Easy Trail

Chelan Crest SOTA Outing July 23-25, 2016 – Part 3.   See separate report on PNWSOTA website with background on outing and day 1 description. The total trip was approximately 25 miles RT, with approximately 7,000 feet elevation gain, including ups and downs in between the various peaks. This is report 3 of 4, "Olivia Mountain".  On maps, this summit is shown as Point 7,492 (feet), lying about 1.06 miles SE of the Big Boy of the neighborhood - Pyramid Mountain.  I suspect "Olivia Mountain" is the SOTA name for the peak.  We Activated "Olivia Mountain" on the same day as Graham Mountain.

First SOTA Activation of Fourth Of July Mountain, a 4 point SOTA summit above the town of Manson, Washington, was accomplished on Saturday, September 10, 2016.  On a weekend trip to visit with our friends who have a vacation home in Manson, we took some time to Activate this peak.  The overall terrain is quite dry and arid, especially this late in summer.  The trail itself is non-descript, and the redeeming aspect of the activation are the great views from the upper slopes and summit of the mountain.  The weather was quite warm, and we were happy to have gotten a relatively early start.

Mount Bailey near Diamond Lake is a great hike to fantastic views but it requires some effort to get those views - with a hike of about 10 miles round trip 

There's enough room to pull a vehicle off to the side by the gate on Heimer road.  This is an easy trek with a very gradual elevation change.  The trail is a nice groomed gravel road that leads all the way to the summit. 

 If you keep veering right at all the forks in the road, evenutally you will end up at the summit on a nice wide gravel plot perfect for setting up a decent station.  Not a whole lot of shade to be had here, unless you climb off the path.

Here's another summit in the Diamond Lake area to activate if you have a few hours. It's a drive-up, if your vehicle has moderate ground clearance and otherwise a short road hike. 

Buck Mountain is a summit with a short hike of less than half a mile that you'll want to do along with Coffin Mountain (W7O/WV-005) and Bachelor Mountain (W7O/WV-003).

Take Highway 22 east 19 miles past Detroit, Oregon and turn right onto paved FS 11.

Bates Point (Peak 2360) is a drive-up summit in the Coast Range of Oregon - specifically in the Tillamook State Forest. Roads in the Tillamook Forest are usually good - however the signage and documentation are remarkably poor. What's on the ground doesn't necessarily match your GPS map or what in Google Earth and vice versa.

Access Info:  Take SR25 south from Randle or north from Cougar.  Head west on SR99 for 4.5 mi to the Bear Meadow Viewpoint.  Restrooms at the viewpoint parking area.  Read the interpretive signage at this viewpoint since this is where many of the iconic photographs were made of the St. Helens eruption in process by photographer Reynolds, who barely escaped with his family.

Just north of Detroit, Oregon are a nice bunch of summits - Dome Rock is especially good. The Tumble Ridge Trail takes you to Dome Rock on a pleasant forest hike of only about 1.5 miles and 500 feet total gain.

There are several ways to get to Green Point Mountain - I choose the shortest hike, which of course required the most uncomfortable drive (i.e., high clearance and paint you don't care about).