Hugh, AE7JT, will be using 2m FM only for his climb of Mt. Rainier on Saturday, 4-Aug. I encourage all in the Puget Sound area to point your antenna his direction and encourage him to call for SOTA chasers and activators during his few minutes on the summit.
His sotawatch.org alert calls for 146.52-fm with possible variation in summit time.
Of the 4,555 SOTA peaks in Oregon and Washington, 196 have been activated (4%).
This is the most ambitious of the three Tiger Mountain State Forest SOTA summits. It appears to be about six miles (one way) from the Tiger Summit Trailhead parking area and 1600 feet of gain. Using the upper parking lot probably would only save you a few feet of elevation gain and isn’t much shorter. If you use the upper parking lot head east on the Connector Trail and then left up the road. Remember that a Washington Discover Pass is required at the trailhead and that there is an unattractive outhouse at the upper parking lot.
On our way into the Gifford Pinchot National Forest heading to Lookout Mountain that morning, we noticed that we passed Trout Creek Hill on the right, with what seemed like open roads heading in the general direction. Taylor made note of the route we'd need to take on the topo maps, assuming all the roads were actually open. We figured that we might at least drive up towards this one after we finished at Lookout Mountain, even if only to survey the potential. As it turned out, this became our third and final summit of our whirlwind ten-point day.
A few weeks ago I had a minor toe procedure that left me out of commission and unable to hike. To slowly get back in the swing of things, KK7DS and I planned to summit Lookout Mountain (W7/LC-066) after a tip from N7AAM. This particular summit is mostly accessible by car and requires minimal hiking. As we drove along FR 43 to Lookout Mountain, I saw "D-Layer" mountain come into view on the topo map.
For Taylor's first post-surgery activation, we were looking for a summit we could nearly drive to in order to minimize the required walking. The morning of the trip was the first time she had donned her boots since the procedure, so we weren't sure how much walking she'd be up for. We had originally planned a 2-point summit in the coast range because we knew we could get within a few hundred feet in the Jeep. However, a late tip from N7AAM on Friday had us rolling towards Lookout Mountain on the Washington side of the gorge.
These are detailed maps I created for getting to Lookout Mountain, WA. The regular maps and instructions were not in agreement and we ended up driving on roads that weren't exactly marked or described. These should help others get to the spot without as much guess-work.
A short hike to Mount Defiance in Oregon is from Wahtum Lake Road and is about 3.6 miles roundtrip with 1140 ft gain. From Dee near Hood River, it's about a 10-mile drive on FR 2820 to the Upper Mount Defiance trailhead.
South Tiger Mountain is the easiest of a trio of peaks in the Tiger Mountain State Forest near Issaquah, Washington.
(Note of August 2018 - temporary closure of South Tiger Traverse - access from the north is still possible.)
I-90 Exit 25 for Highway 18 is the easiest way to reach the trailhead parking area. I've used the upper parking lot for two activations here - note that a Washington State Discovery Pass is required. There is an unattractive toilet at the upper parking lot.
Not activated. I spoke to the FS ranger for that area, and he told me that there are no trails to the summit; and that it would be a hard, steep bushwhack to the top. Furthermore, a road that heads around the side of the mountain is pretty rough for a car. On 7/11/12 we looked the mountain over in person and decided that for now we will take the ranger's advice and skip it.