Shady Trail

Lake mountain has been on my list for quite a while but for some reason I had the impression it was going to be much harder.  I was waiting to do it with a partner for safety reasons but it ended up being a great day of just me and Maggie. It is a steep mountain but most of it is either trailed or open meadow until you get towards the very top. I made the mistake of going straight up not looking at my GPS satellite images and got very tangled up in the manzanita and buck brush. This is definitely not Maggie's favorite way to hike, sometimes refusing.

W7O/SC-214 was a nice little mountain that I did after Holcomb Peak. Basically you drive past Holcomb peak a bit SE and it's pretty self explanatory of where to go. You'll take a small spur road and depends on your vehicle how close you can get. You can park in some large pullouts just a little ways up the road or jeep it another 1/4mi or so. Depends on how much pinstriping you're looking for, it gets narrow with sharp manzanita and no easy turnaround. 

Snow was coming soon so I really wanted to get out and try and get a few new mountains in before winter came. A couple on my list were Holcomb peak and a no name summit right next to it, SC-214. I put these on hold before because they are a drive to something that I've never been to and have no info on, however with winter bonus and no snow yet, it made the trip worth the risk. My 1st summit was Holcolmb Peak which looked like it had the possibility of being a drive up if timber corp allowed, but much of the mountain and surrounding area had no trespassing signs.

I hiked to White Mountain in a hurry in a race against sundown, we still needed to find a place to pitch a tent for the weekend before CQP started. It was a very pleasant hike and I wish I had more time. Most of the trek is on the PCT until you climb the final 400' up to the peak. The trail is beautiful, well forested and lots of great views and interesting rock formation. White is basically a bare rock mountain to the north consisting of milky green rock, maybe serpentine?, so it is white in appearance from a distance.

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.

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.

This Wildcat Mountain is the one south of Mt. Hood and is just an hour east of Portland, reachable on a paved road. The 2 mile (OW) trail is pleasant with a bit over 1000 feet of gain. In a few places along the trail there is some nice scenery but the summit itself is surrounded by trees and thus has no views.  

This was summit 1 of a 2 First Activation day with Hat Rock W7W/LC-017

1.2 miles round trip. ~900ft elevation gain. Moderate bushwhack.

Gold Peak is a one point steep bushwhack in the Tillamook State Forest. To get to the trailhead one needs first to get to the Trask River Road out of the town of Tillamook. From Portland there are two cutoffs. One is longer and paved, the other good gravel. Travel times are similar, but the gravel route is shorter.

Peak 1650 is the highest point in the Drift Creek Wilderness area, a special area that preserves some of the oldest trees on the Oregon Coast and a nearly pristine ecosystem along the creek.  To get to 1650, set your GPS to the Horse Creek North Trailhead at 44.4411, -123.9091.  There are multiple paths through the paved and well-maintained gravel roads eventually getting you to the trailhead where you’ll find spots for five or six cars.  Along the road you’ll get glimpses at the backsid