Exposed Trail

Chelan Crest SOTA Outing July 23-25, 2016 – Part 4.   See separate reports on PNWSOTA website with background on the entire outing and day 1 & 2 description, with 3 other First SOTA Activations. 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 4 of 4, "Pyramid Mountain".  Pyramid was the apex of our 3 day 2 night SOTA outing, both in elevation and distance from the TH.  This 10 point SOTA Summit is 8,245 feet high, and affords some fantastic view of the Central and North Cascades, Lake Chelan and Eastern Washington.

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.

You can get to Mt. McLoughlin by taking OR 140 west from Klamath Falls for about
36 miles. Turn right onto FS 3650, which is also the turn for the SnoPark. The
trailhead is up this road 2.4 miles and is well marked and has a toilet. FS 3650
is also about 0.5 miles west of MP 33 on OR 140.

The round-trip distance to the summit and back is 11 miles. The first few miles
are through very pretty forest. The gentle trail gradually then more abruptly
becomes quite rocky and rugged. It took me 4 hours, 40 minutes, all stops included,

I just wanted to add a few things to K7ATN's great write up about Hogback Mountain.

This hike is initially quite steep with about 1800 feet of elevation gained
in a short distance (<2mi?). There are dozens of informal trails up the ridge
that I saw. As such, there are an abundance of loose rock and eroding soil.
Its a shame that nobody has taken the initiative to put up a proper trail as
this area gets lots of visitors.

I went up directly from the spot K7ATN shows in the church parking lot. I

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 

Cruising through Chemult Oregon at 6:40am, the dashboard said the outside temperature
was 29 degrees. This was far cooler than we anticipated for our attempt on Mt. Thielsen.
A few years ago, my son Andrew and I tried this summit but were driven off by mosquitoes
and our lack of DEET. I actually inhaled two of the beasts and slapped my glasses off my
face several times before we literally ran back to the safety of our car. The Diamond Lake
area is legendary for mosquitoes.

This morning was different. It was a brisk 36 degrees at the Mt. Thielsen trailhead. Seeing

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.

Access:  Since SR26 is closed from the north due to a washout, you must come in on SR26 from the south. Take SR25 south out of Randle then SR99 west towards Windy Ridge.  At approx 11 mi in, take SR26 north for about 1 mi to the Norway Pass TH parking area.  Restrooms are available.

Note:  The Independance Ridge trail is closed due to a washout.