Directly across Hwy 20 from Iron Mountain at Tombstone pass is peak
5436, CM-127. Its really a part of Browser Ridge extending towards
the northwest from the other Browser Ridge peak CM-056.

Access to CM-127 is via NF-15 which turns off US Hwy 20 about 1000m
west of Tombstone pass. Take NF-15 to the trailhead for trail 3409
which is located right where NF-080 splits off.

It was supposed to be a nice day in the valley, and I heard it was.
On this day however, the Cascades had a different idea. At the trail
head, the rain was falling lightly but steadily. I figured it would
clear shortly to be a beautiful day as was forecast. Oh well, it
pays to be flexible.

Trail 3409 is a really nice hike. Like the southeast end of Browder
Ridge, there are great stands of old growth fir and hemlock at the
beginning of the trail. These give way to large alpine meadows that
are surely very beautiful in spring. This day they were armpit-high
sponges filled with rainfall. I was soaked in minutes from the
meadows. At least it was pretty warm.

The trail is well maintained and very moderate considering the
elevation that must be gained. Continue up the trail until you reach
the first saddle in the ridge at roughly 5080ft elevation. At this
point, turn sharp left towards the northwest and follow the crest
of the narrow ridge.

There are several small peak-lets along the ridge. Traverse to the
left of the first one. The rest may be climbed or skirted depending
on your level of comfort. I suspect the vistas from the ridge are
pretty great, but on this day, the visibility was very poor, often
less than a hundred yards.

Continue northwest along the narrow ridge. There are several really
nice looking operating positions, but they are not on the summit
proper. The actual summit is at the end of the ridge, reached after
ducking through a final grove of firs.

The summit is quite nondescript. A small cairn is there and a few
scrubby trees for lashing a vertical to. Upon reaching the summit,
the weather was very windy, rainy and about 45 degrees. Really nasty.
I deployed my faithful tarp using the support for the EFHW. When its
really nasty, its shelter first, radio second.

I hunkered underneath the tarp which was flapping in the wind but was
shedding rain well. The radio gods were in a good mood. The ATS-3A was
tearing up 20 meters nicely. Finally, Cooper, my SOTA dog, gave me that

look that says, "time to get outta here buddy". He had finally
scooted underneath the tarp to escape the weather and was licking me
furiously on the face.

I often wonder what chasers think when activators oddly pause midstream
or send gibberish CW. I hope they activate as well and can understand
what its like to send CW when being face-licked by 75 pounds of love.

After 20 or so minutes, I was really chilled. We busted out of the
summit and headed down the hill. It was one of those, "throw everything
in the pack and I'll sort it out later" times. The weather had
improved slightly, but was still pretty nasty.

Back at the car, the sun came out for 15 minutes and that felt really
good. We had a bite of lunch and headed over to Iron Mountain for a
2nd activation for the day. These two peaks would be an excellent
pair for a full day SOTA expedition.

I really want to come back here in good weather. I think its a another
great spot to activate; easy to get to, good views, good hike. Browder
Ridge delivers the SOTA goods.