KX7L's blog

Another non-NW activation while on my summer work assignment in Cleveland.  I was getting bored with the 2 and 4 pt summits on OH, which are mostly on private land, so decided to make an expedition to something with a little more elevation.  W3/PT-007 had been previously activated, so I knew it could be done and is an 8 pointer, which would be my first.  Finding the summit on the map was a little confusing, however.  There is a summit at the coords, but it's either un-named or called "Bear Cave Lookout".

Ohio isn't exactly PNW, but I though I'd put it here anyway - It'll give you a flavor of what it's like in other parts of the country

With a couple days of non-rain, I just had to get out of the house and activate a summit.  "Mt. Electric" is the first summit I've activated that wasn't a "first activation".  That said, it was about right for me at this time of year.  The drive is an easy one.  I won't go into details - but all except the last mile is on paved roads.  I've trooped around a bit in the Marckworth State Forest before, but not in this part.

When I heard that the long-standing dry and sunny weather we'd been having for weeks was about to end on Friday, I cleared a day off work on Thursday and determined to take another stab at Mt McCausland.  The drive to the trailhead is pretty straightforward.

I guess the winds must be blowing smoke from the fires in Wenatchee over the mountains.  It was a pretty hazy day, especially at lower elevations.  This one is a short hike (1.5 mi), but a steep one. The drive took me longer than expected, as did the hike, so I wound up about an hour late with the activation.  The views were stupendous, though, inspite of the haziness, and the lookout tower at the top made a perfect support for my pole.  

This one was a workout.  The drive up was fairly straightforward: Exit 47 on I-90 to Tinkham Rd, then up the hill on NF-5510, until you reach the parking area and gate.  NW Forest pass required.  

Decided to kick it up a notch this time, (but only one notch) and do a 4 pointer.  But feeling a bit lazy I went looking for a 4-pointer that I could reach without a really long hike.  Gold Mountain, just east of Darrington, fits the bill.  I headed north from downtown Darrington on SR530, and then east on Sauk Prairie Rd.  After a couple miles, turned south on FS24 (pretty good gravel road), and after 4 or 5 miles turned right on FS2420 (OK gravel road with a few potholes to dodge).

This was really a spur-of-the-moment thing.  I saw the weather was going to be great on Friday, cleared a day off with the boss, and checked over my "portable station": My NorCal NC-20, EFHW tuner and 34' of wire.  Cobbled up a Li-ion battery, and looked over some summit possiblities.  I settled on West Tiger as not being too far away, or too ambitious for a first attempt. (But I wanted to do more than a 1-pointer!)  So I put an alert on SOTAwatch, and set 11:00am local as a start time.