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The pnwSOTA website was created to facilitate communication between SOTA operators in the Pacific Northwest region, as well as show off some of the activities of the top-notch folks we have in the area. On this site you will find information about getting started in SOTA as well as details about summits and activations contributed by people that are operating here.
Divide Butte is a 2 point drive-up summit located in the Mouth Hood National Forest. It takes about 2 hours from Portland but can be combined with South Fork Mountain (W7O/WV-030). It is South of Estacada and SE of Molalla. The summit (and nearly entire area) is a burn scar. Expect downed trees early season or after a storm and bring a saw or chainsaw.
Pluto Peak is located in the Olympic National Forest and is accessed via a decommissioned forest road. The RT hike is 4 miles with 850 ft elevation gain. Access is at Dosewallips Road (47.69872, -122.89640) off of Hwy 101. Distance from Hwy 101 turn to parking is 9.8 miles. I did not have any cell coverage at the summit (ATT) but there is a robust APRS infrastructure in place in these mountains and I had full two-way APRS messaging for spotting.
TL;DR - Activation Details
Summit: Black Mountain, W7W/WH-172
Operator: N7JTT
Distance: 14.21 miles
Ascent: 4,087 feet
Moving time: 5:06:18
Average moving speed: 2.8 mph
QSOs: 8
Activation time: 17 minutes, 17 seconds
Radio: Elecraft KX2
Power: 5 watts QRP
Antenna: AX1 with 13-foot counterpoise
Cell coverage: Usable T-Mobile service at the summit