Activation Reports

This was a fun activation of Mt. Hood. I decided to splurge on weight and bring the FT-817 and Buddipole (no coils) for 6m and 2m SSB. Once I got the antenna up, I found a number of chasers waiting on 50.125, so I'm glad I brought equipment for 6m. The mast was supported by shoving it into the hard snow on the summit.

It was a beautiful day, all the way around.  Kelly Butte is a great hike, a bit steep and exposed on the beginning switchbacks, but with wildflowers this time of year, and open views from the fire lookout.

Rainier filled the view to the south, and Seattle was visible through the foothills.  Mt. Stuart, Glacier Peak and the "backside" of the southern Snoqualmie pass summits made a nice panorama.

Unicorn Peak was a short easy climb compared to the Little T attempt the day before. It's about a 6 mile round trip with 2500 ft of elevation gain. We were on snow most of the way. The snow conditions
varied significantly. Some places were soft and we post-holed to the rocks below. A steep shady section required the use of crampons. I suspect this is the last weekend this year for a snow ascent of
Unicorn. Once the snow melts, a boulder field route is available but this is not recommended.

Little Tahoma is a 11,138 ft summit on the east flank of Mt. Rainier. The route requires crossing the Frying Pan and Whitman glaciers. From the trailhead it is about 7400 ft of elevation gain and often done as
an overnight trip. We wanted some exercise so we decided to do it in a day.

We set a moderate pace and made good time up to the Frying Pan glacier. The snow was still hard enough that we only sank a few inches. There were some small crevasses starting to open up. One in

Rattlesnake Mtn is part of King County's "Big Backyard" series of  hikes.  There is a trail head at the northwest end of the mountain at Snoqualmie Point and at the southeast end at Rattlesnake Lake.  Walking from TH to TH is about 11 miles.  We took the RS Lake route which is 4.3 miles and gains ~2500 ft to the summit.

After chasing a few stations the past few weeks, I decided to hike Pinnacle Peak (aka Mt. Pete) in Enumclaw to activate my first SOTA summit.

I neglected to send out an alert, but people found me anyway.  I've climbed this little peak a few times.  My plan was simple:  take my Yaesu VX-7R, an extra battery (not needed), and a twin lead 2m antenna, and call CQ on 146.52.

Tuesday last week, with the help, support, and expertise of friends and an experienced mountaineering guide, I summited Mount Hood for my first time, and activated Mount Hood for its first time in SOTA. The climb began under a crystal clear starry sky around 00:37 on Tuesday, 11 June 2013, heading up the snowcat-groomed climber’s trail from Wy'East Day Lodge at Timberline Lodge. At midnight, I had met my guide, Rodney Sofich, at the Climber's Register just inside the day lodge to discuss what I was about to undertake.

Goat Mtn is located southeast of Molalla. It is a radio comm site with numerous VHF antennas (+ other transmitters) on one tower at the summit. This site is home to the W7OTV Repeater (146.96 Tn=127.5 Hz) and is a Verizon cellsite.  The access roads are good and 2wd passable with some careful driving up to intersection with NF-45 and NF4510-021.  Then the road becomes “gnarly” and a high-clearance 4wd is best.                                  

Getting There

Iron Mountain is located east of Sweet Home, Oregon and is a very popular hike so expect a number of other hikers, especially on a weekend. TH parking may be challenging when it's busy.

There is a new, large observation platform built where the old firetowers used to be. This summit is quite exposed if the wind is blowing.  The vistas are superb with precipitous dropoffs to the south and east. The trail is 2.4 miles RT and 700 feet gain.                            

Wolf Mtn is located southeast of Oakridge. It is a radio comm site with numerous VHF antennas (+ other transmitters) on one tower to the west.  The other east tower is an ATT celltower (good coverage!). The access roads are good and 2wd passable with some careful driving especially on FS2316 which is narrow in places.                                  

Getting There