Good Views From Summit

This was literally my first activation.  I've been thinking about SOTA on and off for 7+ years now.  Ray & Max posted a trip that they took to this same summit maybe 6 years ago, but I took a different route.  Looking at the maps, and reading the rules, the route they took is along the OHV roads which are closed to vehicle traffic.  The entirety of Horse Ridge is closed to motorized vehicle travel.  Instead, I parked along the south edge of the Horse Ridge area along Ford road, along a spot where I could easily pull off and not be in the road itself.

3620 is a fairly easy summit to reach and activate when visiting the Camp Sherman-Upper Metolius River Area.  Access involves a half-mile hike up from Forest Route 1270 with about 300ft elevation gain.  The downside to this summit is the area was burned badly from past wildfires and the hike requires a bushwhack up an abandoned fire road. 

The summit is somewhat flat with a wide activation zone, but very brushy.  There are some live trees to hang a wire, but a support mast is recommended.  I had good Verizon service and was able to self spot.

The hike up Mount Teneriffe is not an easy one - in my opinion, it's the most strenuous summit one can find for 4 points. There are 2 main routes to the summit; the new trail / road walk, which is about 13+ miles round trip, or, the more direct route; Kamikaze Falls then up Serendepity Ridge.  I've done both routes multiple times - I prefer the much shorter Kamikaze Falls / Serendepity Ridge as it's only about 7.5 miles round trip. As this route is about half the length of the new trail / road walk, it's obviously steeper - really steep!

Tibbetts Mountain near the small town of Pashastin in Central Washington is one of my favorite early season SOTA destinations. Great views from the summit of the Enchantments and Stuart Ranges.

There are 3 ways to reach the summit; hike the trail (about 3 miles each way), hike the road (about 4 miles each way) or drive the rough narrow forest service road to within a half mile of the summit, then hike the last 1/2 mile with a few hundred feet of elevation gain. Google maps directions will take you to the summit, or within the last 1/2 mile of the summit. 

Table Mountain is an easy, near drive to, summit with one of the best views in my opinion. You are looking down at Howard Prairie and Hyatt lake, with a fabulous view Mt. Mcloughlin on your left and Mt. Shasta on your right. Since this is near my home area it is a great place for us to look at all the summits we have done and want to do. See what still has snow, what is open.

Adrian, Patrick and I headed up for some backpacking/activating on Friday. We drove to South Breitenbush Trailhead with the intent of camping 2 miles in then attempting a first activation of Dinah-Mo Peak and heading back down the next day. Well, with what I thought was an hour of slack time, we encountered first some downed trees on NF46 (Clackamas River Hwy - Breitenbush River Road) and then were stopped by downed trees a mile and a half from the trailhead. No big deal, we have a little time, right?

Here's one of Oregon's most approachable ten-point summits. We took the southern approach, although many recommend the scenery on the longer approach from the north.  It's about 3.5 miles one-way - a well-graded path with about 1300 feet gain.  From Highway 395 just south of Seneca, Oregon take the Logan Valley Road (NF-16) about 12.2 miles to veer north onto NF-1640. You'll go about 10.2 miles to the trailhead at the sharp bend in the road.

Sardine Mountain is a short and steep trail of only about a third of a mile, but gaining about 500 feet. This is essentially a social trail that heads straight up the ridge that will disappear into the shrub in places. There are skittery rocks near the top requiring some focus to find a suitable path upwards. From the Willamette Valley, take Highway 22 east until just before the Breitenbush River bridge takes you into Detroit. You'll turn left here onto French Creek Road and go about 4.1 miles until the pavement ends and keep left onto Road 2223.

This is a fun activation with an manned fire lookout (active during summer only of course) a few miles north of Crater Lake National Park. If the lookout is occupied and the gate is open, it would be a drive-up. If the gate is locked, it's a mere 1.7 miles of road walking OW and 900 feet gain. Along Highway 138 and about 11 miles north of Highway  209 that enters Crater Lake National Park, find Cinnamon Butte LO Road (FS 4793). After about 1.7 miles you'll turn left to the gate - here the road turns a bit rough but it has been driven in a carefully piloted passenger car.

In the extreme NE corner of Oregon, there's this lovely near drive-up summit with a great view down to the Snake River and Hells Canyon. There's a fire lookout tower that you can climb partway up, but it's perhaps not the best place to activate. Instead, head down the short trail to the benches and picnic tables that have a view east down into the canyon - it's fantastic.