Activation Reports

Lone Pine Butte is on Yakama Nation land and it is off limits to the public for any purpose except by permit from the Yakama Tribal Council.

Simcoe Butte is on Yakama Nation land and it is off limits to the public for any purpose except by permit from the Yakama Tribal Council.

This was my second activation of Granite Mountain which is NW of McCall Idaho.  Although strenuous due to a consistently steep grade, the views from the summit are spectacular.  Granite Mountain has a twin summit.  The trail will take you to the south summit with the fire lookout tower.  This is not the SOTA summit, but is well worth a few extra steps to get the view off the south side.  After a quick visit to the fire lookout, turn back to the north and you will see the slightly higher SOTA summit a short distance away.

Made a couple of contacts. Not sure if Plummer Peak has a sota identifier. Will return to the range later in the season and likely activate other peaks such as Unicorn.

Like a 50 mile long sapphire snake, sparkling Lake Chelan dominates north central Washington State as a geological and recreational wonder.  The name Chelan is a Salish Indian word, "Tsi - Laan," meaning 'Deep Water'.   Ringed on both east and west sides by giant mountains leaping skyward steeply, the Lake Chelan Gorge is one of the deepest in the US.  With a water level of 1,100 feet, and Bonanza Peak topping out at 9,511 feet, there is ve

It makes for a very long day (about 17 miles total), but this Wildcat Mountain (WV-046) can also be reached from Huckleberry Mountain via the Plaza Ridge Trail #783 and the Douglas Trail #781. It's also quite beautiful - a stunning ridge hike in the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness. Be sure and check out this other access to Wildcat Mountain.

This pleasant summit requires a nice, moderate hike through a forested area, coming out onto a wildflower filled hillside meadow.  The summit is at the top of the meadow.  There are interpretive signs and a bench that provide a good operating position. The summit is reached after about a mile hike with about 400’ of elevation rise.  There are trees for antenna supports or a mast can be lashed to sign posts, etc.  A view back down the meadow will show the ocean, coast and parts of Florence.

Take highway 101 north out of Florence and turn on to Tenmile Creek Road. Stay on this nice road for a couple miles then  turn left onto NF -5694. This is a good, mostly paved road. After a few miles you will see a hiking sign on the left side of road. Don't turn, stay straight ahead. From here go about a quarter mile and you will see a yellow gate on the left before you make a big left turn. I parked here and hiked about 4/10 mile easily to the summit. If you go passed the trail head to the big fork in the road with FS Road 5000, turn around.

Herman Peak should be a natural follow-on activation with Cape Mountain (W7O/CC-071).  The Herman Peak Cape Rd goes to Cape Mountain, and then on over to Herman Peak.  Cape Mountain is a lovely little summit.

This summit lies on the south side of Florence.  The trail rises 350 to 400’ over about one mile.  The summit is covered with RF equipment which did not seem to cause much interference to my HF station.