See KJ7LSM's nice writeup of this summit. I'll only add that, in March 2025, the gate to the last leg of the road is closed (see the southernmost point of the hike,below, resulting in an 800 foot, 1.7 mile walk up the remaining gravel road. There's room for one or two vehicles at the Y in the road while still providing passage if someone with access wants to pass through the gate.
Easy Trail
First Activation of W7W/KG-139 Black Diamond Hill | Feb 2025
First-ever activation? Wait, isn't that private property? The answer to both of those questions is YES. But let me tell you a quick story...
Pinochle Peak, OR | Jan 2025
UPDATE: the instructions given by Bill WJ7WJ in A Good Hand of Pinochle are still accurate. However, when I was up there last week, there were several trees that had blown over the road and only some of them had been cleared. I had forgotten to bring the chainsaw and they were too thick to cut with my bow saw.
Vedder Mountain, WA | December 2024 | Rain, Mud, and Big Smiles
With a slight gap in my family duties, the time finally came for one last 2024 SOTA adventure on
Pocket Knoll, OR | May 2020
Here’s a near drive-up 2-point summit that might be part of your plan to visit the Redwoods in SW Oregon.
Mount Gauldy, OR | Dec 2024
Mount Gauldy is an easy summit near Hebo Oregon
It is either a drive up or a road walk of at most 3.5mi RT and 600ft elevation gain.
Peak 1465, OR | Nov. 2024
1465 is a 1-point peak in the Oregon Central Coast region. The top of the summit is close to the road but due to geography and deep thorny overgrowth, remains nearly inaccessible. However, a spur road does pass through the edge of the activation zone (as confirmed by GPS altitude).
Scott Mountain, OR | Nov. 2024
Scott Mountain is a 1-point summit in the Oregon Central Coast (CC) region with a straightforward, easy grade hike of 2.2 miles each direction. The AZ contains ample space to set up on a dis-used roadbed with decent cell coverage for spotting.
From Oregon Hwy. 34, proceed west of Alsea. You will enter the Siuslaw National Forest. Driving directions are as follows:
Haystack Butte, OR | October 2024
This turned out to be an easy activation. The road has some rutted sections where having a high clearance vehicle is nice but not necessary. Since we were hosting a S2S Party, 2M was no problem, but we also worked many locals on 2M. There are plenty of old Juniper snags to tie off a mast to for HF. Have fun!
See my full report here
Inwang-san, South Korea | Sept 2024
This is a stretch for a PNWSOTA summit report but, if you find yourself in Seoul with a few hours to kill, this could help you navigate. My son and I were able to activate this summit after doing the normal tourist activities.