This was my second summit for the day of the Central Oregon S2S party.
I had spent the night at the Pine Mountain Observatory Campgrounds which is FCFS so get there early. If it's full, there are dispersed locations but it's hard to find one in the pitch black dark. The observatory requires no headlights (only running lights) at the top so take that into account.
This was my 3rd summit while over in Bend area for Central Oregon S2S party.
I had activated Pine Benchmark and Pine Mountain earlier in the day and I drove from there. I took NF-2017 from the Observatory down to the valley. However, that road is in very poor shape and high clearance is needed if you go that way. (If starting at the Observatory, travel time going back to Highway 30 to Road 23 is likely similar to taking rocky NF-2017 south).
This summit is a drive-up, albeit a butt clincher at times. Here is an excerpt from summitpost.org:
“Ellen D has an elevation of 8,633 feet, and with a prominence of 2,053 feet, makes the list of Nevada’s 172 prominent peaks. . . .
“An unimproved maintenance road leads to the top of Ellen D Mountain, where you’ll find an impressive array of radio towers, solar panels and maintenance buildings. . . .
Bill K7WXW is an early riser, and I was stoked to find someone keen to get up South Sister for a sunrise activation. We set out from the trailhead in the dark at 2:12am PST. Bill had an issue with his headlamp battery. Luckily, I had a spare headlamp to loan him. With that sorted, we hit the trail.
I left, by accident, my phone (camera) and my antenna mast at the Jeep. By the time I realized it I was too far up the mountain to retrieve them. Luckily I was wearing my Garmin watch and was able to record the route and elevation data. Though not too tall, there are some scrub oak at the summit. This most likely compromised my inverted “V” antenna quite a bit since I could only get on a branch about 6 feet off the ground. There is a very steep road that leads up from where I parked. The road ends and then a bushwhack is required to the summit.
There are no established trails to the summit, but you basically head east up the mountain. This is a total bushwhack, steep and lots of scrub oak and sagebrush. The summit is exposed with lots of room to set-up my inverted “V” wire antenna. The ascent is just shy of a half mile and 500 feet of elevation gain. The first 8 miles of the dirt road is Prius friendly but the remaining drive requires high clearance, though not a 4wd.
Quartzite Butte (W7N/EN-094) is just a stones throw to the south and makes for a short double activation.
This 6-pointer is among the line of peaks which form the eastern border of the Stevens County SOTA region. It's easily accessed from Flowery Trail road off of highway 211 as are several other summits. Take FR-9518 for several miles and then FR-9517 for the final ascent. Park at 48.35545,-117.50346, on a side road off of FR-9517. Although the trail may not be apparent, several lanes of logging have left multiple paths to the summit with light or no bushwhacking required. The summit is somewhat exposed but is ringed by trees.
Approach the summit from the north on FS 600 - it's less than a quarter mile OW and about 100 feet gain. There is a GPS track provided by N7KOM here:
https://sotl.as/summits/W7O/CS-058. The GPX track instructions say:
"Trail begins at the memorial. Some flags on the way up. Trail is unmaintained, but easy to follow."
The dashed line to the east is the Pacific Crest Trail, which could provide alternative access.
I did Page on my way back from Althouse and Tanner. I figured I had some time and it appeared to be a driveup. I also am in no hurry to come back to this charred land. Page wasn't as badly burned, it is basically the area they stopped the SLater Fire in 2020 from reaching into Cave Junction. The fire burned part of Happy Camp and everything inbetween.