Decent tree cover for most of the trail
Sheridan Peak is on the east side of the coast range, about 23 miles from Carlton, Oregon. Carlton itself is quite out of the way, being about 12 miles east of Newberg. But it's a nice short hike of about half a mile through some nice second growth woods, and the road is paved the whole way! (I.e.: if your GPS takes you to gravel, it's not the right way...)
Home is Tacoma, WA, but since I acquired lightweight QRP gear a couple of years ago, I’ve been tempted to take it with me when I travel. I finally did so, on a trip to visit family in New England.
This second day of the NA SOTA Weekend dawned wet and misty, but with the promise (unfulfilled, as it turned out) of clearing at some point, and it wasn't really raining. So Joe K7ZG drove us to Green Mountain, where we intended to find the road that allows a drive-up to a parking area somewhat below the summit. I thought this road was north of the Gold Creek Trail trailhead parking area, but I wasn't sure how far or how it would be marked. We turned around before we got to it (as we learned later, see below), and decided to just do the entire hike.
I was negligent in posting my Mount Catherine activation here but wanted to get it up for all to enjoy and use. We had a great early start on our way across Washington state on the 24th of August and had a great hike up this summit. This is a highly recommended SOTA for anyone heading through the Snoqualmie Pass area.
Here is a link to the full blog with more pics and information:
A clear, sunny and warm day; beautiful fall colors of yellow, gold, red and purple; a successful activation; and the company of my wife, Sharon and Dexter the SOTA Dog - all made for a very pleasant outing. Summit Chief Mountain is a 6 point SOTA Summit in Chelan County, above the Stevens Pass Ski Resort area. It is accessed via highway entirely, being located at Stevens Pass, on SR 2.
We spent the weekend climbing and camping at the nearby Spring Mountain climbing area. This is a great climbing area with nearby camping. Just a short distance away is Sugarloaf Mountain. It looked much forested and the road/trail access was questionable, but a previous activation said it was doable.
Pente Pyrgoi (Five Towers) is a great hike near Katerini, Greece of about 11km round trip and 600m elevation gain.
Inspired by WW7D's recent Activation of Humpback Mountain, I decided the relatively short drive to the Humpback Mountain trailhead was perfect. From my home in Bothell, Exit 47 on I-90 takes me about 45 minutes to reach. I've hiked numerous peaks in the Snoqualmie Pass area, but had never hiked Humpback. Access to the trailhead was as described in WTA's hiking guide.
A four (4) point SOTA Summit, close in to Seattle Metro area. This makes a great first Activation objective. A quick return trip outing, just before the weather turned bad. We still ended the Activation early, as it started raining. Accompanied by my wife Sharon and our Labrador Retriever Dexter the SOTA Dog.
