I was driving back to Portland from Northern California and taking Highway 97 for the scenic beauty. There are a number of 4 and 6 point summits in the region with easy-ish access, so I thought I'd try one or two along the way. A forest service employee recommended Orr Mountain, which has great views, a nice open area at the top and an active fire lookout.
Activation Reports
Pinnacle Peak is quite a drive, at which there is no real parking, and no trail, which I suspect is why it hadn't been previously activated - that and the two points. Fun nonetheless, a sense of accomplishment, and some good views to the east.
In 2017, Eddy, the lookout attendant was surprised that we made it to the summit following Google directions.
Eddy recommends the following route:
Take US-97 south from Chemult
Turn on the second NF86
Follow NF 8608 to NF 370 (which is a good dirt road).
Eddy’s map directions from Chemult in 2017 are below.
In 2017 this was not a drive up for us. The road was blocked by downed trees. So we found a safe place to park. Map is below.
CG2000, off of Foster Creek Road has a new gate and a "road closed" sign blocking access to the Rock Creek trailhead at 45° 43.3671' N, 121° 56.0531' W. The road is freshly graded, too, so I imagine that WA DNR sold the timber on the public land or the LLC that blocked CG2020 with a gate put this one up, too.
Access to the trailhead may be available via W-2000 on the west side of TRC.
TL;DR - Posts on official Multnomah county blogs indicate that E Larch Mountain Road is closed at the ten mile gate for 2023, see: larch mountain road closed and multnomah county larch mountain, so this hike starts at the gate. Note that it requires a 1.6 mile traverse along the road before turning onto FS road 315 (which intersects with trail 441) for a 3.75 mile hike with
My second bust in the Tatoosh Range! These peaks are far enough from PDX that 2m won't reach, and despite the proximity to Seattle, there happens to be a big chuck of rock and ice in the way. I knew it would be a stretch, but was hopeful the extra time on the summit would give me a chance to round up four contacts. Nope. Advice: either bring a beam antenna, your HF rig, or coordinate with other activators and chasers to make sure you can get it done.
Steep, but Priusable route for activating Peak 2905. A one way hike of about 0.9 miles and 100 feet gain. The AZ is on Stimpson Timber land . - not accessible during weekday hours or active logging.
Near Highway 26 milepost 30, turn south onto Shields Road. (About 1.3 miles east of the Sunset Rest Area.) Travel uphill on the main track for 2.1 miles. Note that Google Maps offered several turns just before Shields Road that DO NOT lead to the TH.
I thought I would do an update and pull together the two trip reports for this summit.
http://www.pnwsota.org/blog/k9wbz/2019-april-23/w7onc-060-lone-ridge-ac…
http://www.pnwsota.org/blog/n7un/2016-september-07/lone-ridge-w7onc-060
It is 9.5 miles round trip and 1200 feet of gain from the gate to the summit.