I decided to activate this one after looking at it for a long time. This peak is somewhat out of the way on timber company land. Roads are normally open except during fire season. After activating, I decided I wanted to name this peak after a ham that recently became a silent key. Bob Boswell, W7LOU, was an inspriation to new and old hams. He was an elmer to many inculding myself. He also was the founder of the R.O.A.D's group(Radio Operators Association of Dallas) in Dallas , Or. He will be missed by many.

Red Hills of Dundee HP is a summit on private property with all of the Activation Zone apparently also on private property. Activators may rather choose an easier summit.

W7M/CL-023 may be climbed easily climbed from the Scapegoat Plateau.  The approach is 17 to 21 miles – depending upon which route one chooses to access the plateau.  The southeast ridge of the mountain is a good approach and offers great views of the plateau.  The Plateau is prime grizzly bear habitat – so be “Bear Aware”!

Walk up the relatively gentle northwest ridge from the Scapegoat Plateau to attain the summit.   The approach is 17 to 21 miles – depending upon the route that one chooses to access the plateau.  The summit ridge has an interesting and fragile rock outcropping that is decaying to become talus.  The summit offers incredible views of the surrounding mountains and the magnificent Scapegoat Plateau.  The Plateau is prime grizzly bear habitat and the grassy meadows at the base of this summit are a favorite foraging area – so be “Bear Aware”!

Flint Mountain may be easily climbed up its southeast sloping ramp from the Scapegoat Plateau. The approach is 17 to 21 miles – depending upon which route one chooses to access the plateau. The cliff band that guards the eastern side of the mountain slopes downwards to the left (south) and can easily be topped towards the left. After topping the cliff band, walk along the bench northwards until you reach a trail (visible in photo) that ascends the steep side-slope towards the summit ramp. Follow the grassy ramp to the summit.

Githens Mountain in the Clackamas River drainage is a short, one mile hike and only about 500 feet of gain. It can be activated along with nearby Tumala (Squaw) Mountain from the same trailhead. Finding the summit may require a GPS, as it's not on the trail and isn't particularly distinct.

The trailhead for this summit is off of paved Forest Road 4614 near 45.2460, -122.0508. These directions will get you to the trailhead:

Tumala (or Squaw) Mountain in the Clackamas River drainage is a nice walk through the woods of about 2.5 miles RT and about 800 feet of net gain. It can be done in conjunction with Githens Mountain from the same trailhead - Old Baldy Trail #502.

This was first dip into the SOTA adventure, and it was big fun! Although this is a super easy almost urban summit it was a good way to start and see how things worked. I used my new KX2 and Alexloop and everything worked great considering propogation. In about 2 hours I worked 24 Q's;14 states and ZL! Not bad for 5W to the loop.I did miss one station calling me on SSB-a cross mode contact if I could've figured out how to undo the 'LSB' mode; somehow the KX2 was set that way on 20 when obviously it should've been set at USB. I did figure it out at home later..sorry to whoever was calling.

2.2 miles, 2,100 feet

Once you find Sharps Creek Road, you can follow it to the trail head with ease. You should not try the road to the trail head unless you have a 4x4 as rocks and ground clearance will give you trouble. During the summer, the look out is manned only from around noon to 4:00 pm. This is when the gate will be unlocked at the trail head. Otherwise, it is a very nice trail (1.1 mile dirt road ) to the summit. At the top I had ZERO cell coverage!  (AT&T) No way to spot myself! So I called CQ on the usual 20m SOTA freqs with no respnse.