Vinegar Hill is located in Oregon above the Middle Fork of the John Day River near Bates State Park. The veiws from the top are spectacular. It is easy to find as there is a sign from the Middle Fork road pointing to forest road 2010.  It reads 13 miles. The first six of those are good gravel accessible to any car. The next six are rutted and rocky and require a high clearance vehicle. The last mile is available to a 4x4 in late summer or early fall. When we were there on July 1st the road was blocked by snow, so we walked the last mile and 650ft of elevation.

My son and I did this activation. The starting point for our hike was the intersection of FR 5603 and the Pacific Crest Trail. We parked at this location and started walking down the PCT  which was adjacent. We found no trail to the summit so we started bush whacking. It was not too hard. After about an hour, we made the summit. 

Chase Mountain is in the Blue Mountains of southeastern Washington near the town of Dayton. There is no trail to the summit, but you can drive right into the activation zone. Park at the bottom of forest service road 6437 for a 2.2 mile walk or drive up to the top and walk out and back in as I did. There are a few places at the top to pull your vehicle off the road.

Oregon Butte is the highest peak in the Blue Mountain Range of southeast Washington State. There is a lookout up there which should be staffed by early July.

This is an easy, accessible road walk in a state forest that includes just a little bit of a bushwhack into the activation zone.  It is a perfect "second summit" if you are activating near Elbe, WA.    

Etienne (K7ATN) emailed me a few weeks ahead saying he would be in S. Pierce County, a few miles from Eatonville on June 24.  Hiking with Etienne is one of my favorite ways to activate, so we made plans to meet at Pack Forest for a pleasant hike to the Pack Forest high point  (W7W/RS-068).  

As the Idaho SOTA Association Manager, I wanted to the let pnwSOTA community know about upcoming changes in the Idaho Summit list effective 0000 UTC July 1. The work behind these changes was a strong collaboration between Rob/AE7AP the Montana Association Manager and myself. Rob deserved credit for doing most of the hard work on the data gathering and analysis.

Central Oregon wants to join the fun with their own Summit-to-Summit Party!

Little Tamarack Mountain (W7O/NE-137) makes a nice activation destination in north-central Oregon as it's located in the Umatilla NF near a Forest Service rental cabin/lookout with two other summits nearby, including Ng Knob-4820 (W7O/NE-147) and Happy Jack Ridge (W7O/NE-139).  I rented the cabin for two nights.  Activated Little Tamarack on the first day, then bagged the other two summits the next. 

The road to Peak 3220 is closed by a Simpson gate about 1/10 mile from Hwy 26.  Though foot taffic is typically allowed on Stimson property, you would have to hike over 8 miles along the gravel road to summit the peak.

VE7 is having a Summit-to-Summit Party!  Our last S2S Party, which was far too long ago, was a great success and tons of fun.

Sunday, 30th June at Noon local time – rain or shine; hopefully shine. Activators have already indicated participation from SOTA summits around the Metro Vancouver Region, up and down the Island, and the interior.