Good Parking At Trailhead

Here is a link to my blog from Ch-Paa-Qn Peak. This is a great summit with great views and faily easy access. Thanks to all the Chasers and Activators.

http://kf7pxt.blogspot.com/2013/08/ch-paa-qn-peak-sota-activation-4-august.html

Matt

KF7PXT

This is my Blog from my Activation of Blue Mountain W7M/LM-121 on 8/3/2012. Thanks to all the Chasers and Activators that I worked and were patient with me.

This quick activation had 12 contacts with 3 of them being Summit to Summit with WA7JTM, NS7P, and N0PCL.

Thanks again.

Blog: http://kf7pxt.blogspot.com/2013/08/blue-mountain-sota-activation.html

I have included the link to my blog for University Mountain. The kids and I worked to avoid the rain and finally got this summit in and did not end up soaked. Thanks to all the chasers that make this hobby so enjoyable. Both of my kids are studying for their tech and may be able to start activating summits on 2m here soon!

http://kf7pxt.blogspot.com/2013/08/university-mountain-sota-activation.html

Thanks again,

Matt, Peyton, and Lily

KF7PXT

This was a wonderful day for an activation of Scott Mountain.  The trailhead is reached by taking the turnoff for Scott Lake Campground off of OR242 a few miles west of the Dee Wright Observatory. Follow the gravel road past all the campsites to the quarry at the end of the road.  There are two trails that start from there.  Take the Benson Trail 3402 to go most directly to Scott Mountain.

First Activation of Norse Peak, Pierce / King County Line, Washington. 

Beautiful hike on sunny but cool day with my wife, Sharon and Dexter the dog.  Enough breeze / wind to keep us cool and the bugs away.  This is a trail hike up to summit of Norse Peak, 6,858 feet elevation.  Trail is about 10.6 miles round trip, with 2,800 feet +/- elevation gain. 

The views are amazing!: Mount Rainier; Mount Adams; Mount Stuart & Enchantments; Central Cascade peaks all around, including Crystal Mountain Ski Resort.  

Completed my second SOTA activation on Black Crater on July 23, 2013. Black Creater trailhead is located just east of McKenzie Pass on OR 242.  The trailhead is well marked.  Parking and the trail are both very good.  Trail to the top is about four miles with about 3000ft elevation gain. Trail starts in dense forest and the forrest thins out as you go higher.  There were lots of bugs at the parking lot but once on the trail, they were not a problem.

Great outing on sunny and warm day (80F at 2:00 PM).  With Loren Chotzen, Dexter the Labrador and Max the Husky.

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.

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