My first SOTA activity was activating VE7/GV-013 on a sunny day in October. I find this mountain a great place for local hams to experience SOTA for the first time.
VE7/GV-013, Black Mountain is located in Cypress Provincial Park, just half an hour drive from Vancouver. Parking at Lot 1 of Cypress Mountain Ski Resort is free and it is mostly empty in the morning, as long as it's not ski season.
Mount Wilson, is on the Warm Springs Reservation and is posted and should be considered private. https://warmsprings-nsn.gov/bchapter/trespass/
I had mapped out three different routes to the summit “trailhead” and opted to drive up from the south off Nestucca River Road. Turn north at an unmarked road/intersection .7 miles west of the NW Boundary Road/Nestucca River Road intersection. Most roads in this area are unsigned.
Easy driving access in a somewhat remote part of the Mt Hood National Forest. Best way in is to enter the forest from Hillock Burn Road off Highway 211 which turns into the 45 road. You follow that for about 13 miles to the turnoff to the 4540 road. It's notable as you go from gravel to pavement when you turn off from the main road to a secondary road. the 4540 meanders it's way up past a sometimes-there lake, taking a left turn there and is fairly overgrown but still passable. In about 3.5 miles, you pass the turn off to South Fork Mountain, an easy drive up summit.
Had the day off from work and headed out to activate this summit with Dave, N7LKL. Turned out to be a great day with nice weather.
We started off on 2m FM and each of us had at least 4 contacts in no time. And then proceeded to set up HF, where our good fortunes continued, reaching the East Coast. With the band conditions the way they are I consider that good DX, especially running around 4 watts from my MTR.
See my trip reports for 2 other summits in this area: Saddle Mtn. and Duplex Summit.
There are two ways to get up to Dow Mountain - a long drive on gravel roads, or a forest road walk of around 2.5 miles (1900' elevation gain). Since I was also visiting two other summits along the way, I opted for the road approaching from the north. The road going up to Dow Mtn. from Hoodsport is gated - this is the road to take if you wish to hike it.
SEE ACCESS UPDATE Aug 2024.
See my trip report for Saddle Mountain for a map of this area. This summit is a drive up, on pretty good gravel roads. Most any car should make it with some careful driving. High clearence is helpful but not required. After you leave the pavement its about a 25 min drive.
This is a short one mile hike 400 feet of gain that you reach by driving about five miles on a poor road. There's some bushwacking required to make the Activation Zone.
Peak 3410 is about 10 miles back into the Tillamook State Forest. Although once you get there it is really a near drive-up, the drive on those roads might feel like you've been hiking five miles by the time you get there. You'll want a high clearance vehicle, a good map, and GPS to reach this summit off Highway 6.