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Bushwhack

Saturday Rock, WA | July 2021

Submitted by K7WXW on
Summit

Summary - Saturday Rock is easy to get to, about two hours from Portland, has awesome views and a short, sometimes gnarly and steep, bushwhack. Park at 45.85645, -122.17190 and follow the ridge to the summit. The first clear area you encounter on the top isn't it, keep going!  Trees to hang wires, easy 2M QSOs, good APRS connectivity, spotty cell service. National Forest parking pass required.

East Crater, WA | September 2020

Submitted by K7AHR on
Summit

East Crater is a peak in the Indian Heaven wilderness. Three years ago, the south side and ridgeline of East Crater were completely burned by a fire that ended up burning about 500 acres in the area, and this fire caused the evacuation of the entire Indian Heaven wilderness area in September of 2017. Not much has grown back on the south side, while the north side, essentially untouched by the fire, is thick with trees.

Gifford Peak, WA | September 2020

Submitted by K7AHR on
Summit

Summary:

Gifford Peak is a forested summit above Blue Lake in the Indian Heaven Wilderness. This area is a popular destination for day hikers and backpackers, directly on the Pacific Crest Trail, so be prepared to meet crowds any day with good weather. The lake can be approached from either Falls Creek Horse Camp or the Thomas Lake Trailhead. Once there, take Thomas Lake Trail to the northwest corner of the lake, and proceed up the ridge off-trail. The ridge is pronounced and easy to follow to the true summit.

2660 - July 2020

Submitted by NR7Y on
Summit

This summit spans a property boundary between public BLM land and private Stimson land, and although Stimson allows the public to hike on most of their property on weekends, there is no need to enter their property to access the activation zone.

Double Header Part 2: Bandwidth Mountain

Submitted by KK7DS on
Summit

As we headed back from Lakeview Peak earlier in the day, Taylor and I took a detour to go by Bandwidth Mountain. This two-point summit is not significant enough to have an official name, but like many in the Washington SOTA database, it has been assigned a cute amateur-radio name to avoid a simple numbering system. Our outdated topo map software showed a road leading in the direction of the summit, but stopping a couple miles short. However, some satellite reconnaissance ahead of time showed that the road actually went much farther, to just below the base of the summit.