy of 10 points). The popular trail is moderate, climbing 1250' over 2.5 miles each way. The trees get smaller as you climb, and much of the trail is in sunlight. The trail winds and switchbacks up the west and south sides of the mountain, finally following a sharp ridgeline to the summit and its fire lookout.
The summertime trail is dry and dusty, but there are abundant wildflowers. The views get progressively more expansive as you climb. From on or near the top, the views are spectacular. The trees near the lookout are shrubby, but they make a good point to lash a pushup antenna mast. I did just that with my 31' Jackite pole which held up the center of an 88' inverted vee doublet. The KX3 did a good job of "tuning" that antenna on 40 and 20 meters. My 40 minute Tuesday activation yielded eight 20m CW and four 40m CW QSOs.
I set up next to the unstaffed lookout, which had a number of hiking visiters during our time on the summit. It was a good opportunity to explain SOTA and ham radio to those interested. I got somewhat dehydrated on the climb. After we hiked back to the car, we drove to the CLNP Lodge and enjoyed liquid refreshment while sitting on the porch and taking in the incredible views. Broken Arrow Campground at the south end of Diamond Lake is a convenient and plesant place to stay compared to the NPS campgrounds: https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/231979.
