Good Parking At Trailhead

As part of our annual summer trips Paula, N6VGW and myself (WA6ARA) try to go different routes and have fun along the way. As part of our 2014 excursion we stopped by Crater Lake in Oregon for a few days. While there we did a a couple of Summits On The Air, or SOTAs. These were Wizard Island and Mt Scott. While Mt Scott has been activated often, Wizard Island had never been activated. Wizard Island, is in the middle of Crater Lake so you can’t walk there, it is a boat trip and reservations are usually needed. So Paula and I paid the boat fee and headed off to Wizard Island.

Silver Star is a classic hike in SW Washington that should be on everyone's list to do at least once. There are two approaches to this summit - from the north via Battle Ground, WA, described here:  https://www.oregonhikers.org/field_guide/Silver_Star_Mountain_Trailhead, and also from the south via Washougal, WA, described in this trip report.

Little Cowhorn Mountain is a summit north of Oakridge, OR that has an inactive lookout cabin perched on rock columns. This 4236’, two point summit offers great views of the Sisters and other Cascade mountains. It is an easy hike of a mile or so with about 850’ of elevation rise.

Bull of the Woods is a pleasant and popular hike south of Estacada of about 6.5 miles and 1300 feet of gain. There's an unused (but locked) fire lookout at the summit, giving you a chance to be out of the sun (or rain) to activate by standing under the structure.    

The summit has great views and has LOS into much of the Willamette Valley. The hike is well described in these sources:

Here's a near drive-up south of Estacada with a hike as short as a quarter mile and 200 feet of gain. Or, you can park sooner along the access road and have a bit more of a walk if you prefer. Along with Oak Grove Butte you might consider a double activation of W7O/CN-021 - Mount Lowe or W7O/WV-009 - Bull of the Woods.

UPDATE 2021 - Mount Lowe may have been damaged in the September 2020 fires. Check for access.

Naomi Peak is a great hike along a well-marked trail from the Tony Grove Lake area.  Tony Grove is a popular site seeing destination 28 miles NE of Logan Utah.  The summit has views in all direction and is highly recommended as a day hike or a SOTA adventure.

Upper and Lower Table Rocks dominate the skyline north of Medford Oregon, just off Interstate 5.  Upper Table Rock, located in Central Point, Oregon offers great views in many directions, and has an easy, well-maintained trail, used by more than 10,000 people each year.  From the trailhead, it's a 30-45 minute walk to the summit, which is large and flat. There's no infrastructure on the mesa, but it is very large and offers both open spaces and some trees usable for supporting wire antennas.

(3.6 miles, +2,400 ft, -300 ft, 7.4 mile approach)

0.7 miles, +750 feet, 5.2 mile approach

Rock Island Butte is in the southern portion of the Absoraka-Beartooth Wilderness.  We climbed it from the Chief Joseph Trailhead as part of an extended backpacking trip, but it is also reasonable to climb it as a day-hike.  If camping overnight, there is an excellent isolated campsite on the south side of Widewater Lake near where the trail dips closest to the lake.  There are also numerous campsites in the Widewater-Big Moose area.