Activation Reports

I had been eyeing this unactivated two point peak for several weeks. When we saw the weather forecast looking unusually good, the little sherpa and I made a plan to catch the summit on the weekend. A couple of days before the Saturday, she suddenly found herself torn betwingst a summit with me or hanging out with her BFF. Shortly after the sad news was delivered to me that I had come in second place in the popularity contest, Roland/K7FOP sent me an email inquiring if he could tag along. But of course he could!

This must be one of the all time easiest summits to get to.  The dirt road is graded with no gravel.  The only way to know you're not on asphalt are the occassional potholes.  The summit is very large and surrounded with trees that obscure any view of the surrounding vistas.  There is a lot of trash scattered around from clay shooting with a large fire ring indicating a party destination.  The actual summit is a small knoll to the west of the flat area where I set up both a 2m "J" pole and a random wire HF antenna.

Davis Mountain is a sizable flat top butte on the east side of the Cascade Lakes National Scenic Byway. The six point summit tops out at 6,625 feet asl. It has undergone considerable fire activity in recent years, and the top has very sparse vegetation. It is not very scenic, but the views from the hill top edges of the  surrounding valleys are nice on clear days.

The route to Gobblers Knob looked difficult on the maps. I collected paper maps and laid out several GPS tracks. I started my approach from the little town of Yamhill and within the first 10 miles had already hit my first locked gate. Then another. Then another. As the rain pelted the windshield, the thought of bailing on the adventure crossed my mind. But then the crazy-side regained control. I decided to go with intuition rather than maps. After more than an hour and a half of slowly working my way through the tangle of logging roads, I hit the final drive up to the summit.

This is an easily accessible summit in the southern end of the East Pioneer Mountains. Getting there follows the Wise River/Pioneer Mountains Scenic Byway. This truly scenic route is much like driving through Yellowstone National Park’s mountains and lodgepole pine forests, and meadows, but absent the geysers, mud pots, and bison. The mountains are closer and more rugged and cattle instead of bison are scattered in summer throughout the forest and meadows. There are many well maintained campgrounds along the route.

This ridgeline hike follows a user trampled trail to Morrell Mountain, W7M/GA-068 and then becomes mostly an open rolling ridgeline to the unnamed summit, 8004. Along the entire route are excellent views of the Seeley Lake valley and the Mission Mountains, Scapegoat and Bob Marshall Wilderness Areas.The trailhead is in a saddle just below a closed gate access to Morrell Lookout.

Trail miles: 1.0 plus off trail ridgeline hike of 2.0 miles one way. Elevation gain: ~600’ Terrain: open rock and rolling ridge. Map: Lolo National Forest, Seeley Lake Ranger District

Morrell Mountain at 8161’ is a short ridgeline hike, less than a mile, with excellent views of the Seeley Lake valley and the Mission Mountains, Scapegoat and Bob Marshall Wilderness Areas. The trailhead is in the saddle/road switchback just below a closed-gate access to Morrell Lookout which is not the SOTA summit.

Trail miles: nearly 1. Elevation gain: `500’ Map: Lolo National Forest, Seeley Lake Ranger District

1.6 miles, 2,000 ft

Beartooth WMA – Open May 15 - December 2

This is a short, but very steep climb to a seldom visited ridge in the Beartooth Wildlife Management Area.  It would be prudent to have 4wd in case if it rains, as the roads have the potential to be difficult if wet.  The summit cliffs shelter growths of Kelseya Uniflora ( a special flower that is the symbol for the Montana Native Plant Society), and Moss Campion – both of which were in bloom during our activation.

Directions (From Wolf Creek – North of Helena)

Upper Table Rock is a very pleasant 1.25 mile, 736 foot gain (one-way) hike east of Central Point, Oregon. The trail is quite popular, but you should easily find a place to activate away from the crowds on the huge summit. The trail is wide and well-maintained, but it may be challenging to find a spot to park in the lot on busy weekends - it was about 80 percent full on a nice November day.

When the plans for the weekend fell through, the sherpas jumped into action and planned something to do before telling me. Fearing that a free weekend would lead to a trudge up some hill hauling a heap of radio gear they seized on the moment to make a unified plan and then make a joint announcement. But they are compassionate souls - as they planned their day of geocaching and photography, they sought to placate the old man by finding a location with a nearby, albeit more mild, summit. And thus the great scheme was launched.