I was skunked today on my activation attempt for Round Top, due to fire risk closure. Here's a quick note to myself and other future activators concerning this.
Although Stimson maintains fairly open (hiking) public access rules for their property, they do close access entirely during Industrial Fire Protection Level (IFPL) II or higher. If you are activating in a Stimson propery area during the summer months, check the website ahead of time.
Stimpson western (Oregon) public access rules:
John, Ralph and myself (Eric) made the trek to the summit of St Marks. The hike is very popular with 200+ on the trail on a nice week-end. The first half of the trail is well groomed and easy walking. The trail improvement stops about half way and from there on the trail is easy to follow but it is very root infested and so one needs to be constantly watching where one steps.
Signal Butte has been on my watch list for over a year and I was finally able to summit and activate it today. This peak had never been activated. Thanks to Nick KI7PTT for humoring me and coming along.
Approxamatly 1 1/2 hours out of Boise. Reasonably passable roads. (all wheel drive Volvo XC-90).
BC-074 is first on the ridge line and has a nice open summit. Good views down into Pionneerville to the North and Horse Shoe bend to the South. Walk up to the summit is about a 1/3 of a mile and not to bad. I used a large pine tree to hang my antenna from but there is also a pole on the summit; however it does not have a halyard.
After a major delay in starting a planned morning activation, I started looking at more local peaks – mostly just to get outside and talk on the radio. Since there was no pressure and no one knew that I was going out, I thought it would be a good chance to go explore an unactivated summit.
North Coast Peak 2748 was selected as the target and after a little bit of research, I headed off west into the Tillamook State Forest unsure what I would really find.
Directions: Take Sunset Falls Road east of Battleground to Sunset Campground. Turn right and cross the East Fork Lewis River on FS Road 41. Stay on FS 41 for approximately 9 miles to a large parking area atop McKinley Ridge. This is NOT the summit.
Sections of the gravel road beyond Sunset Campground have large and deep pot holes and a few graded drain dips. Cars with low-clearance may not be suitable for this drive.
W7O/NC-113 (“good ‘ol 1783” as they say) is a small coastal peak in USFS Siuslaw Forest land. From Hwy 101 take the turnout at (45.065829, -123.948579) — Google calls it “Cascade Head Trail - North Trailhead” as it’s the road that leads to the trailhead. This is forest road NF-1861 and is nicely graveled and easy to drive with a passenger vehicle.
Note: this road is closed by the USFS from Jan 1st to July 15th, effectively making this summit inaccessible during that time.
Poor McDonald, like Rodney Dangerfield, it gets no respect. And honestly, that’s not fair. Sitting in line with the heralded Mt. Ashland (W7O/CS-019), McDonald is easy to access, has a great operating position, and spectacular views of the Siskiyous in all directions. If you are activating Mt. Ashland, you absolutely must make it a double if the roads are open and clear.
If you’re feeling like activating a peak that is obfuscated by a maze of logging road both old and brand new, has no view, lots of poison oak, and is surrounded by a ring of taller mountains that hamper VHF and cell communications, have we got a deal for you. This is the perfect summit for that obsessive peak bagger that’s trying to up their unique percentage.
UPDATE March 2023: W7O/WV-069 has been retired.
Blowout Benchmark is a short hike and cross-country summit near Detroit, Oregon. There are no views but you get to enjoy the quiet of a second-growth forest.