Winter Activation of Red Top Mountain Lookout together with Tim Nair, KG7EJT. Red Top Mountain Lookout is 5,361 feet elevation (1,634 meters), and is located approximately 15 miles NNE of Cle Elum, Washington. There have been several activations of Red Top Mountain before, but none in winter. Great weather, very manageable snow, great views and good company, including Dexter the SOTA Dog, made for a fine activation!
Mt Beachie is a peak in the Willamette Valley region just north of Detroit
Lake. To reach it, follow my other blog about Battle Axe. This blog begins
at Beachie saddle.
From Beachie Saddle go southwest on the trail that is marked, keeping a
level altitude along the north flank of Mt. Beachie. The trail sign is
up very high, badly weathered and nearly unreadable. Do not follow the
faint trail to the left at the beginning that leads up the very exposed
northeast ridge of Mt. Beachie.
Battle Axe is a peak in the Willamette Valley region just north of Detroit
Lake. To reach it, head towards the town of Detroit, Oregon. Just northwest
of Detroit at milepost 50, take Road 46 north at the Corner Post store. Head
north on road 46 and travel 4.4 miles and turn left on FS road 4696. 0.7
miles later, turn left onto road 4697. This road is not recommended for
passenger cars. Sure, you could make it to Elk Lake, but your car will never
be the same. ;^)
Proceed on road 4697 about 4.6 miles. You will reach a fork in the road
Winter activation of Granite Mountain, together with Tim Nair, KG7EJT. Granite Mtn., 5,629 feet elevation, with 3,800 feet elevation gain and 8.6 miles RT, is located near the Denny Creek area, off I-90, near Snoqualmie Pass. There have been a few other SOTA Activations of Granite, but none in winter. Great weather, manageable snow, stupendous views and good companionship made for a fine Activation!
I've spent many wonderful fall weekends black powder hunting near Suttle Lake west of Sisters, Oregon.
I've hunted the slopes of Cache Mountain as well, so activating Cache Mountain has long been on my mind.
The B&B complex fire of 2003 devastated the area and the game in the area seems non-existent. Still,
I couldn't wait to go back, this time with smaller caliber hunting gear.
The access to Cache Mountain is via US Hwy 20. The turn off onto Old Santiam Wagon Road, FS 2067,
A short Hike and Activation in the San Gabriel Mountains of Southern California. 2+/- Miles round trip with 750 feet elevation Gain. Summit Elevation is 7,515, and the views are nice. This Activation is often done together with Waterman Mountain, W6/CT-012, which was the case for us.
Wonderful hike for a sunny, breezy day! Quite chilly on the summit with the gusty winds. No trees or rock formations to take shelter under. I spent 2.5 hours on the summit and had constant radio traffic! I had planned on working 2M and 70cm, but had so much traffic on 2M, I couldn't find time to check out 70cm - so my appologies to those who listened for me on 70cm.
From the summit, there are incredible views of Puget Sound, including the entire Seattle area, and up into Vancouver Island and Canada.
A Gem of a Hike and Activation in the San Gabriel Mountains of Southern California. 6+ Miles round trip with 1,200 feet elevation Gain. Summit Elevation is 8,038, and the views are fantastic!
In recent years, our family has transitioned from tradition material gift giving
to giving that is more relationally based. My oldest son Andrew had noticed that
I kept talking about activating Hayrick Butte but was a bit reluctant based on
the looks of it from the map and in person. He took notice and did a bit of
research. On Christmas morning 2014 I got an interesting relational gift of a
winter-time summit attempt and activation of Hayrick Butte.
Hayrick Butte is an interesting geological feature. Hayrick Butte is a tuya
I was off work today and all the kids were at school. I had a doctor's appointment at 0915 and did not have anything else planned for the remainder of the day. I decided that I would head down and recon this unnamed summit in the South side of Capital Forest. Capital Forest has a handful of one and two pointers and this is the last one that I had not activated. Capital Forest is a State Forest that has opportunities for everyone; horseback riders, off road ATVers, hikers, bikers etc.