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Nason Ridge West

Submitted by N7KRN on
Summit

This peak is 68.5 miles east of Interstate 5 along State Route 2. Go over Stevens Pass and very soon after the highway divides, turn left on Smithbrook Road #6700. Travel in, over and around the potholes for about 3.7 miles to a wide left-hand curve at about 4600' in a saddle of the Nason Ridge. Park along the road or on a nearby spur road and you'll find the trail for access on the east side signed as Nason Ridge Trail #1583. No permits required here.

Jove Peak Activation - Sept 16 2014

Submitted by N7KRN on
Summit

 This could be the second of two 6-point peaks in the same day when you combine this with an activation of Union Peak (SN-082) - you'll want to cross Union on the way to Jove anyway! These peaks are located in the Mt Baker – Snoqualmie National Forest just east of Steven’s Pass off of Hwy 2. Access is via a Forest Service Road #6700 (Smithbrook) which is rough, but ok for passenger vehicles. Parking is off of a spur road, so a NW Forest Pass isn’t needed here.

Union Peak Activation - Sept 16 2014

Submitted by N7KRN on
Summit

This could be the first of two 6-point peak activations in the same day - just combine this with Jove Peak (SN-058) which is just a bit further up the same trail. These peaks are located in the Mt Baker - Snoqualmie National Forest just east of Steven’s Pass on. Access is via a Forest Service Road #6700 (Smithbrook) iwhich is rough, but ok for passenger vehicles. Parking is off of a spur road, so a NW Forest Pass isn’t needed here.

Disk Failure on Server

Submitted by NH6Z on

The hard drive on the server that runs pnwsota.org failed sometime on Wednesday. I replaced out the physical hard drive in the machine and Dan Smith spent many difficult hours restoring the data to the machine. Things should be good for a while, but more of the drives in these machines have been failing. Sometime in the near future we may announce a "remodelling" where we'll push this to another better box. Thanks in the mean time to Dan Smith for his hard work on all aspects of the site. I just provide resources; Dan is the one that does all the hard work.

Surprise Mtn Activation - Sept 2, 2014

Submitted by N7KRN on
Summit

Surprise Mountain is right off of Section J of the Pacific Crest Trail #2000 in Washington. We were hiking south from the Steven’s Pass trailhead and camped at Deception Lakes - about 17.5 miles from the trailhead. From that point, it is only 1.3 miles and a 1300’ gain up the Surprise Mountain Trail #1063 to the summit. Following the horse camp signs along a very well maintained trail got me on the right path.

First solo activation, on Pinnacle Peak, King County, WA

Submitted by WB4SPB on
Summit

Pinnacle Peak is a popular spot for beginning activators in this area:  it's very accessible, and there are both northen and southern trail routes. My YF and I used the Cal Magnusson trail on the North Side.  It is a popular spot for hikers (often with dogs) and runners -- steep but only about a mile to the summit.  One runner told us she'd made the ascent in 32 minutes.  We took more like 50 minutes.

Browder Ridge Activation, August 2, 2014

Submitted by ND7PA on
Summit

Browder Ridge is one of those hikes that you really don't want to tell anybody about. Its well known for its wildflowers and mentioned as an alternate to crowd-packed Iron Mountain/Cone Peak. Unlike the more popular Iron Mountain loop, Browder Ridge stays in bloom far into summer. It has a number of great views and dramatic old growth fir/hemlock/cedar forests. I was there in early August and there were an amazing number of flowers and blooming things.

First SOTA Activation: Jester Mountain, Kittitas / Chelan Counties (on dividing line), Washington - September 3, 2014

Submitted by K7MAS on
Summit

No Joke on Jester Mountain, but Mr. Murphy (as in Murphy's Law) showed up. Fall is nearly in the air.  The flowers are long gone, replaced by late season berries and mushrooms.  Air temperature when leaving the car at 9:00 AM was 44 degrees F.  Crossing Snoqualmie Pass, the weather was rainly, foggy & windy.  It did not look promising, but the anticipated East Slope of Cascades Rain Shadow was in effect, and we had a glorious day in the Wenatchee mountains.