Exposed Summit

Summary - Red Mountain is an easy two mile, 1400 foot climb from the gate to the summit along a poorly maintained road. There is a lookout tower and a couple of VHF/UHF installations on the open summit. The views are amazing! FSR6048, the road to the summit, is in poor condition but passable with 4WD and clearance. The gate location shown on the USFS maps is incorrect, it is actually at 45.920, -121.824. There is only room for one vehicle near the gate.

17.6 miles; + 5,900 feet; -1,900 feet; From the TH near Gibson Dam

Bear Mountain is an easy hike with a reasonable approach. The hike is about a 4 mile round trip with around 800 feet of elevation gain.

Summary - From Portland, a long, relatively easy drive (2WD okay) and a short, difficult bushwhack will net you a big beautiful view from a very small summit.  2M is likely to be difficult, bring a mast if you want to do HF, and be prepared to scramble if you want to operate from the summit itself.

9/25/2021 had a favorable weather forecast and also happened to line up with the first weekend where permits are no longer required. Casey (non-ham) drove out from Eugene and met me at the Devils Lake trailhead at 10pm (9/24). We slept a couple hours and started the climb at 2:10am. 

This is almost a drive-up, with a 200-ft scramble through what is currently totally-burnt forest. In a few years, this will probably be thick low trees. Drive as in my report of nearby Sister Rocks, but turn north onto NF-6406 to NF-214, which leads almost to the summit. All of these roads are passable to the average passenger car. Park at the end of the road, and head west up the slope. The route is steep and the soil is especially loose because of the burn, but you can get up it with care.

This peak is the quintessential reason I do SOTA. It is a nice hike to a scenic summit that I never would have visited without the activating imperative.

It is located near Dayville a mile or so west of the US-26 and OR-19 junction. It is part of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument.

An outing to Pine Mountain offers an opportunity to activate 3 summits: W7O/CE-058, W7O/CE-068, and W7O/CE-176. After activating Pine Mountain. I drove up the road to Pine Benchmark. The road at 43.80666, -120.94173 is gated, but not locked. I drove through and closed the gate behind me.

An outing to Pine Mountain offers an opportunity to activate 3 summits: W7O/CE-058, W7O/CE-068, and W7O/CE-176. I started the day early with Pine Mountain. The main road up the mountain is heavily washboarded. Take 43.80066, -120.93746 and head up the good forest road. A sedan will have no trouble. I parked at the broad saddle and found a trail heading up the mountain.

Summary -  Little Huckleberry's small summit is open, has terrific views of the surrounding mountains, and is a nice place to operate. The trail is easy to follow, climbs about 1800 feet over two and half miles, and is popular, so an early start is a good idea. Bring a mast if you want to hang a wire.  Two meters works okay.  Both APRS and ATT digital service are reliable.