Activation Reports

Squaw Butte in Washington is a good beginner bushwack hike. I met up with Tyler ND7Y at the Tillicum Campground and we parked our cars in a campsite near the trailhead. Tyler had found word of an old cattrack that leaves the Squaw Butte trail and heads to the summit. Overall this is an easy hike. The bushwack is manageable and the distance/elevation is reasonable. The trail to the cattrack is in good condition. Find the GPX track HERE. 

Update:  The upper trail, House of Sky is now closed December 1 through May 15 to all recreation use to protect habitat for approximately 200 wintering elk. Always consult City of Missoula website for updates.   

Unless you're in extremely good shape (or just crazy) Sentinel Peak should be done as a backpack trip. The best way to activate is to hike to Aneroid Lake along the E Fork Wallowa Lake Trail (1804) starting at the Wallowa Lake TH. 

To get to the Wallowa Lake TH drive to Joseph, OR and continue South on hwy 351/Powerhouse Rd. Once near the southern end of the lake take a left to stay on Powerhouse Road and follow it to the end. Parking is free and you do not need a NW Forest Pass for this TH. 

In addition to the two routes to Huckleberry Mountain K7ATN describes, there is a third trail up, the Bonanza Trail. I chose this option for three reasons: I was intrigued by the fact that there was a mine shaft off the trail, it looked like it was a bit shorter than the Boulder Ridge Trail route and I thought that there would be fewer hikers taking this route on this busy Labor Day weekend Sunday.

Here is information about the hike that I used:

I have already written a long blog on Wagner but thought I would do a separate update as I finally took the trail for most of the trip. Keep in mind that what all us locals know as the trailhead is not on most maps, they have it down the road. There is a large parking area opposite the TH that is not on many maps 42.11449, -122.80047 is where you want to be. From here it will be about 9 miles RT with about 2600' gain, according to my trackers. I took a few paths off trail so there is a little estimation. The trail is nice.

Just a short note about driving up to Lookout Mountain outside of Carson WA, summit ID W7W/LC-066.   I went up with my VW Tiguan which is AWD and has a little ground clearance and it didnt have any trouble in that regard.  However, I would strongly advise NOT going up to this summit with passenger car highway tires.  I have heavier duty tires on my Tiguan because I am frequently off the pavement.  There are lots of sharp looking rocks in areas of the last several miles of this trip.  Probably the last 3 or 4 miles is very narrow and few if any good places to tu

I think there are 2 ways to get to Arbuckle Mountain. But I only did this one. I don’t recommend this route unless you are a 4x4 enthusiast or maybe by mountain bike.

From Willow Creek Road out of Heppner which turns into NF-53 then turn onto NF-170 (45.16615, -119.23569). This quickly turns into high clearance and eventually into 4wd road. However, it is only 3 miles to the top. I would not recommend this road if it is not dry. There are several turns required, but I did not document them as I took several wrong ones.

Well, at least it’s not another Black Butte. It is also a nice road walk of 5 or 6 miles RT. The distance depends on whether you start at the turn off of the good gravel road or whether you bounce your way up ~0.3 miles to the gate. Elevation gain is 1000 or 800 ft respectively.

Access is via Willow Creek Road out of Heppner and then a left turn onto county road 798, also called NF-5326, aka Shaw Grade Road. This is a gravel super highway, so any car. The next turn is on NF-030. This requires high clearance and recommends AWD. But after 0.3 miles it is time to walk anyway.

If you find yourself on US-26 at Dixie Summit (the pass), just east of Prairie City, you could activate Dixie Butte, http://www.pnwsota.org/blog/k7atn/2018-november-25/dixie-butte-or-june-2017, with your high clearance vehicle, or you could park your Prius and bushwhack 1.5 miles RT and 550 ft. of elevation gain to 5784.

This was my first time up Barlow Ridge in the summer. Park at the Barlow Pass Sno-Park with a NW Forest Pass. The trail is well-marked, albeit the signs are up high due to this area's popularity during the winter. I encountered quite a few large blow down trees at the start of the hike, so be prepared for some significant tree scrambling.