While in town for the Hells Canyon Relay race, Taylor and I planned to hit two 10-point summits in the Joseph, OR area, our highest elevation and point value yet. What started off as a well-planned day trip unraveled into a messy situation. This is a long report, but worth the read!
The trail is called the "Starway Trail" but it could be better named the "Stairway Trail" as it is one of the steepest trails I have ever hiked - but the views from the top are worth it. And then, the peak should also have the SOTA vanity name, "Starway." The elevation gain is in the order of 2400 feet in just over two miles and pretty much relentlessly climbs for the first half of the hike. Note that this peak can also be approached from Silver Star (from the south) with less elevation gain, although the trail is a bit faint in places.
"Llao is the god of the underworld in the mythology of the Klamath Native American tribe. Llao fought a great battle with the sky god, Skell, which caused the eruption of Mount Mazama, creating Crater Lake." (from Wikipedia ). I'm not sure of the correct pronuciation of "Llao".
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.
Black Butte is one of those mountains that is very recognizable and easy to spot on the horizon. Not because it has any disctinctive features, but rather because it has none. It looms darkly over the desert of central oregon as a perfect cone, easily distinguished from its sharp and craggy neighbors like Mt. Jefferson, Mt.
Barlow Ridge is a pleasant three mile or so hike (OW) east of Mount Hood with about 1000 feet gain. Although relatively close to Portland the trail is seldom used, (especially past Barlow Butte) and has a nice 'wild' character about it. In other words, the trail seldom sees maintenance. It's a leg stretcher with about 1000 feet of net gain, but quite a bit more elevation change with all the ups and downs along the ridge line. Quite a bit more.
A short hike to Mount Defiance in Oregon is from Wahtum Lake Road and is about 3.6 miles roundtrip with 1140 ft gain. From Dee near Hood River, it's about a 10-mile drive on FR 2820 to the Upper Mount Defiance trailhead.
As we headed back from Lakeview Peak earlier in the day, Taylor and I took a detour to go by Bandwidth Mountain. This two-point summit is not significant enough to have an official name, but like many in the Washington SOTA database, it has been assigned a cute amateur-radio name to avoid a simple numbering system. Our outdated topo map software showed a road leading in the direction of the summit, but stopping a couple miles short. However, some satellite reconnaissance ahead of time showed that the road actually went much farther, to just below the base of the summit.
UPDATE (as of June 18, 2017): Weyerhaeuser now requires a recreational permit in order to access this area.
