Chris KC7UJO and I took advantage of some sunny weather to bike the Deschutes River Trail to Lava Butte. We met at Meadow Camp (Meadow Day Use Area on Google Maps). Chris was on a hardtrail MTB and I was on my cyclocross bike. The first (and last) mile of this out and back is pretty rocky. MTB reccommended, or catch the river trail at another point. I managed as best I could with my commuter tires and dropbars.
Cedar Mountain is now gated and locked. You must have permission from land owner to access BLM land.
This is another fun summit. Trailhead is at Kelly Park on highway 34 Soda Springs Idaho. Park across from the baseball fields and head south east on the Cross Country Ski trail. You can see the summit's towers East of Soda Springs throughout hike. You will head for a tan municipal water tank. When you reach the water tank you can either bushwhack to the double track that goes straight up or go about 200 yards north of the water tank and head east at a cutoff then head towards the summit. The access to the summit is partly owned by the city of Soda Springs and BLM land.
WARNING: Google Maps insists that there is a drivable road up through the South Fork Prison. Let me assure you there is not. It is clearly posted No Trespassing and they mean it. The route should start from the intersection of Hwy 6 and Ben Smith Rd.
Summary - With a three mile, three thousand foot climb, open views of the gorge, and lots of wildflowers, Dog Mountain is a worthy SOTA summit. The first two-thirds of the climb is in the trees, the rest on the windy, exposed mountain crown. The summit itself is thick with brush, so the best operating positions are found on its edge. A Northwest Discover Pass is required for parking, as is a hiking permit during the wildflower season.
This is a nice 4 pointer located in Soda Springs Idaho. Access the Trailhead at the North end of Main Street of downtown Soda Springs. There is a "S" on the Mtn side above the trailhead. After parking, take the green belt trail N.E. about 200 yards where you will come across a canal clean out crane. Here you will see a trail going around a concrete barrier that will take you to the "S" on the hillside. Going to the "S" is moderately steep. Go to the summit of the "S" hill and looking NW you you will see Chester Hill.
On the 3rd day of our Bend trip, I got dropped off at the Lava Butte Visitor Center while my wife and kids sped off to the Bend High Desert Museum. The hike to the top was on a very nice, paved road for 1.75 miles. I made it up in an hour and looked around the lower level of the firewatch tower on the summit and the surrounding views.
Following my activation of Wampus Butte (W7O/CM-095), I proceeded to the next stop on Pringle Butte. It's only a couple miles drive to there and the summit is almost a drive up. Google Maps gave excellent directions to the summit and I probably could have driven all the way but on the last turn up to the top there is a little bit of a washout and I decided to just hike the last 0.4 miles. The summit has a large flat area with a turnaround. It would likely be a nice overnight camping area though there don't appear to be any established campsites.
WARNING: Google Maps will route you on a road that is no longer publically accessible.
After activating Tumalo Mountain (W7O/CM-011), I proceeded south to Wampus Butte (W7O/CM-095) for another activation and winter bonus. This summit had not been activated since 2014 and significant changes have occured.
On the second day of our Bend trip, I got up early and drove up to Dutchman Flat Sno-Park just across the road from Mt Bachelor skiing. There were a few remaining parking spaces and some snowmobilers unloading. I started up the snowtrack over by the restrooms. At some point, the GPS points up hill and you pick out a likely set of ski or snowshow tracks and follow it uphill. Eventually, they all seem to lead to the summit. There are a few orange no-motorized area signs towards the top but those were the only markers visible in the forest. I ran across a fe