In conjunction with the Colorado 14er Event on Aug 4th (see http://www.14er.org/ for more info), the SOTA Rocky Mountain Rendezvous the first week of August, and the ARRL UHF Contest weekend, the W7 Associations are encouraging local Activators to participate from their favorite W7 summit the weekend of Aug 3-4th!
Unicorn Peak was a short easy climb compared to the Little T attempt the day before. It's about a 6 mile round trip with 2500 ft of elevation gain. We were on snow most of the way.
Little Tahoma is a 11,138 ft summit on the east flank of Mt. Rainier. The route requires crossing the Frying Pan and Whitman glaciers.
Rattlesnake Mtn is part of King County's "Big Backyard" series of hikes. There is a trail head at the northwest end of the mountain at Snoqualmie Point and at the southeast end at Rattlesnake Lake. Walking from TH to TH is about 11 miles. We took the RS Lake route which is 4.3 miles and gains ~2500 ft to the summit.
After chasing a few stations the past few weeks, I decided to hike Pinnacle Peak (aka Mt. Pete) in Enumclaw to activate my first SOTA summit.
I neglected to send out an alert, but people found me anyway. I've climbed this little peak a few times. My plan was simple: take my Yaesu VX-7R, an extra battery (not needed), and a twin lead 2m antenna, and call CQ on 146.52.
Tuesday last week, with the help, support, and expertise of friends and an experienced mountaineering guide, I summited Mount Hood for my first time, and activated Mount Hood for its first time in SOTA. The climb began under a crystal clear starry sky around 00:37 on Tuesday, 11 June 2013, heading up the snowcat-groomed climber’s trail from Wy'East Day Lodge at Timberline Lodge. At midnight, I had met my guide, Rodney Sofich, at the Climber's Register just inside the day lodge to discuss what I was about to undertake.
Goat Mtn is located southeast of Molalla. It is a radio comm site with numerous VHF antennas (+ other transmitters) on one tower at the summit.
Iron Mountain is located east of Sweethome and is a very popular hike so expect a number of other hikers, especially on a weekend.
Wolf Mtn is located southeast of Oakridge. It is a radio comm site with numerous VHF antennas (+ other transmitters) on one tower to the west. The other east tower is an ATT celltower (good coverage!). The access roads are good and 2wd passable with some careful driving especially on FS2316 which is narrow in places.
A beautiful Fire Lookout on Huckleberry Mtn with great vistas of the Three Sisters. Pack a picnic lunch and enjoy before the lookout becomes active for the summer.
Getting There