Good Views From Summit

I guess the winds must be blowing smoke from the fires in Wenatchee over the mountains.  It was a pretty hazy day, especially at lower elevations.  This one is a short hike (1.5 mi), but a steep one. The drive took me longer than expected, as did the hike, so I wound up about an hour late with the activation.  The views were stupendous, though, inspite of the haziness, and the lookout tower at the top made a perfect support for my pole.  

Pine Mountain (W7/CN-058) (2 miles RT and 500 feet) and Pine Benchmark (W7/CN-068) (~3 miles RT and 600 feet if you walk the road) are close enough that one could easily do both summits in a day. They have good views and are not far outside of Bend and if you spend the night at the summit campground you might check out the telescope at the Pine Mountain Observatory (http://pmo-sun.uoregon.edu/).

Overview: Table Rock is just south of Mollala OR.  Although it is in the Table Rock Wilderness Area, active logging occurs in the area.  Watch out for log trucks!  This is a popular hiking destination so expect to see a lot of hikers on the weekend. On a clear day, Mt Rainer to Mt Mount McLoughlin can be seen.  The east side of Table Rock has the 1000 ft cliff face seen in most pictures.

On September 1st, Taylor and I returned to the site of our first "real" SOTA activation almost a year later. Before climbing High Rock in late September 2011, my SOTA activities had been confined to one and two point locations where one had to make an effort to travel far enough from the vehicle to satisfy the spirit of the game. Until this fourth summit came along, I was able to carry way too much stuff the short distance from the vehicle to the operating location.

"Llao is the god of the underworld in the mythology of the Klamath Native American tribe. Llao fought a great battle with the sky god, Skell, which caused the eruption of Mount Mazama, creating Crater Lake."  (from Wikipedia  ).  I'm not sure of the correct pronuciation of "Llao".

Aug 21, 2012

Overview:

Spectacular views of Mt Hood to the west and eastern Oregon from this north-south ridge. On clear days, Rainier, Adams, St Helens and the Oregon Cascade peaks are also visible.

Getting There

This one was a workout.  The drive up was fairly straightforward: Exit 47 on I-90 to Tinkham Rd, then up the hill on NF-5510, until you reach the parking area and gate.  NW Forest pass required.  

Black Butte is one of those mountains that is very recognizable and easy to spot on the horizon. Not because it has any disctinctive features, but rather because it has none. It looms darkly over the desert of central oregon as a perfect cone, easily distinguished from its sharp and craggy neighbors like Mt. Jefferson, Mt.

Hillman Peak is the highest summit on the rim of Crater Lake at over 8150' ASL. This pointed peak is not an easy climb, not because of the distance (1/2 to 3/4 mi) or elevation increase (less than 600'), but because it is so steep with a loose scree surface. Poles are essential to getting the traction to get up the slope.

Barlow Ridge is a pleasant three mile or so hike (OW) east of Mount Hood with about 1000 feet gain. Although relatively close to Portland the trail is seldom used, (especially past Barlow Butte) and has a nice 'wild' character about it. In other words, the trail seldom sees maintenance. It's a leg stretcher with about 1000 feet of net gain, but quite a bit more elevation change with all the ups and downs along the ridge line. Quite a bit more.