Just east of Trion, Georgia is this easy to access hike on the Pinhoti Trail to Taylor Ridge. 

About 1.2 miles north of the light at Central Avenue (that leads into Trion) on Highway 1

During the first week of October, I was delighted to receive an invitation from accomplished SOTA activator KR7W to accompany him to the not-yet-activated Huckleberry Ridge summit.  I expected to take my HB1B along, but testing my equipment, the day before our outing, I managed to toast something inside while trying to get a good antenna match.  So I petitioned Rich to let me pack along his trusty KX3 as an alternative to the HW7 he was planning to bring for his own use.

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.

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.

Located in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness off the West Fork Foss River Trail #1064 near Skykomish, this peak is between Big Heart and Angeline lakes. Big Heart Lake is about a 7.3 mile hike in, and the trail is steep and rocky at times. You'll also pass Trout, Copper and Little Heart Lakes on your way with wonderful scenery at all times.

A dusty drive up in south central Oregon features a fire lookout at the summit and a lot of communication towers. There was some 20m noise that seemed to emanate from these facilities that periodically wiped out reception, but it was intermittent.

From Chemult in south central Oregon, head north on Highway 97 4.3 miles.

Skunked In Switzerland!

My ambitions for activating several SOTA Summits in Switzerland fell far short.  Switzerland has been experiencing one of the worst "summer" seasons in many decades.  This is impacting tourism, and certainly impacted our plans.

Mount Walker is a nice drive-up or summit hike just off Highway 101 on the east side of the Olympic Peninsula. There is a good view of Puget Sound from the summit and thus it makes for a good spot to try your hand at VHF/UHF contacts.

Big Butte is a near drive-up (in an SUV - the higher clearance is necessary) in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest that you could do in a passenger car with a bit more hiking (less than 2 miles each way on a road). From Portland, take I-84 to Cascade Locks and cross the river on the Bridge of the Gods (toll). Or take Washington 14 out from Vancouver past the Bridge of the Gods, through Stevenson and continue east on 14 to turn north towards Carson about four miles past Stevenson. After 12.3 miles on this Wind River Highway you will turn right onto NF-3080 or Hollis Creek Road (paved).

My general guidelines for off trail hiking are a mile or so across open sagebrush steppe, perhaps half a mile through open forests like ponderosa pine, and about a quarter mile for a western Douglas fir forest. This activation is a reminder to stay with these guidelines and not ever wander through a lava flow again.

I started from the Carson Guler Road, parking about 2.5 miles east of the gate for Red Mountain (W7W/LC-036 - a recommended activation).